Information in resource management: ward managers’ perceptions

Abstract

With the third wave of UK National Health Service reforms now several years old and resource management firmly established, this study investigated ward managers’ perceptions of their clinical information needs and their information processes in relation to the management of resources. A convenience sample of 13 ward managers were interviewed, using semi-structured schedules, for between 20 and 45 minutes. The results were subjected to thematic and relationship analysis. Ward managers’ information needs appeared to be mainly influenced by the content of the budget statement. They also indicated that they had initial difficulty in reading the statement. They used several informal methods to obtain information but research literature and information technology were not perceived as valuable sources of information. The role of information in relation to resource management appears not to be wholly understood by ward managers.