Appointing an ICS ‘Chief Analyst’
The Strategy Unit has, over the last ten years, developed a way of working that has allowed us to become recognised as a leading analytical organisation in the NHS.
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.
Strategies to reduce inequalities in access to planned hospital procedures
In our 2021 report, we described how people living in more deprived areas have poorer access to planned hospital care than their more affluent counterparts.
‘Developing your ICS Intelligence Functions’: A Free Webinar Series
What is an ‘Intelligence Function’? What value can they add to decision making? How can they be configured and who needs to be involved? What lessons can be drawn from current practice?
Autism evidence scan identifies knowledge gaps
Diagnosing autism takes account of a person’s differences in social interaction and communication, sensory sensitivity, interests and behaviours. Yet autism varies hugely from person to person, both in how it looks and how it is experienced.
We don’t just need to hear ‘you are more affected’ - what’s the action?
The experience of minority ethnic people symptomatic for COVID-19 in the first UK wave of the pandemic.
What do we know about the benefits of digital social care records?
The pace of change in the development and use of digital technology is astonishing. The use of such technology has been an essential element in the health and care services response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, the previously unthinkable became commonplace.
Treating people on waiting lists: who decides what is fair?
Waiting lists for elective care are in the news. The national plan has been issued, with the expectation that lists will continue to rise for some years - and that long waiting will not disappear anytime soon. Addressing this ‘backlog’ will remain a fundamental challenge for some time to come.
Decision makers can make much better use of analysis
Part of the Strategy Unit mission is to improve the use of analysis in decision making. Current use is, to employ a euphemism, variable.
PHM ExploreR
NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG presenting PHM ExploreR which is an open source tool for Population Health M
Evaluation of Building the Right Support: Final Reports
Building the Right Support was a national plan to provide better support to people with a learning disability or autism.
The Intellectual Forum: a source of fresh perspectives on decision making
The literature on decision making is like a disaster movie highlights reel. Barely has one calamity registered before another serious misstep takes its place. Case study after case study flashes past, each with its own lessons and warnings.
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).
Advancing the analytical capability of the NHS and its ICS partners
The Strategy Unit were asked by the Strategy and Development Team in the Directorate of the Chief Data and Analytics Officer, NHSE/I, to make recommendations for advancing analytical capability across the health and care workforce.
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.
Estimating the impact of the proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act on the workload of psychiatrists
In January 2021, the Government published a White Paper, setting out its plans to reform the Mental Health Act.
INSIGHT 2021: Insight to action - lessons from think tanks
The Midlands Decision Support Network exists to support health and care leaders generate insights from high quality analysis and evalu
Strategy Unit devises a new method for classifying outpatient appointments
The number of outpatient attendances in England is now approaching 100 million each year.
INSIGHT 2021: Misinformation and how do we tackle it?
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, famously said in the early days of the COVID pandemic: “We’re not just fightin