BMJ  2005;331:926 (22 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7522.926

News

Foundation hospitals are not accountable to their communities

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A new report has cast doubt on the government's claim that foundation trusts will prove more accountable to local communities. The year long study of Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in east London by the health charity the King's Fund shows disillusionment among its governors.

The trust was one of the first to gain foundation status. Many of the governors complain that they have had little or no influence on how the hospital is run. Boards of governors, which consist mainly of members of the public, were supposed to be the watchdogs that gave local people a greater say in the running of foundation trusts.

But Richard Lewis, the report's author, said, "There's a sense among the governors that they have no idea what they're actually supposed to be doing.

"If governors have little real influence it will be hard to claim that foundation trusts represent a leap forward . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Better decisions

Trish Groves
BMJ 2005 331: 0. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Canadian Supreme Court upholds right to take out private health insurance

David Spurgeon
BMJ 2005 330: 1408. [Extract] [Full Text]

Online poll

Find out more >>