Reestablishing local hospital boards is wrongly described as a quick fix for the problems in the Australian public hospital system. The trilogy of essays in this collection describes the negative impact the bureaucratisation of the system has had on staff and patients in the last 30 years. The authors argue that unless accountable pro bono...

This paper argues that there is no bigger issue facing the Australian health system than what to do about public hospitals. Public hospitals provide 60% of the hospital care needed in Australia each year and treat the majority of the oldest, sickest and most complex patients. They also consumed $28 billion in 2007–08. This represents...