John Carrier – författare

Dramatic reforms in the NHS and the social services in the 1980s and 1990s have highlighted the need for close co-operation between professional groups. Doctors, nurses and social workers are increasingly taking roles as managers with financial responsibility for services. The varying backgrounds of education and socialisation of managers and different professional groups creates barriers to mutual understanding and to effective and efficient care. This book sets out to examine inter-professional work looking at theories and frameworks and focusing on the important areas where systems fail because of lack of collaboration. This text will contribute to the knowledge of inter-professional relationships and can be used as a basic guide to the issues involved, the services that require a multidisciplinary approach, and the strategies for working together.

Based on an empirical examination of psychiatric care both past and present,Asylum in the Community clearly defines the concept of asylum and shows how it can be provided effectively outside the hospital. Drawing on work in the USA, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and England, contributors analyse such services from both user and provider perspectives. From these analyses the editors establish the key elements that should be considered in developing contemporary community services for the mentally ill.Asylum in the Community provides a balanced assessment of a controversial, topical issue for managers and providers of mental health services and those teaching or training in the mental health sciences.

The NHS came into existence from an atmosphere generated by strong ideological commitment of the post-war Labour government, and the opposition of the Conservative party to the idea of a universally available, centrally planned medical care service. In more recent years, the conflict about the service has increased. Rising public expectations about what is feasible in medicine have been matched by criticisms implying low standards in the NHS. This book weighs up the successes and failures of the NHS, and examines the conflicts which have risen the health service for over 40 years. It looks at recent responses to the apparent failure of health care in the UK, and includes discussions of the public/private debate within the health service. Carrier and Kendall have written together "NHS Management" and the "Griffiths Report, Medical Negligence" (1990), and contributed to and edited "Socialism and the NHS" (1990).

The NHS came into existence in an atmosphere of conflict centred on the strong ideological commitment of the Post-war Labour Government and the opposition of the Conservative Party of that time to the idea of a universally available and centrally planned medical care service. There was also opposition from some sections of the medical establishment who feared the loss of professional autonomy.Setting health policy in both an historical and modern context (post 1997) Carrier and Kendall weigh up the successes and failures of the National Health Service and examine the conflicts which have continued for over sixty years, in spite of efforts to solve financial problems in the NHS through increases in funding as well as structural and organisational change.After looking at recent responses to supposed failures of the NHS, they conclude that the NHS has successfully faced the challenges before it and is likely to continue to meet the changing health needs of the population. Financial stresses, concerns about the quality of care and demographic change, with consequent issues for the elderly and the chronically ill, continue to be urgent and politically contentious issues.This book is appropriate for a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate students studying health policy and the NHS.