Blog post Better use of analysis | Learning and development
Diagnosing harms?
All medicines are poisons. Everything that cures could kill if administered in the wrong doses, to the wrong people, at the wrong times, in the wrong ways.
Blog post Emergency care | Policy | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention
Infant-feeding problems during the pandemic
Emergency department attendances fell dramatically and systematically during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. This effect was almost universal, affecting people from all parts of society and for all health conditions. But in our recent paper we highlight one notable exception to this rule -presentations at Emergency Departments for infant-feeding problems increased during the pandemic.
Blog post Better use of analysis | Problem Structuring
What was the question again?
We hear a lot about what’s stopping the NHS making the most of its army of talented analysts. Some say we just need more data, or data of better quality. Others point to deficiencies in our infrastructure, IT kit or the software we use. But I’m not so sure. For me the biggest shortfall is in good questions that we can feasibly address.
Blog post Primary, community and social care services
Securing the future of domiciliary care
The Strategy Unit is embarking on an exciting project with WM ADASS, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care Services in the West Midlands to explore the challenges facing domiciliary care and the opportunities that exist to transform and improve the service.
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.
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The impact of social care on demand for urgent hospital care: have we reached a consensus?
The care home COVID crisis and the effects of longstanding staffing and funding shortages has meant that social care has featured heavily in the media over the last 12 months.
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
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.
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.
Blog post Futures thinking | Policy
The bigger picture
Today, the Health Foundation launched the REAL Centre (Research and Economic Analysis for the Long term), an incredibly important initiative to imp
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Have cuts to public spending on social care for older people led to more emergency hospital admissions?
Cuts to council social care budgets are often cited as a cause of pressure on NHS urgent and emergency care services. Much of the evidence supporting this link, however, is anecdotal. We set out to try and quantify the effect of cuts to social care on older people’s use of emergency healthcare services, and our research has just been published in BMJ Open.
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New Perspectives on the Perennial Problem of Urgent Care
Waiting times in A&E are never far from the headlines. It threatens to become the defining healthcare performance issue of our time
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A&E waiting times are longer – but that’s not all bad news
The country’s major accident and emergency (A&E) departments are struggling more than ever before to see patients within the government target of four hours – but that is not all bad news.
Blog post Comparative Analysis | Mental health
Making the Case for integrating mental and physical health care
The Strategy Unit was commissioned by NHS England to provide tailored reports to each of the Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in England.