We saw them before they were famous: reflections on AphA’s away day

In June 1976, the Sex Pistols played Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall.

Bringing patient flow modelling into general practice

With general practice appointments hitting the highest numbers on record (34.8 million in England alone in November 2021), careful organisation and planning for patient appointments is increasingly important.

The Intellectual Forum: a source of fresh perspectives on decision making  

The literature on decision making is like a disaster movie h

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.

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.

Localism and the NHS: a case in four stories

In this blog, Fraser Battye makes the case for localism in the NHS. He tells four short stories. He suggests that these stories highlight an opportunity as the NHS enters a period of reform.  

NHS-R: 2020 in Review

In 2020, collaboration and community meant more than ever.

Strategy Unit releases opensource model for planning vaccine centre capacity

The UK is running its largest ever vaccination programme. The stakes are enormous.

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.

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?

NHS-R Community - Annual Conference

NHS-R Community's Annual Conference was a big success!

The Strategy Unit have been awarded funding from the Health Foundation to improve analytical capability in health and care services

The Strategy Unit have been selected to be part of the latest round of the Health Foundation's Advancing Applied Analytics programme.

System Leaders Symposium on Population Health

Population Health Management support

Simple tools for improving healthcare - Tool 3: The naïve question

This is the third in our short series of blogs on ‘simple tools for improving healthcare’.

Simple tools for improving healthcare - Tool 2: A clear theory of change

At heart, the Strategy Unit has a very simple belief.

Brief reflections on Dudley's journey as a Vanguard

With the end of the New Care Models programme there is an opportunity to reflect on what has been learnt at local level.

Scenario planning – an antidote to the false certainties of forecasts and grand plans

The resurgence of uncertainty