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.

 January 2020 Secondary care | Integrated Care

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 Service improvement

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 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…

 July 2019 Service improvement

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…

 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…

 October 2018 Integrated Care

The Status of Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems in the West Midlands

Commissioned by NHS England, this report describes the state of electronic palliative care coordination systems in the West Midlands.  It draws on a review of the literature, interviews with local NHS staff and responses to information requests.  As people approach the end of their lives, care…

October 2018 Service improvement

Lessons from the Vanguard: Innovation and Evaluation

The problems facing health and care services are so well known as to be documented in the media most days. These problems arise from a mismatch between need and provision: a mismatch where there is no reason to assume fundamental change. So innovation – in both product and process – is needed. Yet…

September 2018 Service improvement

Lessons from the Vanguard: Procurement

Dudley was unique within the New Care Models programme for using a large-scale procurement exercise. This exercise therefore offers lessons for both policy and practice. These lessons are set out in a short ‘lessons from the vanguard’ paper, joint-authored by the Strategy Unit and Dudley Clinical…

 September 2018 Service improvement

Intelligence-driven health and care: phase two

Following on from the Design Summit in May, the Strategy Unit has continued to work on how Intelligence-driven health and care can improve outcomes for patients and local communities. The project, commissioned by MLCSU, aims to explore the emerging intelligence needs of the health and care sector…

 June 2018 Secondary care

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 agency…

 June 2018 Secondary care | Integrated Care

Horizontal or Vertical: Which way to integrate?

In 2011, Primary Care Trusts faced a difficult choice. The Transforming Community Services policy required a complete break of commissioner and provider functions. But what should PCTs do with the community health services they delivered; vertically integrate with an acute trust, horizontally…

 April 2018 Secondary care

Palliative and End of Life Care Report for Children and Young People

Commissioned by NHS England, this report describes the the characteristics and levels of resource required by children and young people (CYP) (0-25 years) with life limiting conditions and/or life threatening conditions (LLC). The scope of this report does not attempt to explain or address the…

Thinking Differently
February 2018 Impact assessment | Integrated Care

Dudley MCP Scenario Analysis

Dudley is one of fourteen vanguard sites nationally developing the Multispecialty Community Provider (MCP) care model. The MCP involves the implementation of new organisational relationships that are intended to result in new system dynamics, incentivising the actions that can improve population…

 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…

 November 2017 Service improvement | Integrated Care

Logic Models for Complex Programmes

Logic models have become a standard tool for planning and evaluation. This short presentation offers a step-by-step guide to assembling logic models for complex programmes. The Strategy Unit is well known for its use of logic models. We use them to help programmes and organisations – including…

November 2017 Secondary care

Identifying Potential QIPP Opportunities - Dudley Example

Given the pressures within the NHS, being able to identify opportunities for efficiencies and improvements is vital to inform commissioning intentions.  This report is an example of analytical work which to support commissioners.  The objective of this report is to provide information to support…

 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…

 September 2017 Needs assessment

Changes in Dementia Incidence, Prevalence, Severity and Mortality

Dementia is a key priority for NHS England and is estimated to affect around 676,000 people in the country.  Our analysis is intended to help understand the need for future dementia diagnosis and treatment services in a specific area and to help commissioners to identify and prioritise…

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…