Hospital centralisation
Increasing financial pressures drive hospitals to centralise services, providing large, highly specialised urban hospitals. The concentration of skills and expertise provides fully resourced acute medical wards, adequate training time and a better work/life balance for acute physicians. Rural centres are set up to provide pre-hospital emergency medicine and hospital transfer services.
Proposed workforce impact
- There is an oversupply of the workforce leading to geographical relocation and attrition.
- Workforce numbers are affected by the concentration of skills and expertise.
Sources or references
- www.rcseng.ac.uk/publications/docs/Centralisation%20and%20specialisation%20of%20hospital%20services.html
- bma.org.uk/news-views-analysis/news/2012/october/nhs-services-face-centralisation
- www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2011/09/reconfiguring-hospital-services-bold-move-improve-health-care
Additional research questions
- How will rural services attract staff?
Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.
