'A potential fifth column': conflicts and struggles for control in the context of local NHS privatization.

Full Abstract

This article uses case study data to discuss how a new procurement policy (Local Improvement Finance Trust, or LIFT) in English primary care may affect general practitioners' control over their work. LIFT, a series of 51 public-private partnerships, will enable over the medium term a shift towards the corporate ownership of surgeries and the creation of polyclinics or 'onestop-shops'. In this article, I explore the struggles over work autonomy and control within these new LIFT structures, as expressed by clinicians and managers in meetings and in research interviews. More generally, I consider how the findings inform debates over the changing position of professionals within increasingly financialized 'local health economies'.

Author information

Author/s: Aldred, Rachel (R);

Affiliation: University of East London, London, UK. R.E.Aldred(-atsign-)uel.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Health (London, England : 1997) (Health (London)), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 13 (issue 5) : pp 543-61

Dates: Created 2009/08/21; Completed 2009/10/21;

PMID: 19696135, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/21/2009, IMS Date: )

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