Professor Kieran Walshe of the Alliance Manchester Business School responds to the absence of NHS and Social Care from last week’s Autumn Statement. Weighing the dangers of continuing budget cuts and spiralling demand against the opportunities offered by the devolution of health and social care being piloted in Greater Manchester, Prof. Walshe argues that the economic […]
THE NHS: Reform, reorganisation and the risks of rushing into changes without proper scrutiny
The NHS has faced massive change under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, combined with a huge financial crisis, an ageing population and more demand for its services than ever. Kieran Walshe argues that this has led to a ‘shadowy’ era where decisions are being made rapidly, without the legislative processes and periods of […]
Deficit and reform: the NHS’s twin challenges
The NHS deficit is unprecedented and unsustainable. All eyes are on the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review and on some promising ideas for reform, explain Professor Kieran Walshe and Professor Judith Smith. The first quarter financial returns for the NHS, published just after the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, are the worst ever. Trusts were £930m […]
Why we need a health bill, but aren’t going to get one
Here Kieran Walshe reacts to the Queens Speech and comments on the lack of any mention of plans for healthcare. On seeing that the Queen’s Speech contained no proposed legislation on health and social care, many healthcare workers and managers may understandably have breathed a sigh of relief. After the traumas of the Health and […]
Reorganising the NHS: Never again?
As we approach the election, the prospect of yet more organisational restructuring for the NHS fills Kieran Walshe with dismay. The next government needs to focus more on changes which make a difference to patients, and which are founded on good evidence about what works. The ability to hold two conflicting positions in your mind […]
Challenging the cult of competition in the NHS
Evidence is short that competition leads to improved healthcare performance, says Prof Kieran Walshe. Collaboration and service integration is a better policy goal. For some time – under both this government and its predecessor – there has been a powerful ideological belief that competition leads to improvements in performance in healthcare. It’s a belief unshaken […]