Hospital "de-ministration" experiences in six teaching hospitals

An experimental management programme at Sydney Hospital, first reported in this Journal in 1971, has now been repeated in five other teaching hospitals. These programmes confirm that when professional staff members are encouraged to participate in managing their hospital, they do so very effectively. Results include: better patient care, more patients treated, lower cost per patient, improved morale and flexibility in outlook. The benefits potentially available from the widespread introduction of this approach to managing hospitals are tremendous but to realize them requires radical changes in the way public hospitals are controlled by health authorities.