June 2023 Primary, community and social care services

Exploring the Edge of Tomorrow, Today

Exploring the critical building blocks for a resilient social care system in 2035 with the West Midlands Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (WM-ADASS).
May 2023 Better use of analysis | Elective care | Inequalities

Inclusive Elective Care Recovery

These case studies present the key features and learning from local initiatives which championed inclusive approaches to elective care recovery.
May 2023 Elective care | Emergency care | Policy

How is growth in diagnostic testing affecting the hospital system?

Diagnostic services, such as medical imaging, endoscopy, and pathology, have grown substantially in recent years and at a faster rate than most other healthcare services. Increased diagnostic testing brings benefits to patients, but rapid growth of this service area within a complex, adaptive…
March 2023 Secondary care | Service improvement

The NHS as an anchor institution: addressing fuel poverty

The number of households in fuel poverty in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (SSoT) is higher than the national average. As anchor institutions, NHS organisations can use their assets to influence the health and wellbeing of their local communities. The Strategy Unit was asked by the Midlands NHS…
March 2023 Better use of analysis | Policy | Integrated Care

ICS intelligence functions – a toolkit to support the implementation of NHSE guidance

In 2020, NHSE announced the expectation that ICSs should develop “shared cross-system intelligence and analytical functions that use information to improve decision-making at every level.” This expectation has been followed by more detailed

January 2023 Better use of analysis | Inequalities

Population health implications of the Covid-19 pandemic

​​Our new report for The Midlands Decision Support Network (MDSN) presents findings of the effects of the care disruption, from the Covid-19 pandemic, on population health. The in-depth analysis identifies which patients and health conditions should be the focus of future efforts in reducing…
Heart December 2022 Inequalities | Public health and prevention | Secondary care

Socio-economic inequalities in coronary heart disease

There are substantial differences in mortality rates from cardiovascular disease between socio-economic groups.  Our new tool provides an overview, for ICBs, of the points on the care pathway where inequalities emerge and are amplified
November 2022 Better use of analysis | Inequalities | Policy

Menopause and the NHS workforce

The impact of the menopause on the NHS workforce. The Strategy Unit and Health Economics Unit report on their mixed methods findings.

November 2022 Evaluation and impact assessment | Futures thinking | Learning and development | Strategy development

Evaluating and embedding social values in procurement at East London NHS Foundation Trust

This report presents emerging findings from the early development stages of a social value approach to procurement by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). These findings provide insights for other organisations beginning to explore how to use procurement to contribute to improving health and…
November 2022 Elective care | Inequalities | Policy

What are the ethical challenges in addressing inequities?

Produced by Angie Hobbs - the world’s first Professor in the Public Understanding of Philosophy – this paper examines the ethical questions raised by our report outlining strategies for reducing inequity.

March 2022 Evidence reviews

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.

March 2022 Strategy Unit information

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.
November 2021 Inequalities | Policy | Primary, community and social care services

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.
October 2021 Better use of analysis | Policy

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.

10 min review test2 October 2021 Mental health | Policy

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. The Government invited views on the paper and in July 2021, it published a summary of the consultation responses and its plans to address the issues raised. The proposed reforms aim to…
October 2021 Better use of analysis | Elective care | Policy

‘To risk stratify or not risk stratify, that is the question’ (At least, it should be)

Risk stratification tools are ubiquitous in healthcare. The concept is simple and seductive. By predicting the risk of future adverse events, we should be able to target efforts to avoid/mitigate them. Doing so would save both money and misery.   But, as Niels Bohr said wryly, “Prediction isn’t…
July 2021 Mental health | Primary, community and social care services

Inequities in children and young people’s mental health services

Good mental health during early years and childhood has a great bearing on health throughout life. By contrast, poor mental health can cast a long shadow. Consequences may include depression, self-harm, and poor physical health. Services recognise this. They aim to provide access to support in a…
July 2021 Inequalities | Policy | Public health and prevention

Measuring the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on population health

Measuring the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on population health One feature of the pandemic has been the fast-flowing stream of facts and numbers about the impact of Covid-19. At the same time, we’ve had to absorb the meaning of terms that were previously the preserve of epidemiologists and…
June 2021 Better use of analysis | Elective care | Emergency care | Inequalities | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention

Less noise and more light: using criteria-driven analysis to tackle inequalities

Reducing health inequality is a long-standing aim of health policy. Yet the gap between policy aim and population outcome has grown in recent years: on most measures health inequalities have got worse.
June 2021 Policy | Primary, community and social care services | Public health and prevention

Increasing vaccine uptake

The purpose of this work was to identify the key features of local initiatives which encourage vaccine uptake in different population groups, and share these for others to learn from.