Impact of the Griffiths Reforms of National Health Service Management: The Views of Psychiatrists

The Griffiths Report of 1983 recommended a number of reforms to the management of the National Health Service. These were strongly opposed in principle by the British Medical Association though some physicians saw them as potentially beneficial. This paper reports a survey of Psychiatrists in one English Region, whose responses suggest that although there remains little opposition in principle and respondents do see some beneficial effects, the new system tends to be seen in terms of its pragmatic disadvantages, with special reference to a perceived lack of managers' understanding of patients' needs.