Organizational change in the National Health Service: lessons from the staff

This paper is based on research on the impact organizational change (mergers) had upon staff and patient care in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) within Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland from 2006 to 2007. The latest round of health reform has been driven by the 'Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS' (CaPLNHS; DOH, 2005) plan to reduce the number of PCTs and for a saving of 250 pound million in administrative and management costs. A cross-sectional case study using a series of focus groups was undertaken to identify salient aspects of mergers and organizational change in a health sector context and explore staff perceptions (negative and positive) of the recent organizational wide changes. Based on the findings, we propose an 'Agenda for Action' to recognize and minimize the potential negative effects upon staff and service delivery. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.