Dr Ross Millar

Ross Millar

Health Services Management Centre
Reader in Health Organisation

Contact details

Telephone
+44(0)121 414 8980
Email
r.millar@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@DrRossMillar
View my research portal
Address
School of Social Policy, HSMC
Park House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2RT, United Kingdom

Ross is a Reader in Health Organisation with interests in the organisation and governance of healthcare. His research analyses the experiences and dynamics of quality and safety, partnerships and collaboration, and hybrid organisational forms.

Ross is a Programme Director for the Level 7 Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship. He also teaches across a range of HSMC programmes in relation to quality and safety, understanding organisational performance, and innovation and improvement.

Qualifications

  • PhD, University of Manchester (2009)
  • MRes, University of Manchester (2003)
  • B.Soc.Sci (Hons), University of Manchester (2002)

Professional qualifications:

  • Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, University of Birmingham, 2014
  • Graduate Teaching Certificate, University of Manchester, 2003

Biography

Ross is a Reader in Health Organisation. His research interacts with global health agendas promoting the improvement of quality and safety, the development of partnerships and collaboration, and the role of social enterprise across health and social care.

His methodological interests are primarily qualitative in capturing  different workforce perspectives using interviews and observations. Ross also has an interest in Realist synthesis and evaluation.

Ross has published widely across these research areas and takes a particular interest in connecting these experiences to different theories of public policy, organisation studies, and sociology.

Ross is a Programme Director for the Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship. He teaches across a range postgraduate modules in relation to quality and safety, understanding organisational performance, and innovation and improvement. Ross also contributes to other teaching activities and programmes in HSMC as well as in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences.

Between 2015 and 2019, Ross was the Director of Learning and Teaching at HSMC. 

Teaching

MSc Health and Care System Leadership (Degree Apprenticeship)

  • Understanding Organisational Performance
  • Leading Quality & Safety
  • Innovation & Improvement

MSc Health Policy and Management

  • Health Care Quality: Improvement and Innovation 

BMedSci Intercalated Degree in Health Management and Leadership

  • Improving Quality & Patient Safety

Postgraduate supervision

Ross is interested in PhD supervision across the following research areas:

Healthcare reform
Quality improvement
Patient Safety
Partnerships and Collaboration
Governance

He specialises in the use of qualitative research methods within such areas.

Research

Ross has worked on a range of research projects which have been funded by the British Academy, Department of Health Policy Research Programme, NIHR Health Service and Delivery programme, the Health Foundation, and the Academic Health Science Network. Recent projects have included:

  • How health and care boards interact with research evidence
  • A study of inter organisational collaboration across NHS providers
  • Examining the role of NHS Boards in overseeing quality and safety in hospitals
  • Comparative case studies of healthcare reform in the NHS
  • Analysing workforce perspectives of healthcare reform in China 
  • The start-up and growth of social enterprises in health and social care

Ross draws on a variety of theories and ideas from public policy, organisation studies and sociology to make sense of these developments. His methodological interests are primarily qualitative drawing on interviews and observations. He also has an interest in Realist synthesis and evaluation.

Ross is interested in any PhD proposals connected to these areas.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Aunger, JA, Millar, R, Rafferty, AM & Mannion, R 2022, 'Collaboration over competition? Regulatory reform and inter-organisational relations in the NHS amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 22, no. 1, 640. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08059-2

Aunger, JA, Millar, R, Rafferty, AM, Mannion, R, Greenhalgh, J, Faulks, D & McLeod, H 2022, 'How, when, and why do inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work? A realist evaluation', PLoS ONE, vol. 17, no. 4, e0266899. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266899

Powell, M, Blenkinsopp, J, Davies, H, Mannion, R, Millar, R, McHale, J & Snowden, N 2022, 'The case of the disappearing whistleblower: an analysis of National Health Service inquiries', Public Money & Management, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1892959

Dong, S, Millar, R, Shi, C, Dong, M, Xiao, Y, Shen, J & Li, G 2021, 'Rating hospital performance in China: review of publicly available measures and development of a ranking system', Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 23, no. 6, e17095. https://doi.org/10.2196/17095

Aunger, J, Millar, R & Greenhalgh, J 2021, 'When trust, confidence, and faith collide: refining a realist theory of how and why inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 21, 602. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06630-x

Aunger, J, Millar, R, Greenhalgh, J, Mannion, R, Rafferty, AM & McLeod, H 2021, 'Why do some inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work when others do not? A realist review', BMC Systematic Reviews, vol. 10, 82. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-58882/v1, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01630-8

Mannion, R, Davies, H, Powell, M, Blenkinsopp, J, Millar, R, McHale, J & Snowden, N 2019, 'Healthcare scandals and the failings of doctors: do official inquiries hold the profession to account?', Journal of Health, Organization and Management, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 221-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-04-2018-0126

Millar, R, Freeman, T, Mannion, R & Davies, H 2019, 'Meta-regulation meets deliberation: situating the governor within NHS Foundation Trust hospitals', Journal of Social Policy, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 595-613. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279418000739

Chapter

Millar, R, Mannion, R & Miller, R 2020, Buddies and mergers: decentring the performance of healthcare provider partnerships. in Decentring Health and Care Networks. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 67-94.

Millar, R, Hall, K & Miller, R 2020, Hybrid organisations in English health and social care. in D Billis & C Rochester (eds), Handbook on Hybrid Organisations. Edward Elgar, pp. 82-95.

Mannion, R, Davies, H, Millar, R & Freeman, T 2018, Board governance for better, safer healthcare. in Global Patient Safety. Routledge.

Mannion, R, Davies, H, John, B, McHale, J, Millar, R, Powell, M & Snowden, N 2018, Speaking up or blowing the whistle for better, safer care. in Global Patient Safety: Law, Policy and Practice.

Review article

Millar, R 2021, 'From Mao to McDonaldization? Assessing the rationalisation of health care in China', Sociology of Health and Illness, vol. 43, no. 7, pp. 1643-1659. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13351

Aunger, J, Millar, R, Greenhalgh, J, Mannion, R, Rafferty, AM & McLeod, H 2020, 'Building an initial realist theory of partnering across National Health Service providers', Journal of Integrated Care. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-05-2020-0026

Blenkinsopp, J, Snowden, N, Mannion, R, Powell, M, Davies, H, Millar, R & McHale, J 2019, 'Whistleblowing over patient safety and care quality: a review of the literature', Journal of Health, Organization and Management, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 737-756. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-12-2018-0363

View all publications in research portal

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