Rationalizing Northern Ireland Hospital Services Towards Larger Providers: Best-Practice Efficiency Studies and Current Policy |
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| Authors: | Gillian McCallion Donal G McKillop J Colin Glass & Christine Kerr |
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| Institution: | School of Public Policy, Economics and Law, University of Ulster,;Queen's School of Management, Queen's University, Belfast,;School of Commerce and International Business Studies, University of Ulster |
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| Abstract: | This article explores the relative efficiency of Northern Ireland hospitals, and in particular the efficiency of small hospitals relative to their large counterparts, employing a technique called data envelopment analysis. The empirical analysis revealed that larger hospitals displayed higher cost efficiency, higher allocative efficiency and higher technical efficiency than their smaller counterparts. These results support Northern Ireland's recent strategy of concentrating hospital services in six large hospitals, supported by medium sized hospitals, and closing or restructuring smaller hospitals. |
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