Leadership and the District Health Authority

Abstract

The influence the DHA exerted upon district general management, shown by the Templeton tracer study of DGMs, was true for the DHA then despite the ambiguities of its role. The new form of DHA proposed in the 1989 White Paper, ‘Working for Patients’,² should be in a position to exercise more influence upon managerial decisions. Hence effective leadership in the Authority will be even more important than before. This does not just mean leadership by the chairman, important though that will be. Others, especially the DGM, can and should also contribute to the leadership that will be needed to achieve the ideals. The non-executive members may also, at times, need to provide leadership.

‘… our findings suggest that the DHA, informally or even just by its very existence, exerts considerable influence.’ (Templeton Series on District General Managers, Issue Study No. 3)¹