WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LIMITS - HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNITY-HEALTH COUNCILS IN THE REFORMED BRITISH NATIONAL-HEALTH-SERVICE

Community health councils (CHCs) were intended to provide an independe nt voice for consumers of the British National Health Service (NHS). T heir role has been challenged by recent reforms of the NHS which have given consumer involvement a much higher profile and have claimed to m ake the health care consumer a central actor in the plans and actions of both purchasers and providers of health care. This article focuses on the perspectives of health care providers regarding the emerging ro le of CHCs in the post-reform era. It draws on detailed case-study res earch to provide an assessment of the impact of the reforms on CHC-pro vider relations and an examination of the pattern and nature of curren t, post-reform provider activity with reference to CHCs. Distinctions are made between different types of provider and conclusions drawn whi ch suggest while general patterns of activity changed little, there ha ve been specific developments in the area of CHC involvement in qualit y assurance activity, and emerging difficulties concerning the CHC rol e in acute trusts.