Irish voluntary hospitals: an examination of a theory of voluntary failure

Abstract

This paper examines the success and failure of voluntary hospital organisations in Ireland during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The study draws on (and extends) Salamon's theory of voluntary failure by examining the activities of religious organisations responsible for the ownership, management and delivery of acute hospital care. This theoretical perspective identifies a number of dimensions of organisational life for voluntary organisations, which precipitated the demise of organisations as voluntary sector entities, particularly issues of resource-dependency. This study shows that in the Irish hospital context many religiously owned voluntary hospitals have followed the predictable route to failure – culminating either in closure or transfer to public sector ownership, although some others have withstood the difficulties commonly encountered by voluntary organisations (VOs) as outlined by Salamon.