This report describes the way in which Trafford South Primary Care Group consulted local people about older people's services. It decided to host two day-long events for local people, inviting their comments on the health and social care needs of older people in the area. A key feature was the ...
In 2006 a pilot programme was launched in partnership with six NHS trusts, supported by their charities, and two Marie Curie Cancer Care hospices to improve Environments for Care at End of Life. The objective was to see whether the King's Fund run Enhancing the Healing Environment (EHE) could be ...
The pace of change and reform in the NHS has been relentless as government and those who work in the NHS seek ways to improve the service. The King's Fund set up an expert working group to examine how effective the current incentives were in achieving this aim. The group ...
Primary care trusts (PCTs) spend around 75 per cent of the NHS budget in England. How do they decide on their spending priorities? This paper examines the data collected by the Department of Health on the amounts PCTs spend on the 23 programmes of care based on medical conditions such ... and An update to the briefing "Local variations in NHS spending priorities" published in 2006.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is acknowledged as a world leader in its field, yet the prevailing media image of NICE is as a controversial mechanism for denying patients expensive new drugs. Teresa Poole looks at how NICE appraises new and existing drugs through clinical and ...
Recognising the significance of mental health in terms of both expenditure and the overall health of the population, the King's Fund commissioned a review. This report presents current and projected needs for mental health services and their related costs. It gives details on a number of specific disorders, including depression, ...
Government health policy has been encouraging a shift in the balance of care from hospital to community settings. The Department of Health commissioned The King's Fund, in partnership with Loop2, to undertake a simulation-based project entitled SeeSaw to understand how this shift in care could be achieved. This report outlines ...
How are top-ups distinct from other charges in the NHS and why have they become such a contentious issue now? This briefing gives some background on the relevant legislation and guidance in this area. [Introduction]
Social and technological changes are challenging doctors, causing many to rethink their role, the way they practise and the nature of their professionalism. What does the future hold? The Royal College of Physicians and the King's Fund convened ten events around England and Wales where doctors and other health professionals ...
As part of Lord Darzi's review of the NHS, each strategic health authority (SHA) outside London was commissioned to produce a report outlining their 'vision' for care in their region over the coming decade. This briefing provides a thematic summary of some of the key features of the nine SHA ...
In July 2007 Professor Lord Ara Darzi, a surgeon and health minister, started a wide-ranging review of the NHS in England and the final report is due to be published before the 60th anniversary of the NHS on 5 July 2008. This briefing provides the background of the review and ...
This is the fourth paper in a series, Kicking Bad Habits, on how people can be encouraged to adopt healthy behaviour. The paper considers the influence of an individual's motivation and confidence in modifying their health behaviours. While there is good evidence, in theory, that they are two key determinants ...
Croydon Primary Care Trust has been piloting the practical use of the Combined Model on behalf of the King's Fund and Health Dialog since May 2006. It has developed a package of care called virtual wards that is offers solely to people at highest predicted risk. Part of the PARR ...
This is a joint project commissioned by Essex Strategic Health Authority on behalf of the 28 strategic health authorities, the Department of Health and the NHS Modernisation Agency and undertaken by the King's Fund, in partnership with Health Dialog and New York University. This review informed the project to develop ...
This working paper makes the basic case for supporting and developing advocacy. It explores the advocacy sector in London and the government's growing interest through a literature review, document analysis, and explorative questionnaire to advocacy providers, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, and focus groups with a range of community leaders. ...
As the government seeks to accelerate change in the NHS and make services more responsive to public demands, the argument for market discipline versus planned provision is being hotly debated: can a highly centralised system sit comfortably alongside a market-led approach?; can market forces provide an effective response to the ...
This paper is a formal response by the King's Fund to the Department of Health consultation on the smokefree elements of the Health Improvement and Protection Bill.
This research summary, based on a review of the literature and a series of focus groups with NHS staff, shows that while it is difficult to measure how people feel about their work, there is much to suggest that morale and motivation of the NHS workforce are low. It identifies ...