Providing Quality in the Public Sector: A Practical Approach to Improving Public Services

This book argues that if public services are to be ’reformed’ or ‘improved’, achieving the best possible quality of service is essential.

It starts from the premise that citizens and users are the key ‘stakeholders’. They need to be consulted and involved at every stage. Within inevitable resource constraints, it is their needs, balanced with those of society, which must be met. Service providers need to change their culture and behaviour to make this happen.

This book presents a straightforward and comprehensive model for understanding quality and putting it into practice. Existing quality philosophies and approaches are examined. Overviews of recent policy on quality in central and local government, in the health service, and in public service partnerships are included. Finally, five practitioners present practical ‘vignettes’ of citizen involvement, local partnerships, and quality improvement in health, housing and local government.

Providing Quality in the Public Sector is essential reading for students and practitioners in the fields of public policy, local government, health, housing and the voluntary sector.

Lucy Gaster retired from the Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, and she is now an Honarary Senior Research Fellow there. She has had years of experience as a local government officer and 'community activist'.

Amanda Squires is a Clinical Governance Review Manager at the Commission for Health Improvement. She trained as a Chartered Physiotherapist working in South London in the highly interdisciplinary/multi-agency area of rehabilitation of older people. She has held health authority and academic quality improvement posts.

John Crawley, Michael Greenwood, Tessa Harding, Carol Hayden and Pat Scrutton contribute a chapter each to the book.