Praise for the first edition:

"Valerie Iles has such a sensitive no-nonsense style that she easily succeeds in seducing the reader to accept her arguments about what is going so badly wrong with management in health care ... The case studies can only be described as 'gems'... But perhaps the greatest message this book can give to the NHS, and health care managers in particular, is that change is unstoppable. All organisms must adapt with their environment or die." - Health Service Journal

"Yes! This is a book that draws heavily on real-life observations with an appropriate balance of theory and pragmatism. It tackles the challenges we all face in our everyday work - managing people, change, money, ourselves and organisations." - Nursing Times

"... anyone who has a part to play in managing health services would benefit from reading it." - British Medical Journal

Much has been made of the distinction between management and leadership, but in health care this separation is unhelpful. Like the first edition, this completely revised edition of Really Managing Health Care describes a model, real management that brings the two elements together and demonstrates its application in health care settings. Drawing on theory across a wide range of management disciplines and illustrating these with practical examples, Valerie Iles succinctly answers three crucial questions:

• How can I manage clinical professionals?
• How can I increase the influence of my service?
• What changes do I need to introduce to improve the quality of care my service is offering?

Written specifically for people suspicious of management jargon, Really Managing Health Care is designed for service leaders from across health and social care, and introduces ways of approaching the management task which recognize the particular dynamics of this field.