Public Sector Risk Management Case Study

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Introduction
This report begins by examining how a number of factors have evolved societal understanding of risk, setting the context within an extremely complex area of study. Following this, the report critically evaluates the challenges and barriers to effective public sector risk management (PSRM), through analysis of two well-known healthcare disasters. In reality, risk is highly contextual and by analysing these two disasters, both widely reported and investigated for years, this report aims to provide rich and detailed insights, along with solutions to prevent reoccurrence of such risk management failures.
A number of highly publicised disasters have led to a modern day preoccupation with the notion of risk. Despite being sooner associated with the private and third sectors, unmanageable residual risks are dealt with by the public sector – the risk manager of the last resort. As in the private sector, PSRM is a daily task requiring organisational knowledge, awareness of the risk management processes and most importantly, a cultural framework where people at all levels understand, anticipate and manage risks effectively. Public sector organizations and systems are starting to recognise and use ideas, models, and techniques from safety science, which were developed and have long been applied in other industrial and commercial settings where safety and reliability are critical concerns (Van der Schaaf, 2002; Institute of Medicine, 2001).
Context
Understanding of public sector risk has evolved over time. It was initially considered to be quantifiable, through a scientific cost-benefit analysis, until the extensive trust placed in experts was broken by a number of erroneous core assumptions in high profile reports (Yellin, 19...

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...t be given to the organisation and co-ordination of investigations as the majority are chaotic at present. The NHS should prioritise and identify lessons to be learnt (through explicit and agreed recommendations for changes in practice), not duplicating effort and reducing confusion.
Conclusion
Although solutions are easy to recommend, they are far harder to implement, but all essential to overcome the above challenges to effective risk management. During austerity, where resources are often scarce, problems should be prioritised based on both a cost/benefit analysis and the severity of their consequences. Public sector managers must increase the depth of their risk management skills.
Failures are often longstanding problems, well-known but not handled, the cause of immense harm in repeated instances where there are a lack of management systems. (Walshe, 2004 PDF)

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