Va Va Voom, Size Doesn’t Matter: Form and Function in the NHS

This chapter presents a synthesis of a research project funded by the British National Health Service (NHS) Service Delivery and Organization (SDO) R and D Programme of Research on Organizational Form and Function that addresses the relationship between organizational form and performance (Sheaff et al. 2004) using a meta-analysis of the literature. Readers are referred to the full report for a comprehensive coverage of all sections. This chapter describes briefly the structure of the overall project paying particular attention to one analytical element — namely, what the evidence says about the nature of organizational structure and healthcare. The discursive focus concerns the issue of organizational size as a specific element of organizational structure.