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Publications

We place a high value on sharing our work.  Please get in touch if you are interested in a topic which is not shown here.

  • Better use of analysis (10)
  • Elective care (9)
  • Emergency care (4)
  • End of life (1)
  • Finance and payments (1)
  • Inequalities (11)
  • Mental health (5)
  • Policy (13)
  • Primary, community and social care services (8)
  • Public health and prevention (5)
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  • Inequalities
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December 2024 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’…

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).

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…

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.

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…

March 2021 Policy

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…

February 2021 Better use of analysis | Inequalities | Public health and prevention

Strategy Unit analysis of air quality highlights inequalities

Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK and central London has the highest levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide.  The Guy’s and St. Thomas’ charity, now operating its programmes under the Impact on Urban Health banner, have…

November 2020 Better use of analysis | Inequalities | Mental health

Mental Health Surge Model

Early in the Covid pandemic, it became clear that people’s mental health would suffer. Whether through bereavement, unemployment, social isolation, not being able to access support services – or a host of other routes – an alarming picture began to emerge and attract attention.

October 2020 Inequalities | Policy | Public health and prevention

COVID-19: breaking the cycle of deprivation and ill health

Promoting whole-system action on the wider determinants of healthy life expectancy in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic

October 2020 Elective care | Inequalities | Public health and prevention

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…

September 2020 Better use of analysis | Policy

How can we learn from changes in practice under COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen rapid changes in ways of working. We have seen an increase in collaboration, particularly through digital platforms, the sharing of data, and people describing ‘true system working’. So how do we capture innovations and changes in practice? How do we learn…

Black pregnant Woman September 2020 Inequalities | Mental health

Accessibility of perinatal mental health services for women from Ethnic Minority groups

Barriers to accessing mental health care during pregnancy and the first postnatal year (perinatal period) seem to be greater for ethnic minority women.

July 2020 Elective care | Inequalities | Primary, community and social care services

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…

July 2020 Better use of analysis | Elective care | Inequalities | Mental health | Primary, community and social care services

How can Integrated Care Systems collect and use more ‘person-centred intelligence’?

Working with our partners Ipsos MORI, we have produced detailed guidance and an offer of services to address this question. This webpage contains information about the work, and all the products from it.   Please get in touch if you would like to improve your use of person-…

January 2020 Elective care | Emergency care | Finance and payments | Policy | Primary, community and social care services

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.

December 2019 Better use of analysis | Policy

Opening the ‘black box’ of scenario planning through realist synthesis

Scenario planning is recognised as an effective aid to strategic planning in complex, uncertain conditions. It is an approach that the Strategy Unit is increasingly building into its work with health and care systems and third sector organisations.

November 2019 Elective care | Mental health

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…

July 2019 Better use of analysis | Primary, community and social care services

Clinical Workforce Scenarios for the Black Country

The future is highly uncertain. Unless we consider the diverse factors that could affect health, our plans will lack creativity and sustainability. The challenges facing NHS systems are headline news: NHS structures are frequently the subject of organisational change; new policy directives; funding…

November 2018 Policy

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…

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