Four months since the first caps on agency spending were introduced by NHS Improvement—and after new framework agreements came into force last week—what do we know about the impact of these measures […]
The King’s fund
Chris Ham: The proposed NHS and social care commission should report quickly and engage with staff and the public
After the government’s spending review, the NHS has just over two years at best to stabilise rapidly deteriorating finances and declining standards of patient care. At that point the harsh reality […]
Chris Ham: Learning from others—devolved governance in the Australian state of Victoria
I spent a week working in Australia earlier this month and it made me reflect on similarities and differences with the NHS in England. The funding context feels quite different, […]
Edward Wernick and Steve Manley: Meaningful patient collaboration—a mountain to climb?
In early September we arrived at the King’s Fund HQ in Cavendish Square to be welcomed to their new Collaborative Pairs Programme, designed to bring together 12 pairs from across […]
Hugh Alderwick: Is the NHS delivering enough things right?
Recently, I’ve written blogs about overuse and underuse in the NHS—the problems of doing too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right ones. The final chapter […]
Ruth Robertson: Frontline teams are the key to delivering better value care for patients
We need to talk about patients not pounds if we are to engage clinicians in meeting the NHS productivity challenge. That means focusing on providing the best possible health outcomes […]
Allison Trimble: A new relationship with patients and the community?
There are welcome signs that policy makers and NHS leaders are becoming more open to exploring how health professionals could work more collaboratively with patients as leaders—and support patients to […]
Matthew Honeyman: Reconfiguring NHS services: necessary but fraught with difficulties
With the NHS facing growing pressures on all fronts, following the general election the next government is likely to begin a new round of NHS service reconfiguration planning. In addition, […]
Chris Naylor: Integrated care—the end of the hospital as we know it?
Hospitals are often seen as an impediment to integrated care. The concern frequently voiced is that their dominant role in the health system makes it harder for commissioners to shift […]
John Appleby: The cost of reform
Asked in 1972 whether the French Revolution had been good or bad, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai said that it was “too early to say.” As it turns out […]