[...]... to the health professions The theme of contemporary challenges to the health professions will now be pursued further in relation to the United Kingdom Contemporary challenges to the health professions One challenge to the health professions is the possible demise of the nation state Although Michael Moran may be correct that the nation state still primarily defines the jurisdiction of the health professions, ... all the health professions (see, for example, Department of 3037-Introduction.qxd 9/21/02 11:22 AM Page 12 12 Regulating the Health Professions Health 1999) These developments highlight the fact that a closer and more interactive relationship is emerging between leading figures at the Department of Health, the health professions and institutions of higher education A further challenge to the health professions. .. breakdown of the alliance and an uncertain future Both of these contributors draw on the interesting application by Johnson (1995) of Foucault’s notion of governmentality to the health professions Johnson sees the establishment of the health professions as part of state formation and the process of governing There is no duality between the state and the professions as they are both part of the same project... governments in the budgetary allocations that they make to health, as well as to health care professionals who work with the National Health Service However, a counter argument is that these changes are simply exogenous factors that affect the internal politics of regulation between government and the health professions and between health professions themselves On this interpretation, the expertise of health. .. representatives from the health service and the public These developments highlight the timeliness of this volume The structure of the book A major aim of the book is to analyse the changing social and economic environment for the practice of professional work in the health sector in the United Kingdom and to gauge the impact of these changes for both the professions concerned and health care more generally Part... rather than market forces (see, for instance, Department of Health 1997) The effect of this was to place greater emphasis on quality control through the introduction of the concept of clinical governance, at the same time as elevating further the voice of the public However, the general powers of the health professions – including that of medicine – still remained relatively untouched by the end of the. .. the health professions, and other professional groups, did not arise only in the 1990s With the development of the strong counter-culture which swept Western societies from the mid-1960s onwards, the health professions in the United Kingdom had already come under growing pressure from the public and organizations representing the consumer, as well as from the government (Saks 2000) These professions, ... expressed in public policy following the election of the Conservative government in 1979 From the viewpoint of the New Right, health and other professions represented self-interested monopolies that hindered the operation of the market A number of measures were taken by the Conservatives to bring them to heel, which culminated in the radical health care reforms that ensued from the late 1980s onwards in Margaret... 11:22 AM Page 4 4 Regulating the Health Professions account of the legal framework within which the wide range of health professions in this country operate, as well as their unique characteristics Finally, Julie Stone gives a critical review of the employment of ethical codes by professional groups, which she sees as having only a limited impact on the day-to-day work of the health professions She argues... respect, all the health professions are licensed by statute, and the terms of the licence may be modified by Parliament The governing body is typically made up of members appointed either by the Privy Council or the Department of Health, as well as members elected by the rank and file of the association The governing body is accountable to Parliament and carries out a number of core functions It sets the qualifications . book focus on the relationships between the public, the state and the professions in the health field and how these have changed. While the theoretical interpretation. dilute the frequent claim that the state is a necessary chal- lenge to the health professions. The theme of contemporary challenges to the health professions