In August 2008, the Department of Health asked The King's Fund to lead a stakeholder engagement review on the proposal for a Centre of Excellence. This report reflects what was heard from stakeholders during the consultation and sets out a series of recommendations that aim to support effective implementation. [Summary]
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 ...
This technical paper offers an understanding of the different contracting, reimbursement and incentive mechanisms available to deliver value and outcomes-based healthcare in a UK context.
This is the second digital edition of the Quarterly Monitoring Report (QMR). The new QMR still includes a shorter PDF of the headline findings this quarter, but also features digital versions of the survey results, interactive performance data charts and an infographic with the key findings for this quarter. and Our Quarterly Monitoring Report (QMR) reveals the views of NHS trust finance directors and clinical commissioning group finance leads on the productivity challenges they face, and examines some key NHS performance data.
Street drinking has a major negative effect on communities and drinkers alike. But street drinkers often find it hard to get the support they need, especially those who are unable or unwilling to stop drinking. There is widespread interest in how far wet centres can offer a way forward. In ...
This background paper looks at the evidence and information informing the demographic, economic, social, health and other relevant trends over the next 20 years that are likely to affect the demand for, and nature of, social care for older people in England. The full report is due in Spring 2006. ...
Securing good care for more people: options for reform proposes new, fairer funding arrangements for adult social care, a review of the current settlement for older people and a long-term staged approach to reform based on political consensus. While demonstrating that the cost of the social care system is set ...
In 2009, The King’s Fund and the Burdett Trust for Nursing set out to ‘bring the ward to the board’, emphasising the role of the nurse executive in ensuring that boards are as fully engaged with the clinical quality agenda as they are with financial performance. As leaders of the ...
Continuity of care contributes importantly to patient experience, whether it's continuity of a relationship, by seeing the same GP, or management continuity, that coordinates an individual’s care across the wider health care system. However, continuity is not monitored or incentivised in the same way as other aspects of good practice. ... and This paper was commissioned by The King’s Fund to inform the panel of the Inquiry into the Quality of General Practice in England. The views expressed are those of the authors and not of the panel.
The government is committed to improving the quality of care, and as part of this commitment they aim to make more information available to the public about the performance of trusts. Providers of NHS services are now required to publish quality accounts – reports for the public on the quality ...
The contents of this paper come from a review of the literature on compassion, or concepts related to it, and from views and comments arising from the workshop on this topic held in November 2008. The experiences of workshop members were collected on the day and by anonymous written contributions, ...
In 2008 the NHS celebrates its 60th birthday. This briefing looks at key health care issues over the last 60 years and forward to its 120th birthday. [Introduction]
General practice has changed considerably over the past decade. Practice size has increased, the workforce has grown and become more diverse, the range of services offered has expanded, and the contracting and financing arrangements for GPs have changed. Current government policy aims to improve access and choice for patients, to ...
Independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) provide services to NHS patients but are owned and run by organisations outside the NHS. This briefing paper explains why ISTCs were introduced, and how they are funded, staffed and regulated. It assesses their impact so far, including the quality of their services and whether ...
The King's Fund response to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence consultation on new indicators for the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). The King's Fund broadly supports the introduction of each of the new indicators, particularly the six mental illness indicators as there is strong evidence of the ...
Since internal markets were created in the NHS, commissioners have purchased health care on behalf of patients and the public from a variety of competing providers. Commissioning was intended to drive improvements in the quality, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of services, but has so far largely failed to achieve these objectives. ...
For the past three years patients referred by their GP for a specialist outpatient consultation have had a choice over where to be treated. As part of a larger research project, a survey was sent to patients in four case study areas of England to ask them about their experience ...
Unhealthy behaviours - smoking, alcohol misuse, poor diet, lack of exercise - lead to ill health, with resulting costs to individuals, to the NHS and to society as a whole. PCTs are expected to commission support to help people change their behaviour to adopt healthier lifestyles - but what should ...
The government’s End of Life Care Strategy set out to improve the care that patients receive at the end of their life and to give them meaningful choice about where they are cared for and where they die. Implementation of the strategy has proved challenging, however, for a number of ...