Morrell, K. (2006) ‘Governance, Ethics and the NHS’, Public Money and Management, 26, 1, 55-62.
Governance, Ethics and the NHS
Despite a lack of clarity as to the meaning of the term ‘governance’, it continues to attract research. Though governance is used in different ways, there is a consensus that ‘good’ governance entails addressing ethical issues such as: accountability, responsibility, probity and representativeness. However, there have been no attempts to examine systematically the links between archetypal forms of governance (hierarchy, market, network, community and relational) and established theories of ethics. This paper explores the compatibility of governance forms with four ethical systems: Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Virtue ethics and an ethics of Care. The implications of this analysis are illustrated with reference to the National Health Service (NHS) of England.