Rights statement: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Goodwin, D. (2019), NHS Inquiries and the Problem of Culture. The Political Quarterly, 90: 202-209. doi: 10.1111/1467-923X.12693 which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-923X.12693 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - NHS inquiries and the problem of culture
AU - Goodwin, Dawn
N1 - This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Goodwin, D. (2019), NHS Inquiries and the Problem of Culture. The Political Quarterly, 90: 202-209. doi: 10.1111/1467-923X.12693 which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-923X.12693 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
PY - 2019/6/27
Y1 - 2019/6/27
N2 - If inquiries are about learning the lessons of the past, why do they appear to find the same failings time and again? Bristol, Mid Staffordshire, Morecambe Bay, Liverpool Community Health are all examples of where culture went wrong. The lack of learning from inquiries is a prominent concern and one raised elsewhere in this issue. In this article, I explore why it might be that culture is repeatedly found to be the cause of healthcare failures. I start by reviewing perspectives on what culture is and the degree to which it is possible change it. I examine how culture was described in the Bristol, Mid Staffordshire, Morecambe Bay and Liverpool inquiries and question whether these are the same cultures with the same problems or whether they are different. I discuss possible explanations for apparent similarities, describe how cultural change occurs and conclude by drawing out the implications of focusing on culture as a threat to patient safety.
AB - If inquiries are about learning the lessons of the past, why do they appear to find the same failings time and again? Bristol, Mid Staffordshire, Morecambe Bay, Liverpool Community Health are all examples of where culture went wrong. The lack of learning from inquiries is a prominent concern and one raised elsewhere in this issue. In this article, I explore why it might be that culture is repeatedly found to be the cause of healthcare failures. I start by reviewing perspectives on what culture is and the degree to which it is possible change it. I examine how culture was described in the Bristol, Mid Staffordshire, Morecambe Bay and Liverpool inquiries and question whether these are the same cultures with the same problems or whether they are different. I discuss possible explanations for apparent similarities, describe how cultural change occurs and conclude by drawing out the implications of focusing on culture as a threat to patient safety.
KW - inquiries
KW - healthcare failures
KW - safety
KW - culture
KW - cultural change
U2 - 10.1111/1467-923X.12693
DO - 10.1111/1467-923X.12693
M3 - Journal article
VL - 90
SP - 202
EP - 209
JO - The Political Quarterly
JF - The Political Quarterly
SN - 0032-3179
IS - 2
ER -