Location--allocation models, social science and health service planning: an example from North East England

This paper reports on a project carried out by the author to assess strategies for hospital location in the Durham Health District, England. This project was set up in the context of a dispute on hospital strategy between the relevant Regional and Area Health Authorities and so the development of the dispute is outlined. This is followed by a summary of the work carried out in which some reservations about the techniques employed are put forward. The subsequent debates between the Regional and Area Health Authorities are also discussed. The paper concludes by raising more general issues concerning the role of the state and the use of knowledge in planning.