title: Mergers. Apart at the seams.
abstract: More than a fifth of trusts in England are involved in mergers. The Department of Health has not revealed the rationale for its drive on mergers. Small, potential cost savings are often outweighed by the expense of the merger process and loss of morale and productivity. Many NHS consultants are not involving themselves in redesigning services following mergers because they cannot see a way forward in the face of so many contradictory central demands. Support for this massive change programme is not adequate.
authors.affiliation: King's Fund.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McClenahan
mesh_terms: D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006273:Health Facility Merger / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends*; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D011057:Politics; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D012040:Regional Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom