Concordat or contract

Abstract

The New Labour Government in England is seeking to promote public/private partnerships in health and social care as a key component of its political project. This article reports the findings from the first phase of an ongoing qualitative research study exploring the relationship between a private sector company and their public sector partners at four study sites. These findings indicate that organizations within the NHS do not view the development of public/private partnerships as a priority and furthermore currently have a limited ability to engage in strategic planning with the private sector. The findings are explored in the broader context of the evolution of ‘managed competition’ in health care systems and the role of partnership in that process.

Keywords:

• Health and social care
• managed competition
• partnerships
• private sector

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Westminster Health Care for Dr Field's post. Following the completion of phase one of the research, Westminster Health Care became two separate companies, Westminster Health Care and Priory Healthcare. The research continues to be supported and to receive funding from both companies. Neither company has exerted any editorial control over this article. Dr Perri 6 and Professor James Raftery made helpful comments on an earlier draft, as did the anonymous reviewers.

Notes

Following the completion of phase one of the research, Westminster Health Care became two separate companies, Westminster Health Care and Priory Healthcare. The research continues to be supported and to receive funding from both companies.