Many moons ago, I was fortunate enough to observe a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) in Dudley. The team, which today would be called an ‘Integrated Neighbourhood Team’, included multiple specialist nurses, a voluntary sector link worker, a GP, a social worker, and other professionals.

They were discussing different cases. Each was complex in its own way: physical health problems blended and blurred with social and psychological needs; cases worsening, cases improving; treatment plans followed, others unravelling.

Guest blog by Jacob Lant, Chief Executive, National Voices

When we began looking at failure demand in the NHS, I assumed most of our time would be spent in familiar territory: productivity metrics, appointment volumes, activity data, and trends that could be graphed and compared. Failure demand is, after all, usually introduced as an efficiency concept: work created when a system fails to meet need the first time.

But what stayed with me most, from interviews and conversations across the system, was something else entirely.

Can data on discharge times help us to improve hospital flow?

This blog describes the headline findings from the first phase of the national evaluation of the Core20PLUS5 approach

Our Head of Simulation, Dr Lucy Morgan, recently appeared on the new podcast Inside the Algorithm, hosted by Cambridge Spark, to discuss two areas of work at the Strategy Unit: a kidney replacement therapy model and the modelling the national waiting list.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy arrived at NASA headquarters for a progress update on the planned trip to the moon. He was treated to a tour of the facilities. And, midway through the tour, he met a man carrying a broom.

Kennedy asked the man what he did at NASA. Rather than saying, “I'm the caretaker”, the man replied:

“I’m helping to put a man on the moon.”

Traditional NHS commissioning alone is not enough, and must be complemented by a “conductor” role that actively coordinates partners and drives system-wide change. Together, commissioners provide strategic direction while conductors enable delivery, which is essential for improving outcomes in complex health systems.

Some descriptions of healthcare seem to be taken straight from the film Minority Report. The 10 Year Plan for Health, for example, suggests that a combination of genomics, new diagnostics and predictive analytics with AI:

Larger GP practices may deliver more appointments, but are they the most efficient way to provide good care?