Public Services in Contemporary Society: An Analysis of the NHS

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Public Services in Contemporary Society

Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
2. Describe the development of public services...........................................................................4
3. Outline the development of a your public service organisation...............................................4
4. Investigate the ways in which contemporary practice sits within a tradition of historical
practice.............................................................................................................................................5
5. Describe the operational structure of a your public service organisation and assess the
structure of your public sector organisation with reference to responsibilities...............................6
6. Explain how the public sector is held accountable for its actions and direction both
operationally and strategically.........................................................................................................8
7. Explain the types of sources of funding available to the public sector....................................9
8. Identify how funding is allocated to different public sector organisations............................10
9. Assess the impact of funding from different sources and its allocation within the public
sector..............................................................................................................................................10
10. Define the strategy, structure and role of public sector organisations................................11
11. Assess the impact of proposed changes upon the society in which public sector
organisations serve.........................................................................................................................13
12. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................14
13. Reference list:.....................................................................................................................15

1. Introduction
The use of digital technology has been increasing day by day and it has evidently revolutionized
the operations of several public service organisations. The use of digital technology has
influenced and dramatically changed the traditional public service delivery models and this
research report will be focusing on the use of digital technology in public service organisations
(Sullivan and Skelcher 2017). The study will be focusing on investigating the development of
public services and will be examining the accountability and responsibility of the structures
within the contemporary public service organisations. Moreover, it will also focus on analysing
the funding sources and allocation of funds to the public sector and finally, it will be able to
review the strategy structure and role of the public sector.

2. Describe the development of public services
Public service is a segment of the government of a particular country, which operates within the
jurisdiction of the government and is financed by the same either directly or indirectly. Public
service is related to social consensus and it provides everybody with the same type of services
devoid of considerations against physical ability, mental activity and income of the people
(Haynes 2015). The public services are associated with several factors and help the people to
fulfil specific requirements or desires. The public administration has helped to develop the
public service in the modern democracies and the government of the countries are usually hiring
civil servants or people elected by the officials so that they can work towards non-profit oriented
motives and in providing the people with a better standard of living. There has been a huge
development in the public services and modern studies have found out contrasting results in
which people provide high levels of effort in fewer hours of work (Pahl 2016).
Ages ago, the government bodies of different countries have started to provide core public
services and these organisations tried to keep up the tradition of keeping the citizens of the
country secure by military defence, and this had almost started 4000 years ago. However, as days
went by, these organisations have started to use digital technology to deal with the problems of
the public and have eradicated the use of traditional methods of dispute resolution through legal
or justice system that was started in ancient Egypt (Doherty et al. 2014). The development in the
public services was seen in the late 19th century especially in the services of water and gas, and
electricity and healthcare in some countries. Some of the private companies are also providing
the public services and the use of different digital technologies has helped people to know about
the operations of the companies and the problems other people face around the world.
3. Outline the development of a your public service organisation
The National Health Service of the United Kingdom is a publicly funded national healthcare
organisation based in England and is one of the largest companies in the world. The government
of the United Kingdom primarily funds it and it is the responsibility of the Department of Health
and Social care of England to look after the activities of this company (Osborne et al. 2015). The

company is one of the oldest Healthcare organisations in the world and it was founded in the
year 1948, which is nearly 70 years ago. The company recently has an employee count of 1.4
million and is publicly funded by several people and organisations. The conception of NHS was
created in the year 1937 in the novel ‘The Citadel’, which letter resulted in the victory of the
Labour Parties in 1945.
The first emergency hospital service was started in the year 1939, which provided an idea of
what NHS was going to be. The healthcare services during the world war were unsatisfactory
and Bevan decided to carry on with the idea of the National Health Service, which can be
operated by the local authorities (Fledderus et al. 2014). The first foundation was laid in the year
1912 and upon the introduction of the National Insurance, the local authorities started to provide
the patients with dental, medical and nursing care without any fees. After the war, in the year
1980, there was a creation of the welfare state, which was mixed with the supplies of the private,
and public housing, the mixed economy and the closed regulation of the economy, which led the
Prime Minister of the country to introduce National Health Service to international borders as
well.
In the year 2011, the management of the NHS was taken over by the stock market listed
company and soon there were many local institutions helping people who are attempting to meet
the conflicting demands with their inadequate resources (Bertot et al. 2016). In the contemporary
market structure, NHS has been able to introduce technology so that the public services are
flawless and they can adopt a digital core so that they can access larger sources of data and
understand the information to make much more informed decisions.
4. Investigate the ways in which contemporary practice sits within a tradition of historical
practice
Previously, it was very hard for the healthcare organisations as well as the public service
organisations to operate in different areas, as they did not have enough support from the citizens
of the country as well as from the government. People were also not interested in having a career
related to public service organisations as they felt that this would never provide them with
enough money to strive in the market of the United Kingdom. People of the United Kingdom
was provided with extra money so that they carry on the activities related to public services in

and outside the country and the government used to motivate these people with increased salaries
and job securities (James and Moseley 2014). However, in the modern era, the advent of the
digital media has started to provide the companies with extensive support and with the help of
this platform; the companies were able to gather a lot of money from the public, which also
helped them to carry on their operations in different areas.
The use of digital technologies has helped the public service organisations in several factors like
the analysis of the conditions, the use of the internet of things, the blockchain process and the
introduction of mobile applications and social media platforms to increase awareness among the
public. Previously, the companies were not able to do a proper analysis of the conditions of the
people in the United Kingdom and it was even not possible for these people to provide
transparency to the activities (Nabatchi et al. 2017). It was also not easy for the organisations to
make informed decisions and gather funding for the process carried on by the organisations.
Previously the government of different countries hired civil servants, these people were not
associated with profit-oriented activities, and they could not be motivated easily.
Nowadays, several activities are associated with the daily activities of many large companies and
not only civil servants but also employees from different private organisations are also hired for
the activities to be carried out. The salary of these people has also been raised which was not a
such before and they are also provided with additional benefits and hours so that they can use
this intangible benefits to make their life easy and hassle-free (Wollmann 2014). People were not
able to opt for the benefits provided by the public service organisations like the National Health
Organisation of the United Kingdom as they could not indulge themselves in public engagement
and could not even transform or deliver a vision to the people. Nowadays, people from different
areas have started to understand the need for such public services and they have been able to opt
for the benefits provided by the organisation. The use of social media platforms has also helped
the organisation to provide the people with a vision of what should and not to be done (Baum
2016).

5. Describe the operational structure of a your public service organisation and assess the
structure of your public sector organisation with reference to responsibilities
After the foundation of the National Health Service in the near 1948 the company was following
are self-designed system known as the tripartite system and this was used by the company for
several decades after its existence. The company had provided the people with hospital services
that was organised by the regional hospital boards of the United Kingdom and the government
was in charge of the administration of this kind of services to the people. The company also
provided the people with the primary care including options for GPs, Opticians and dentist who
worked as a contractor for the company for several ages (Bovaird et al. 2016). In that time, the
company did not have any salaried employees other than the people of the government. The
company also started to work on several social problems like child welfare, ambulance services,
vaccination and community services and the medical professionals of the company was very
much unified and the proposed a ten year plan for a general hospital in the midst of the United
Kingdom so that it can serve at least 125000 people in the country.
After some years until the end of the world war in 1980, the company started to focus on several
aspects like the high infant mortality rates, lower life expectancy is of the people, and this was
because the government faced adverse effects even when the NHS was in operation. During this
season, it was also found out that the cost of healthcare services was also increasing in the
country and therefore it was the notion of the government and the National Health Service to
introduce an internal market, which is still governed by the company until date (Riccucci 2018).
The Community Care Act of 1990 and the National Health Service of the United Kingdom
started to work with different health organisations nearby to deal with the problems of the people
and make cost-effective activities so that the adversities can be decreased and the quality of care
can be enhanced.
However, the current structure of the ages is a bit different and upon the introduction of the
Health and Social Care Act of 2012, there were huge structural reforms to the NHS. The
department of health in the modern ages is concerned with the creation of different policies and
funding to health care in the United Kingdom. The National Health Service of England is
responsible for overseeing the healthcare facilities and they have the ability to take the decisions
without any interference from the department of health of the country (Elke 2017). The

responsibility for commissioning the healthcare in the local area is provided to the Clinical
Commissioning Groups and these groups are responsible for administering the activities of the
consultants, nurses and other people who are associated in providing local health needs. They
commission the services and they have almost 60% of the budget. Finally, the National Health
Service Foundation Trust provides care to the CCG commission and takes care of the primary
services done by these organisations.
6. Explain how the public sector is held accountable for its actions and direction both
operationally and strategically
The public sector organisations are held responsible and accountable if they are not able to
increase transparency in the activities and promote the fair and most effective governance to deal
with the problems of the people. The public sector organisations like the National Health Service
can be held responsible for deferring openness about its activities and not providing information
of what they are doing, how they are doing it and the way they are performing to deal with the
problems. These companies can also be responsible if they do not engage the people with proper
information before taking decisions (Malesky et al. 2014). The public sector organisations can
also be held responsible for lack of integrity and in lacking values, purposes and duties that the
company was interested to do. It is the responsibility and accountability of organisations like
National Health Services to understand their function and maintain a balance to prevent the
abuse of power. These companies will also be responsible if they do not protect and promote
integrity seriously and adhere to the rules and regulations of the country.
National Health Service can be held accountable for lack of fairness and they will have to deal
with every activity in an unbiased and equitable manner. The organisations will also have to
work with a clear mind and will have to provide relevant information without undue delay
(Mourtada and Salem 2014). The organisations will have to maintain trust and has to show
everybody what is said and what is done. When the organisation works with transparency and
integrity, there is an increase in trust and the parties can learn about one another and can also
help to develop a trusting relationship between them. The parliament of the country can also hold
the organisation responsible if the performance of the companies are not up to the mark and they
have not followed the plan they have created which the government previously approved.

7. Explain the types of sources of funding available to the public sector
The public sector organisations can gather funding from different sources depending upon the
priority of the problems. One of the major sources of funding is the government of the country
and these organisations are financed by the local and state government to carry on its activities
and even the salaries of the people working for the organisations are paid by the government of
the country. The government can earn revenue from direct taxes paid by the companies and the
public, which is generated by the different public agencies for the government itself. Some of
the notable taxes include the income tax, the payroll tax, the profit tax and the corporate tax,
which is again used by the government to fund the public sector organisation and help the
organisations with financing activities (Eckersley et al. 2014). The indirect taxes is also another
source of revenue for the company and this is generally gathered from the third party with taxes
like sales tax, value added tax, import duties and other taxes. The government also earns revenue
from natural resources like oil and gas and gets donations from external sources.
The government, to help the public sector organisation, uses some part of the revenue.
Sometimes the public sector organisations get finances from foreign sources especially the large
companies or the government of different countries and this is one of the major sources of
funding. Fundraising has also become one of the major aspects of funding in which the public
provides the public sector organisation with funding to help carry on the activities. Sometimes,
different people and some large organisations of the country provide the public sector
organisations with money so that they can help the people eradicate the challenges. Sometimes,
the large private sector organisations provide the public sector organisations with a large amount
of money so that they can deal with the legal obligations of CSR in the country (Soukopová et al.
2014). Different other organisations are also associated with the public sectors, which help them
with funding during adverse situations of the country. One of the major benefits of the use of
social media platforms by these companies has been the advent of the donation from the public,
which has also helped the organisations to gather funding for its activities. Some of the private
organisations also help in the funding process by providing their products at a higher price of
which the extra amount of money is provided to the public sector organisations to carry on its
activities hassle-free.

8. Identify how funding is allocated to different public sector organisations
The importance of funding in case of the different public sector organisations is indeed huge and
like every other public sector organistions, NHS also needs ample amount of funds for its
operations. However, the funds are not allocated, just like that. In the words of De Belvis et al.
(2016) , it is actually the process as to how the fund is allocated , that makes the difference.
There are ofcourse a number of steps that are developed by the organisations like NHS for
allocaing the funds that are neeeded by the organisation. Usually these are done based on three
of the basic principles and these are need, proportionality, as well as eqaulity. One of the
common criteris that are followed by NHS while allocating funs is need.
In most of the cases, it has been identified that NHS adopts a number of programs solely for
bringing about some of the significant changes in the health and well being of the individuals
and effective funding is something that always turns out as their first priority. Hence in all of the
cases, funding is done in case of NHS based n their need. However, there are also other public
sector organisations, which opt for funding based on their proportionality and equality. In the
words of Simou and Koutsogeorgou (2015), apart from the factors that have been mentioned
above, budgetary controls are also another of the significant features that contributes towards
the allocation of funds in case of most of the publuc sector organisations in UK. Almost all of
the PSUs depending on the sector through which they are operating have some pre defined
budgets and the funds are always allocated keeping these budgets and factors in mind.
9. Assess the impact of funding from different sources and its allocation within the public
sector
Funding is ofcourse one of the most significant aspects that helps in ensuring the success of the
business of the organisation. In case of the different healthcare organiations, it has been
identfied that funding ensures that the activities of the organisation are being carried out in the
presecribed way. In the words of Leatt et al.(2018) an effective funding also helps the
organisations in ensuring that they are able to abide by the goals and the objectives for which it
has been designed. In case of NHS an effective funding and more significantly an effective
allocation helps the organisations in ensuring that they are able to reach out to the patients as and
when needed.

In most of the cases, proper funding brings about smoothness in the activities as well as the
operations of the organisation. Thus it can be stated that funding or rather an effective funding is
something that in most of the cases ensures the success of the organisation. The sources of funds
are mostly of three types financial organisations, internal funding, as well as that from the
government. Since NHS has been forned under the health department of UK, hence the
orgaisation relies mostly on the government funds provided to them.
10. Define the strategy, structure and role of public sector organisations
Strategy indeed is something that has great importance when it comes to deciding the future of
the orgnisation. Strategy helps in identifying the future directions of the organisation and also
helps in identifying the ways that can be adopted by the organisation for ensuring the suces of
the organisation. In the words of Scally and Donaldson (2018), the term strategy in business
identifies the method or plan that are adopted by the organisation to derive a proper view of the
desired future of the organisation. This is basically a combinatiom of the art as well science of
planning as well as the allocation of resources in case of the organisation. One of the significant
advantages of strategy is that more than present, the strategy emphasizes much on the future of
the organisation and also helps the organisation in deciding its goals and objectives accordingly.
For defining the structire of a public sector organisation, the case of NHS has been selected.
Since its origination, the organisaton has been following the “ tripartite structure” which is
basically a comobation of the following
 The hospital sereices were organised in the form of the regional hospital boards who were in
charge of the adminstration
 The primary care used to be provided by the dentists, GPs as well as opticians working as
the indepent contractors
 The community services that included the child welfare as well as the maternity and the
welfare services
However, with the gradual advent of time, ther has been some changes that have been
introduced in the structure of the NHS. The structure of the NHS have now been subdivided into
a number of systems for making the services more appropriate and effective. The current

structure of the organisation have been divided into a number of organisations that have been
working at the local as well as the national level (Pollock, 2018).
 In the current conditions, the Health department of UK have taken up the sole responsibility
of funding the different activities of NHS. The health department of the country are also
comig up with a number of policies that can speak in favour of the organisation.
 In the words of Ellershaw et al.(2018), the NHS England serves as a proper umbrella body
that is overseeing the overall healthcare deparments and the organisations in UK in the
present scenario. Moreover, currently NHS serves as an independent body that clearly points
out that the health department as well as the governmemt of the country cannot interfere in
any deisions of the organisation in any way possible.
 The CCGs ( Clinical Comissioning Groups) are the only bodies who have been ushered
with the respionsibility of comissiong the local healtcare organisations in that particular area.
These organisations are conducted by the GPs, consultants as well as the nurses who look
after the health needs in the local area as well as in providing the services to the
individuals in that area. Almost 60% of the overall budget of the NHS are being utilised by
these bodies.
 The founadtion trust of the NHS provides funds to these bodies and alos takes care of the
CG comission. The CG comission is mainly an amalgamation of the metal health, ambulene,
hospital as well as the primary and the different social care services.
The role of NHS is providing an effective healthcare services to those in need. In the words of
Strong and Robinson (2019), for years the organisatin has been running with the aim of
providing of providing almost free healthcare serrvices to those in need of it. The organisation
mainly provides all types of healthcare services and is aimed towards ensuring the wellbeing of
the indviduals who are suffering from diseases of some kind or the other. In fact the organisation
has proved to be effective enough in catering its services to those who are in need of it. In most
of the cases, it has been identifed that the patients are not being able to procire the healtcare
services owing to the immense costs that are associated with it. The public sector organisatins
are developed mostlu with the sole aim of providing the governemt services to the public and
this is ecavtly what the NHS does in UK (Pettigrew, 2018).