Want to ease pressure in urgent care? Simply cut community services!?!
What should decision makers do with analysis that challenges deeply held assumptions? In this blog, Fraser Battye reflects on a surprising recent finding about community services.
How data makes things worse
All light brings shade. My list of ‘changes that have been all upside and no downside’ is short and debatable.
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).
Diagnosing harms?
All medicines are poisons. Everything that cures could kill if administered in the wrong doses, to the wrong people, at the wrong times, in the wrong ways.
Could a peer review methodology help drive continual learning within and across local systems?
In this blog Karen describes how peer review methodologies are being used to support learning in Long COVID services.
‘Might’ is right
A good idea can be ruined by over-selling.
Urgent Community Response – What Works?
The Strategy Unit, with our partners Ipsos, has been commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) to provide a long-term national evaluation of the Urgent Community Response programme rolled-out across England. The programme aims to shift resources to home and community-based services as part of the NHS commitment to providing the right care, to the right people, at the right time. And there are a range of outputs from the early work that provide learning for local systems as they develop their services.
Infant feeding problems, lockdown and attendance at Emergency Departments: what’s going on?
From our previous work, with Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation, we know that lockdown had a significant effect on attendance at Emergency Departments (ED). We also know that this effect was very unevenly distributed: some demographic groups stayed away far more than others.
The impact of social care on demand for urgent hospital care: have we reached a consensus?
The care home COVID crisis and the effects of longstanding staffing and funding shortages has meant that social care has featured heavily in the media over the last 12 months.
Decisions to admit patients are not solely determined by clinical risk
Whether or not to admit a patient is one of the most routine yet important decisions a doctor in an Emergency Department
A framework for understanding policy change
A new policy, strategic direction or major programme is announced.
Localism and the NHS: a case in four stories
In this blog, Fraser Battye makes the case for localism in the NHS. He tells four short stories. He suggests that these stories highlight an opportunity as the NHS enters a period of reform.
Strategy Unit analysis published showing changes in use of emergency departments under lockdown
We know that patterns of access to healthcare have changed during the pandemic.
Why are deaths set to rise?
In our recent analysis of healthcare use in the last 2 years of life, we point out an important change that’s taking place to life and death in the UK.
Let’s face the music and (not) dance
David Frith leads our strategy consultancy work with NHS and third sector organisations.
Why community alternatives to hospital admission don’t (typically) reduce total admission levels
Repeatedly, published evaluations show that community/primary care services interventions with a stated intention to reduce total (or forecast total) emergency admissions to hospital don’t achieve the expected result**
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.
Lessons from the Vanguard: Procurement
Integrating health and care services - what works? It’s complicated…
Coinciding nicely with the NHS 70th Birthday celebrations and the parallel discussions of ‘where next and how to do it better’ for the NHS, last we
Do you like to integrate horizontally or vertically? NHS positions examined
Our latest research paper explores the impact of the different options for integration implemented as a result of the Transforming Community Services policy in 2010. This accompanying commentary reflects on potential implications for the current policy drive towards Integrated Care Systems.