This study examines management systems and their appropriateness to the National Health Service. The text considers the role of clinicians in management, recommending increased involvement by clinicians, and arguing that they must take on a greater management role in the reformed health service. The author suggests that conultants are best placed to manage the NHS efficiently and cost-effectively. In a system where non-clinical staff have come to dominate NHS management, and where purchasers determine what services are to be provided and the Patient's Charter defines the parameters of practice, doctors have genuine reasons to be hostile to the idea of involvement in hospital management. However, the author of this book warns of the danger to the health service and to patient care if consultants are sidelined. He considers management systems and the most suitable roles of clinicians in practice. In proposing models for change, he aims to transform the professional lives of clinicians.

1. The framework 2. The theoretical basis of management 3. Reflections on the 'management' thing 4. General management and the NHS 5. Trojan horses' 6. Prescriptions for the future 7. Training hospital doctors 8. Getting more for the money