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…
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.
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.
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…
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…
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.
Socio-economic inequalities in access to planned hospital care: causes and consequences
Tacking inequalities in health is a long-standing NHS policy objective. Variation in the experiences and outcomes of different communities during the COVID-19 pandemic served to bring this issue back into focus.
A framework for understanding policy change
A new policy, strategic direction or major programme is announced. How do we begin to understand, interpret and explain it? And how can we start the task of analysing and critiquing it? I see three main approaches: 1: Personal views As an individual, we might ask whether we like or agree with the…
Socio-economic and environmental impact of Herefordshire and Worcestershire STP
Anchor institutions are large, typically non-profit, public sector organisations whose long-term sustainability is tied to the wellbeing of the populations they serve. They also have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of their local communities. Health and care organisations act as…
Outcomes based commissioning: A framework for local decision making
This local decision-making framework aims to empower systems as they look to design new contracting approaches aimed at improving outcomes.
How will we know if Integrated Care Systems reduce demand for urgent care?
The implications of a blended payment system are far reaching: Decisions about planned activity levels will determine the total funding envelope for urgent care within a system and will influence the behaviour of healthcare providers and the services they deliver to patients.
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…
Risk and Reward Sharing for NHS Integrated Care Systems
Risk and reward sharing is a simple and attractive concept, offering a commissioner the opportunity to co-opt and incentivise a provider to moderate growth in healthcare demand by sharing in the savings or cost over-runs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a US government…
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.