TY - JOUR

T1 - Governing health care

T2 - the uses and limits of governmentality in the National Health Service in England

AU - Jones, Lorelei

PY - 2023/10/2

Y1 - 2023/10/2

N2 - Using examples from the National Health Service in England, this paperillustrates key features of contemporary healthcare governance: theway decisions are hidden in places that are ‘in between’ and ‘out ofreach’; the enrolment of doctors in governing; and the important roleplayed by ‘boring things’, such as power point slides, flow charts, andforms. The essay shows how anthropological proximity and perspectivescan extend and deepen understanding of contemporary politicalpower. It does this firstly by showing the importance of agency in theoperation of governmentality, and secondly by illuminating the limitsof governmentality. The different elements of governing assemblages,such as global management experts, medical leaders, forms of knowledgeand analytical technologies, are brought together through thestrategic act of framing. Frames are contested and resisted, requiringmore visible forms of control.

AB - Using examples from the National Health Service in England, this paperillustrates key features of contemporary healthcare governance: theway decisions are hidden in places that are ‘in between’ and ‘out ofreach’; the enrolment of doctors in governing; and the important roleplayed by ‘boring things’, such as power point slides, flow charts, andforms. The essay shows how anthropological proximity and perspectivescan extend and deepen understanding of contemporary politicalpower. It does this firstly by showing the importance of agency in theoperation of governmentality, and secondly by illuminating the limitsof governmentality. The different elements of governing assemblages,such as global management experts, medical leaders, forms of knowledgeand analytical technologies, are brought together through thestrategic act of framing. Frames are contested and resisted, requiringmore visible forms of control.

U2 - 10.1080/13648470.2023.2242280

DO - 10.1080/13648470.2023.2242280

M3 - Article

JO - Anthropology and Medicine

JF - Anthropology and Medicine

SN - 1364-8470

ER -