A consultancy habit? The use of external management advice in the NHS

A consultancy habit? The use of external management advice in the NHS
University of Bristol December 2020

• The use of paid management consultants in the NHS has become habitual despite having a negative impact on efficiency. This inflation of demand for consulting services occurred even when they failed to improve performance. The research, published in the journal Public Administration, builds on previous work which showed that consultancy use in the NHS leads to inefficiencies. The new findings help to explain why this is the case and why using consultancy remains a popular, but frequently harmful habit.

NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs)

NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) (launched October 2019)

• NIHR ARCs (previously NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs), support applied health and care research that responds to, and meets, the needs of local populations and local health and care systems. 
• The 15 local partnerships between NHS providers, universities, charities, local authorities, Academic Health Science Networks and other organisations also undertake implementation research to increase the rate at which research findings are implemented into practice. 
• Research priorities for the different ARCs.

The use of private consultancy firms in the NHS

The use of private consultancy firms in the NHS
BMA News 17 December 2018

• Analysis by The Doctor based on FOI responses from STPs and ICSs and others, has found that millions are being spent on private consultancy firms and creating new management and administrative posts.