The COVID-19 pandemic has led to radical transformations in the organisation

and delivery of health and care services across the world. In many countries,

policy makers have rushed to re-organise care services to meet the surge demand

of COVID-19, from re-purposing existing services to creating new ‘field’ hospitals.

Such strategies signal important and sweeping changes in the organisation of

both ‘COVID’ and ‘non-COVID’ care, whilst asking more fundamental questions

about the long-term organisation of care ‘after COVID’. In some contexts, the

pandemic has exposed the fragilities and vulnerabilities of care systems, whilst

in others, it has shown how services are organised to be more resilient and

adaptive to unanticipated pressures.

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a rare opportunity to examine empirically and

to develop new theoretical frameworks on how and why health systems adaptto

such unusual and intense pressures. International contributors consider how

responses to COVID-19 are transforming the organisation and governance of

health and care services and explore questions around strategic leadership at

local, regional, national and transnational level. The book offers unique insight

and analysis on the dynamics of policy-making, the organisation and governance

of care organisations, the role of technologies in governing, the changing role of

professionals and the possibilities for more resilient care systems.