Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T13:31:57.722Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

18 - Soft and hard measures in optimising wellbeing through procurement, commissioning and partnering

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2024

Adrian Bonner
Affiliation:
University of Stirling
Get access

Summary

Introduction

The essential components to enhancing well-being in commissioning and procurement are public authorities, especially National Health Service (NHS) bodies and councils, and these have been responsible for a wide range of services for the public for many decades, through the exercise of a wide range of statutory duties but also powers. The means by which such services have been delivered have however tended to be altered by successive governments restructuring the NHS, whereas councils have tended to have had their statutory functions constrained or broadened on a constantly fluctuating basis. In many ways the delivery of high quality public services has been shaped by the ‘make or buy’ question that has arisen and been to the fore since the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) for a number of local authority services in 1989 that was then succeeded by a ‘best value’ regime that came into force in 2000.

It would be wishful thinking for any government to take an interest in a wholesale review of NHS and local government functions so that we can have a comprehensively integrated offer in terms of health and social care but also other services. So, we can expect that when changes are made they will continue to be adding layers of adjustments such that the image that can come to mind for the legislation that governs public services is of an Egyptian mummy with plaster casts and adhesive tape all over it.

In the absence of any interest in integrated legislation and central coordination by central government (preferring the easier and expedient approach of meddling and interference), it is arguably down to councils and local NHS bodies to do the best that they can for the communities that they serve and to establish the coordinated and engaged approach that local services require.

Given this, the opportunity to engender the greatest social, economic and environmental wellbeing should perhaps be determined by the ascertainment of need, an understanding of the resources required to meet that need, a programme to work out the best way of attracting the right resources to address that requirement and then a route map for delivering that programme.

Type
Chapter
Information
COVID-19 and Social Determinants of Health
Wicked Issues and Relationalism
, pp. 338 - 350
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×