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News and Views

Keep up to date with our latest news and blogs. 

  • Better use of analysis
  • Learning and development
  • Policy
  • Elective care
  • Primary, community and social care services
  • Problem Structuring
  • Emergency care
  • Evaluation and impact assessment
  • Complex Modelling
  • Futures thinking
  • Mental health
  • Public health and prevention
  • Evidence Reviews
  • End of life
  • Finance and payments
  • Economic Analysis
  • Population Mapping
  • Strategy Development
  • (-) Comparative Analysis
  • (-) Inequalities
  • Blog post
  • News
  • Feedback from clients
  • Steven Wyatt
  • Peter Spilsbury
  • Fraser Battye
  • Shiona Aldridge
  • Abeda Mulla
  • Alison Turner
  • Mohammed Amin Mohammed
  • Andrew Jones
  • Dr Patrick Aldridge
  • James de Lacy
  • Justine Wiltshire
27/09/2022
News
Elective care | Inequalities | Policy | Strategy Development

Helping ICSs to reduce inequalities in access to planned care

Are there inequalities in access to planned care? If so, what are they? Which groups ‘gain’ and which groups suffer? And what could be done to address any inequalities? In pursuing their objective of reducing inequalities, what could Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) do? What strategies and approaches are likely to be successful?

16/08/2022
News
Better use of analysis | Comparative Analysis | Complex Modelling | Economic Analysis | Problem Structuring

INSIGHT 2022 21st November - 2nd December

The Midlands Decision Support Network in association with The Strategy Unit are hosting INSIGHT 2022 our annual festival of learning and sharing events for the NHS, local government and other partners across health and care.

26/07/2022
News
Complex Modelling | Elective care | Inequalities

Inequalities in access to healthcare - what’s our next move?

Our research, published in the Lancet Regional Health Europe, highlights substantial inequities in access to elective hip replacement surgery. We found no evidence that these inequities reduced between 2006 and 2016.

09/05/2022
News
Elective care | Inequalities

Strategies to reduce inequalities in access to planned hospital procedures

UPDATE 10th August: Now including briefing note for Integrated Care Boards on legal duties in respect of reducing inequalities. This report guides ICBs through the process.

01/11/2021
News
Better use of analysis | Inequalities | Learning and development | Policy

Insight 2021

The Midlands Decision Support Network in association with The Strategy Unit hosted INSIGHT 2021 our annual festival of learning and sharing events for the NHS, local government and other partners across health and care (4th – 15th October).

15/10/2021
News
Better use of analysis | Comparative Analysis | Elective care | Finance and payments | Problem Structuring

Strategy Unit devises a new method for classifying outpatient appointments

The number of outpatient attendances in England is now approaching 100 million each year.

15/09/2021
Blog post
Comparative Analysis | Emergency care | Problem Structuring

Infant feeding problems, lockdown and attendance at Emergency Departments: what’s going on?

From our previous work, with Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation, we know that lockdown had a significant effect on attendance at Emergency Departments (ED). We also know that this effect was very unevenly distributed: some demographic groups stayed away far more than others.

10 min review 06/08/2021
Blog post
Comparative Analysis | Elective care | Emergency care

Decisions to admit patients are not solely determined by clinical risk

Whether or not to admit a patient is one of the most routine yet important decisions a doctor in an Emergency Department

01/07/2021
Blog post
Comparative Analysis | Emergency care | Problem Structuring

Emergency Department attendances reach new high – August may bring new challenges 

Earlier this year, the Str

16/03/2021
Blog post
Better use of analysis | Comparative Analysis | End of life | Learning and development

How can analysis help clinicians improve services? Interview with Dr Anna Lock

Dr Anna Lock, Justine Wiltshire and Lucy Hawkins reflect on the Strategy Unit's innovative end of life care analysis. How can this work help clinicians to improve services?

28/01/2021
Blog post
Complex Modelling | Emergency care | Inequalities

Strategy Unit analysis published showing changes in use of emergency departments under lockdown

We know that patterns of access to healthcare have changed during the pandemic.

22/01/2021
Blog post

Is ‘Integrating Care’ bold enough?

In this blog, Fraser Battye leaves the Strategy Unit’s usual careful and empirical view of the world. He reflects on NHS England and Improvement’s ‘Integrating Care’ paper from the perspective of wider ideological and societal trends. In doing so, he suggests that there is scope for bolder reform – and that localism is the way to go.

15/01/2021
Blog post

What might ‘Integrating Care’ mean for analysts?

In this blog, Fraser Battye looks at NHS England/Improvement’s ‘Integrating Care’ paper. While not looking forward to another NHS re-organisation, he sees a lot that analysts will like. Fraser also notes the potential advantage that the Decision Support Unit model gives systems in the Midlands. What can analysts do to seize these opportunities?

30/10/2020
Blog post
Comparative Analysis | End of life

Why are deaths set to rise?

In our recent analysis of healthcare use in the last 2 years of life, we point out an important change that’s taking place to life and death in the UK. 

09/12/2019
News
Evaluation and impact assessment | Inequalities | Policy

The Strategy Unit and Ipsos MORI partnership

We are delighted to announce our partnership with Ipsos MORI, a leader in social research and evaluation.

Thumbnail 13/05/2019
Blog post
Comparative Analysis | Mental health

When mental illness and physical illness overlap

A series of guest blogs from Professor Sir Muir Gray, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health FT Medical Director - Dr Hilary Grant, Health Foundation Chief Executive - Jennifer Dixon, Mind's Director of External Relations - Sophie Corlett, GP & Clinical Director - Dr Paul Turner, and Diabetes UK - Colette Marshall.

07/05/2019
Blog post
Comparative Analysis | Elective care

Survey: Seasonal Profiling in NHS Elective Care

NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE & I) are exploring the opportunity of applying seasonal profiling in elective care.

Thumbnail 14/03/2019
Feedback from clients

The Neighbourhood Network Feedback

We have received some fantastic feedback from those who attended our "Science of Improvement" workshop led by our very own Professor Mohammed A Mohammed on Wednesday 27th February 2019. 

13/07/2018
Blog post

Integrating health and care services - what works? It’s complicated…

Coinciding nicely with the NHS 70th Birthday celebrations and the parallel discussions of ‘where next and how to do it better’ for the NHS, last we

Thumbnail 01/06/2018
Blog post

Do you like to integrate horizontally or vertically? NHS positions examined

Our latest research paper explores the impact of the different options for integration implemented as a result of the Transforming Community Services policy in 2010. This accompanying commentary reflects on potential implications for the current policy drive towards Integrated Care Systems.

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