Governing healthcare: the uses and limits of governmentality in the National Health Service in England: the uses and limits of governmentality in the National Health Service in England

Using examples from the National Health Service in England, this paper
illustrates key features of contemporary healthcare governance: the
way decisions are hidden in places that are ‘in between’ and ‘out of
reach’; the enrolment of doctors in governing; and the important role
played by ‘boring things’, such as power point slides, flow charts, and
forms. The essay shows how anthropological proximity and perspectives
can extend and deepen understanding of contemporary political
power. It does this firstly by showing the importance of agency in the
operation of governmentality, and secondly by illuminating the limits
of governmentality. The different elements of governing assemblages,
such as global management experts, medical leaders, forms of knowledge
and analytical technologies, are brought together through the
strategic act of framing. Frames are contested and resisted, requiring
more visible forms of control.