Evaluation Of Policies Regarding Doctors In British National Health Service From The Thatcher Government To The Conservative Government Under David Cameron

As one of the distinctive symbols of Britain,National Health Service has undergone continuous changes since its birth in 1948.It has long been praised for its equality and generosity for all patients.At the same time,it has increasingly become a headache for the government at this time when public spending is limited by a weaker economy.The conflicts between demands of patients and satisfaction of doctors are also becoming worse due to the increase in the number of aging people.More constant industrial actions taken.by junior doctors with longer duration and wider influence become a pressing problem to be dealt with.Tremendous academic efforts have been devoted into the analysis of British National Health Service.Some of them focus on the explanation and evaluation of general reforms trends and others dig into policies employed during a certain time period.Few have paid attention to a systematic study on reforms regarding doctors.Based on previous research,this thesis tries to carry out a chronological discussion about National Health Policies from the perspective of doctors.The thesis adopts the method of historical review and qualitative study.First-hand materials such as governmental papers and speeches by Secretary of State for Health are analysed and newspaper coverage as well as academic papers are referred to in the assessment of relevant policies.The author achieves the following main findings after preliminary research.Highly influenced by the ideology of managerialism,the Thatcher government proposed that General Practitioners(GPs)should become "fund holders" who were able to purchase high-quality care for their patients in a competitive market.The New Labour further empowered frontline staff while improving and supervising care quality.In 2010,GP commissioning was advocated by the Coalition government to improve efficiency of health care.Under the pressure of lower public expenditure and greater medical demand,seven-day NHS was introduced by the Conservative government under the leadership of David Cameron which encouraged access to GPs and junior doctors at weekends.A general trend towards empowerment of doctors,whose roles has been increasingly recognised can be concluded after a chronological review of these reforms.At the same time,higher standards are set in place for doctors to take on more responsibilities in providing more efficient service.As the direct provider of health care,doctors can have a crucial influence in the health of patients.Attentions should be paid to their role in order to guarantee the quality of health service and to meet the ever expanding medical demand.Through the study on medical policies regulating doctors,the thesis strives to offer insights for coping with desires of current British doctors as well as providing lessons for medical reforms in China.