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Our work

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Impossible Stairway Maze
Blog post 09/10/2025

Making sense of failure demand in the NHS

I must be an unpleasant creature to share a room with. I snore. I smell. And I’m seemingly addicted to my way of doing things.

summary flow chart
Tool 02/10/2025

Shifting care ‘from hospital to community’: where to start?

What are the opportunities to shift activity from hospital to community? Our analysis provides an evidence-based place to start.

carer holding had with elderly person in wheelchair
Blog post 24/09/2025

A missing element in ‘shifting care’

Our Director, Peter Spilsbury, outlines the scale of the task when it comes to making ‘the shift from hospital to community’.

Report 07/05/2025

Are there any non-technical ‘rules of thumb’ for assessing the quality of analysis?

The report below is from a short project that explored a simple set of questions:

Long read 17/04/2025

Things can only get better (?)

Introducing a new online tool to help local health and care service planners think differently about healthy ageing.    

Blog post 27/03/2025

‘Internal Consultancy’: INSIGHTS from evidence and experience

In this blog, our Head of Policy, Fraser Battye, shares his reflections on a recent ‘SU INSIGHTS’ event on the ‘Internal Consultancy’

Blog post 11/03/2025

Are ‘Internal Consultancies’ a good option for the NHS?

Ahead of a SU INSIGHTS event on the topic, Fraser Battye, our Head of Policy suggests ways the NHS could make better use of consultancy support.

Long read 05/03/2025

From ‘right drift’ to ‘left shift’?

Our Head of Policy, Fraser Battye, looks at the challenges facing the intention to shift care ‘from hospital to community’. He suggests that we have missed a critical part of the explanation for why this ‘left shift’ hasn’t taken place following previous initiatives.

Blog post 14/02/2025

Charisma

In this long read, which first appeared in the HSJ, Fraser Battye - our Head of Policy – looks at the role of charisma and innovation in the way that NHS resources are allocated.

Report 15/10/2024

What are the downsides of digital?

What are the downsides of digital?

Blog post 10/10/2024

Ara Darzi, Wes Streeting and English health policy. Part 2: cutting the knot

Following on from part one, Fraser continues exploring the Gordian Knot of English health policy.

Blog post 04/10/2024

Ara Darzi, Wes Streeting and English health policy. Part 1: the Gordian Knot

Health policy is not at a crossroads, it is in a bind. Strands so entangled, so complex they resemble a Gordian knot. Can this knot be untied?

Old medicine bottles
Blog post 16/07/2024

The risks of risk stratification

Medical history is full of bizarre and gruesome procedures.

Confused man
Blog post 20/05/2024

Want to ease pressure in urgent care? Simply cut community services!?!

What should decision makers do with analysis that challenges deeply held assumptions? In this blog, Fraser Battye reflects on a surprising recent finding about community services.

Gartner Hype Cycle
Blog post 14/05/2024

Outcome-based commissioning: can we rescue promise from the rubble of hype?

The first effect of policy is on expectations. In every case I can think of, the effect is inflationary.

dandelion with seeds floating away
Report 31/01/2024

A Picture of End-of-Life Care in England

Working with Macmillan our analysis investigates who is more likely to experience poor outcomes associated with shortcomings in end-of-life care? Are there particular areas in England where those at end-of-life face significant challenges and how might the supply of services in an area be influencing these?

Blog post 26/10/2023

How data makes things worse

All light brings shade. My list of ‘changes that have been all upside and no downside’ is short and debatable.

11/10/2023

Leadership training and support for organisational development: an offer from the Strategy Unit

The Strategy Unit has long been known for the quality of its analytical work, and the clear, critical thi

Blog post 12/05/2023

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.

Decision blog_8
Blog post 01/04/2023

Decision Making Blog #8: Infinity-shaped debate

I’m argumentative.

Pagination

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