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‘Designing Better Health Care in the South’: A Case Study of Unsuccessful Transformational Change in Public Sector Health Service Reform
Author(s) -
Hurley Catherine,
Baum Fran,
Eyk Helen
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.2004.00376.x
Subject(s) - transformational leadership , public sector , health sector , health care , public health , health services , public relations , organisational change , tertiary sector of the economy , change management (itsm) , health care reform , business , political science , public administration , health policy , nursing , medicine , marketing , environmental health , population , lean manufacturing , law
This article presents a case study of a project known as ‘Designing Better Health Care in the South’ that attempted to transform four separately incorporated health services in southern Adelaide into a single regional health service. The project's efforts are examined using Kotter's (1996) model of the preconditions for transformational change in organisations and the areas in which it met or failed to meet these preconditions are analysed, using results from an evaluation that was commenced during the course of the attempted reform. The article provides valuable insights into an attempted major change by four public sector health organisations and the facilitators and barriers to such change. It also examines the way in which forces beyond the control of individual public sector agencies can significantly impact on attempts to implement organisational change in response to an identified need. This case study offers a rare glimpse into the micro detail of health care reform processes that are so widespread in contemporary health services but which are rarely systematically evaluated.