Bureaucracy to adhocracy A possible structure for the Department of Health and Family Services

Abstract

At a meeting on Friday, 7 June 1996, the Minister for Health and Family Services,The Hon. Michael Wooldridge MP, asked the authors to prepare a paper on a possiblestructure for the Department of Health and Family Services. This followed ourexplanation to him of navigating women?s and children?s health service issues throughthe existing departmental structure. We had explained that such navigation includednearly all of the divisions within the department; and then within those divisionsthere were different branches responsible for different activities. It has been ourexperience that rarely do the different divisions, branches or sections exchange ideas,views or policies that might affect women and children. The result is a fragmentedapproach to this important group of the population. We know that this same approachexists for other key population groups.This paper has been prepared at the request of the Minister, and follows an approachbased on population and outcome.