We place a high value on sharing our work – here, you’ll find some examples of reports and other project outputs which demonstrate the work we do.  If you’re interested in topics which aren’t listed here, please get in touch.

 July 2020 Capacity and Demand

Modelling the impact of covid on waiting lists for planned care

Working with the national collaboration to coordinate covid-related analysis, and the NHSE/I Midlands region, the Strategy Unit has produced a ‘systems dynamics’ model of waiting lists for planned care. The model is freely available for non-commercial use across the NHS. Here, Steven Wyatt and Mike…

 November 2019 Mental health services | Secondary care | Capacity and Demand

Exploring Mental Health Inpatient Capacity

This report explores the pressures on inpatient mental health services across Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in England, drawing on a wide range of datasets, published research and interviews with staff working on mental health services. The report was commissioned by and includes…

 February 2019 Secondary care | Capacity and Demand

Waiting Times and Attendance Durations at English A&E Departments

In March 2019, NHS England is expected to report the outcome of its review of constitutional waiting times targets. This report reviews the factors that have led to the decline in performance against one of these targets - the 4-hour target for Accident and Emergency Departments. The analysis…

November 2018 Impact assessment | Secondary care | Service configuration | Service improvement | Capacity and Demand

The Potential Economic Impact of Virtual Outpatient Appointments in the West Midlands: A scoping study

The Strategy Unit was recently approached to examine the case for a shift from traditional outpatient services to the use of virtual and remote access technologies for appropriate outpatient appointments. An essential part of this assessment was broadly scoping the potential socio-economic impacts…

 December 2017 Service configuration | Service improvement | Integrated Care

Scoping study: the economics of caring

There is a clear moral case for supporting unpaid carers. They play an essential role in the lives of the people they care for; they often do so at a cost to their own wellbeing.  But what is the economic case for supporting carers? And to what extent does the evidence base support this case? Where…

 October 2017 Secondary care | Capacity and Demand | Primary Care

Palliative and End of Life Care in the West Midlands

Commissioned by NHS England, this report describes the status and context of palliative and end of life care services in the six Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in the West Midlands. The report contains data on trends and forecast numbers of deaths, place of death, palliative care…

July 2017 Secondary care | Capacity and Demand

Changes to Admission Thresholds

This analysis builds on a paper, Changes in Admission Thresholds in English Emergency Departments, which explores changes in the casemix of patients attending emergency departments (EDs) and the propensity of EDs to admit patients.  The report incorporates additional analysis commissioned by NHS…

June 2017 Service configuration

Stage 2 Clinical Assurance Evidence Framework

Service change assurance exists to give confidence to the NHS and public that proposals are well thought through, have taken on board a wide range of views and will deliver real benefits. At the heart of the NHS England assurance process are the ‘five tests for service change’ that are in the…

 November 2016 Service configuration

Future Fit - acute hospitals options appraisal

The Strategy Unit worked as a strategic partner of the NHS Future Fit Programme in Shropshire and Telford  & Wrekin from its initiation and until it was able to move to public consultation. A key output was the comprehensive appraisal of acute hospital options, the recommendations from which…

November 2016 Impact assessment | Service configuration | Service improvement

Integrated Impact Assessment for Major Hospital Reconfiguration

The Strategy Unit worked as a strategic partner of the NHS Future Fit Programme in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin from its initiation and until it was able to move to public consultation. A key output was a comprehensive Integrated Impact Assessment of acute hospital options that enabled…

October 2016 Capacity and Demand

Referral management: rapid evidence scan

Aiming to inform the design of a new primary care-led model of care, this report summarises evidence on referral management.

 December 2015 Secondary care | Capacity and Demand

The Effect of Demographic Change on Acute Hospital Utilisation

Recognising that the effect of population ageing can be overstated, we set out to ask what effect an older population will have on demand for health and care services.  Here, we explain why typical approaches ‘overlook the fact that rising life expectancy makes … older people “younger”, healthier,…

September 2015 Capacity and Demand

Scoping the Future (CRUK)

Within the context of rising demand for diagnostic services and concerns about capacity, Cancer Research UK commissioned this project to explore the issues for endoscopy services, to inform national strategic recommendations.

 July 2015 Secondary care | Capacity and Demand

Modelling Patients Flows under Potential Configurations of Emergency Centres with Specialised Services

Onsite, 24/7 access to complex vascular surgery, hyper acute stroke services and primary percutaneous coronary interventions are expected to be a pre-requisite for a hospital to be designated as an emergency centre with specialised services. This paper sets out the patient access and patient flow…