International Journal of Health Policy and Management (Dec 2023)
The Role of the Policy Process on Health Service Reconfigurations: Evidence, Path Dependency and Framing; Comment on “‘Attending to History’ in Major System Change in Healthcare in England: Specialist Cancer Surgery Service Reconfiguration”
Abstract
Historically healthcare services have largely developed on an incremental basis, with various piecemeal changes and some notable policy leaps that illustrate a punctuated equilibrium health policy process. More recently policy-makers have attempted, successfully and unsuccessfully, to reconfigure healthcare services to address perceived problems in the delivery of important services such as stroke, cancer, and trauma. Perry et al provide a welcome addition to research in this area by focusing on the importance of history in a reconfiguration of cancer services in Greater Manchester (GM). Perry et al analyse how and why this configuration was successful after several failed attempts in the past and in this commentary, I want to reflect on the explanatory role health policy analysis can contribute to studying the reconfiguration of healthcare services.
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