Postgraduate Taught

The role of doctors and senior clinical service managers in management has become even more important within the ‘New NHS’. For clinicians becoming involved in management, an understanding of the nature of health policy and health services management will be essential if their contributions to strategic initiatives, allocation and management of resources, re-integration of care and co-ordination of service provision are to be realised. Our Diploma in Management programme meets this need.

The Diploma in Health Services Management programme provides an introduction to health policy and health service professionals – clinicians and managers – who anticipate taking on substantial management responsibilities or who hold management positions. The course is both analytical (tracing links or causalities) and ‘interventionist’, (tracing opportunities for intervention to change or capitalise on particular links or causalities).

No one theoretical perspective dominates the programme; different courses reflect different perspectives brought to bear by a multidisciplinary faculty. Principles of management are illustrated through case analysis.

The programme does not take either the current NHS agenda or ‘various alternatives’ as the framework. Instead, exposure of a range of different schools of thought and a pluralism of values, illustrated practically, characterises the approach taken in the course.

Candidates should expect to develop:

• An appreciation of the nature and territory of health, policy and management
• An appreciation of the range of relevant theory and method
• Critical thinking about problems in health policy and management

Economics, political science, sociology, management science, organisational behaviour and various more directly clinical disciplines are examples of the range of disciplines from the theoretical to the more practical.  Epidemiology, sociology and economic evaluation are becoming invaluable tools for ‘commissioners’, in defining and quantifying the need of populations for health care. Management science, organisational behavioural analysis, the management of human resources and micro-economics are vital for ‘providers’ charged with determining their business and translating it into contracts. All are represented on the programme.

Participants are required to demonstrate a record of past educational achievement, and must have management experience. A degree or equivalent professional qualification is also desirable. 

The Postgraduate Diploma comprises EITHER modules to a total credit of 120 (a variety of 30 and 15 credit modules), OR modules to a total credit of 60 plus a 60 credit dissertation.

Modules available are:

• Health Policy and Strategy (30 credits)
• Management of Human Resources (15 credits)
• Operations Management Science (30 credits)
• Health Economics and Management (15 credits)
• Accounting and Financial Management (15 credits)
• Research for Practitioners (15 credits)
  
  

Health Policy and Strategy examines the making of health policy and the patterns of implementation, illustrating principles of policy formulation and implementation through specific service areas

Topics to be covered include:

• Contemporary policy development processes
• Health needs assessment
• Primary care
• Health inequalities
• Evidence-based care/Evidencebased policy and management
• Strategic management

Management of Human Resources complements earlier perspectives of management roles in health services by looking at the people and process side of organisations. It aims to develop understanding – theoretical and practical – of leading and managing people and organisations. Certain topics will be generic, whilst others will be more specifically targeted at health service issues. All will be relevant to health.

Operations Management is concerned with the effective and efficient management of all resources employed in the supply of goods and services to a customer whilst at the same time maintaining acceptable standards of quality. In the NHS the customer will often be a patient, but could also be clinical staff, the residents of a health authority, or any number of individuals involved in service provision or in the receipt of a service.

In terms of resource management, operations management is not just about costs but rather looking at ways of managing – in the widest sense – the huge range of resources in the NHS including people, equipment and facilities. The focus on quality means that operations management is concerned with the performance of services and hence issues such as waiting times for care, clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. Operations management is therefore concerned with achieving a balance between issues of quantity, timeliness, cost and quality.

All modules are taught as four-day courses.

The award of the Postgraduate Diploma is dependent on meeting the following requirements:

• Attendance and completion of all six modules leading to 120 credits, and satisfactory completion of the related assessment
  
  OR
  
  
• Attendance and completion of modules leading to 60 credits, and writing and submission of a dissertation of approximately 15,000 word leading to a further 60 credits.
  
  

Assessment is based on written assignments (usually 3,0004,000 words), related to each module.

Assignments involve the application of management theory and method to ‘real-life’ (including workplace) situations and issues and a review of the value of so doing. The aim is to assess how well candidates are able to integrate theory/method and practice.