Health Management and Policy Alert

Independent investigation of the National Health Service in England

Department of Health and Social Care -
In July 2024, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioned Lord Darzi to conduct an immediate and independent investigation of the NHS. Lord Darzi’s report provides an expert understanding of the current performance of the NHS across England and the challenges facing the health care system. Lord Darzi has considered the available data and intelligence to assess: patient access to health care; the quality of healthcare being provided; and the overall performance of the health system.

• Report
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

Achieving the 18-week standard for elective care

NHS Confederation - 

This analysis (produced together with the consultancy Carnall Farrar) reveals why extra appointments alone will not meet the Labour government's waiting-time pledge to ensure 92 per cent of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.

• Report
• Press release

From left behind to leading the way: a blueprint for transforming child health services in England

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health -
This report finds that children are waiting longer than adults to access health care, paediatric services are not recovering at the same rates as adult services, and there is a growing gap between demand and capacity. This has coincided with an unprecedented increased demand for children’s health services, which is forecast to grow further due to both preventable and non-preventable increases in childhood illness.

• Report
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health - publications

Feeling the pressure: what the 2023 Commonwealth Fund survey reveals about the state of the UK health system

The Health Foundation -
This report found that the UK’s performance on hospital-based care is consistently near the bottom in a public survey of 10 high income countries. The analysis of the 2023 Commonwealth Fund survey highlights key areas where the UK performs poorly, particularly on long waits for specialist care, lack of access to out-of-hours care and affordability for treatments like dental care. For hospital care, the UK had among the longest waiting times compared to the other countries in the survey, with 11% of people waiting a year or more for a specialist appointment and 19% waiting a year or more for non-emergency surgery.

• Report
• The Health Foundation - press release

10 actions the government can take to improve NHS working conditions

The King's Fund -

The workforce crisis is at the heart of many of the challenges facing the NHS in England. This briefing outlines early actions the government can take to enable NHS staff and leaders to deliver the highest possible quality of care in the coming months.

• Briefing
• The King's Fund - publications

Productivity in the NHS: what’s getting in the way?

Nuffield Trust - 

This long read explores the many factors that may be affecting NHS productivity. It argues that reaching a consensus on the roots of the problem, working collaboratively in a psychologically safe environment, is vital if the health service is to use the resources that it has in the best possible way.

• Long read 

Fixing public services: priorities for the new Labour government

Institute for Government - 

This report looks at the most pressing issues facing the new Labour government in four key public services – the NHS, local government, schools and the criminal justice system – and the common problems that cut across them. It also analyses the implications of sticking with current spending plans, and makes recommendations for how the government can improve performance.

• Report
• More detail

 

 

 

Ambulances running on adrenaline: speaking up in ambulance trusts

The Guardian Service -
This report makes recommendations to ambulance services to help transform their organisational culture through speaking up. It was written in response to NHS England's Culture review of ambulance trusts, which was published in February 2024.

• Report
• The Guardian Service - news

Business plan 2024/25

NHS Resolution -  

This plan outlines NHS Resolution's financial and service delivery goals for the third and final year of its strategic plan, Advise, resolve and learn: our strategy to 2025. The business plan reflects NHS Resolution’s four strategic priorities to resolve issues in a fair and timely manner; use data to improve healthcare; improve maternity outcomes; and invest in staff and systems.

• Business plan
• More detail

Forgotten generation: shaping better services for children and young people

NHS Providers - 

This report, based based on NHS Providers' survey of trust leaders during April and May 2024, explores the issues in providing children and young people's services, and how trusts are working to address them.

• Report
• Press release