Spatial Aspects of Health-Care Employment in Britain, 2: Current Policy Initiatives

Abstract

In this paper I analyse the employment impact of current health-care policies in Britain. I draw on the typology developed by Massey and Meegan (1982) in which change in employment may be categorised into that caused by intensification, by rationalisation, and by technical change. I extend this typology to include restructuring, but argue that there are a number of qualitatively different applications of the notion of restructuring. It is argued that the present government have taken a number of measures to control the NHS (National Health Service) wages bill. These are outlined and it is shown that the major impact of these changes is qualitative, rather than quantitative: the key issue is less the impact on the total number of jobs available, but rather on the terms and conditions on which those jobs are offered.