Sally Sheard (Liverpool): Learning from history: NHS plans

For the first 26 years, the NHS was left to run without major reform or reorganisation. Although planning emerged as a concern in the 1960s, linked to desires to increase effectiveness and efficiency, it wasn't until the 1980s, and the introduction of general management, that there was the political will or technical capacity to construct detailed, long-term plans. This paper considers the introduction of NHS plans as key political 'sticks' (rather than 'carrots') to improve performance, and discusses the impact of the increasing tension between planning and the service's ability to meet targets, such as waiting times and 'quality' of care.

Sally Sheard is the Andrew Geddes and John Rankin Professor of Modern History at the University of Liverpool, with a primary research interest in the interface between expert advisers and policymakers. She currently leads a five-year Wellcome Trust funded project; The Governance of Health: Medical, Economic and Managerial Expertise in Britain since 1948. Her latest book is The Passionate Economist: how Brian Abel-Smith shaped global health and social welfare (Policy Press, 2013). She has also written on the history of hospitals, the finance of British medicine and the development of the NHS. Sally has extensive experience of using history in public and policy engagement and has worked with local health authorities and government organisations. She also has written for and presented television and radio programmes, including the 2018 BBC Radio 4 series National Health Stories.