A new tool to help systems to deliver the left shift
Our new tool to help systems explore opportunities to reduce hospital care.
Neighbourhoods and hospital activity: oh yes it can, oh no it can’t?
Simple, intuitive ideas don’t draw critical attention. They stroll about the policy world, untested and unscathed.
Complex problems and Multi-Disciplinary Teams
Many moons ago, I was fortunate enough to observe a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) in Dudley.
Discharge before noon
Can data on discharge times help us to improve hospital flow?
Neighbourhood health should not be judged (solely) by its ability to reduce hospital activity
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy arrived at NASA headquarters for a progress update on the planned trip to the moon.
Diagnosing the problems of non-diagnosis
Some descriptions of healthcare seem to be taken straight from the film Minority Report.
Big GP practices: light work or spoilt broth?
Larger GP practices may deliver more appointments, but are they the most efficient way to provide good care?
Discharged without a diagnosis
In 2023/24, one million people who were admitted to an NHS hospital in an emergency, were later discharged without a diagnosis. This long-read examines what this means for patients and providers.
What explains the recent growth in hospital activity?
In this long read, Fraser Battye describes our analysis of what has driven the growth in hospital activity.
The Strategy Unit contribution to neighbourhood health
Our role in supporting the national effort to turn the vision of neighbourhood health into action by providing evidence, analysis and insight.
The decline in care continuity is not inevitable
Relational continuity of care, the extent to which patients have an ongoing relationship with a specific clinician in their GP practice, is perhaps
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’.
Mending smarter, not harder: Changing fracture care for children
The report demonstrates there is significant variation between trusts in England in how paediatric fractures are managed. Widespread adoption of less interventional approaches to paediatric fracture management could result in significant savings in hospital activity, particularly reduced follow-up appointments for uncomplicated fractures.
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:
‘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’
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.
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.
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.
Our collective responsibility to share evaluation findings
The Strategy Unit is increasingly being commissioned to undertake evaluations on the pre
Why can’t I prove my programme is effective?
Evaluation blog series continues with Impact Evaluation Lead Mike Woodall looking at how programme designers can maximise the chances of success.