The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on most ethnic minority groups in England. But this inequality is a crisis within a crisis – the pandemic has laid bare and exacerbated existing deep-rooted health inequalities. Here, Dr Ruth Watkinson and Dr Alex Turner, from the Health Organisation, Policy and Economics group (HOPE) and the […]
Citizen’s data, healthcare and trust
Health data has informed a central part our NHS for more than two decades, helping the informative bodies to improve services and understand health trends. This has also proved key in understanding, and attempting to mitigate, the worst impacts of COVID-19. However, when this data is shared with secondary bodies, does the public trust that […]
The Health and Social Care system under strain: Rethinking integration policies in the post-COVID-19 era
In 2019, the NHS published plans (‘The NHS Long Term Plan’) promising to introduce inventive, ambitious ways to bring NHS and social care together across England, working with the private and voluntary sector, and users and carers. Needless to say, things have changed since 2019. Nevertheless, the recent COVID-19 pandemic is showing us just how […]
Planning and managing service delivery in the NHS: looking to the future
COVID-19 has reinforced the necessity of effective planning of health services, treatment and prevention capacities in primary and secondary care, and both protecting and optimising our healthcare workforce. Here, Professor Kath Checkland reflects on the renewed centrality of “commissioning” to health policy debates that will follow in the wake of the pandemic, and draws lessons from […]
Suicide prevention in action: an update on the national programme
Nicola Richards, Research Assistant, and Cathryn Rodway, Programme Manager and Research Associate, work for the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH). In this blog, they discuss the progress of national investment in suicide prevention, and give examples of good practice developed from local quality improvement plans that should help to […]
Maximising the potential of new non-medical professional roles in general practice: Lessons from Greater Manchester
Increased patient demand and GP shortages have led to widespread strain on primary health services. In particular, GPs struggle in their unique roles as both expert medical generalists and holistic providers of patient-centred care. A greater ‘skill-mix’ for the coordination and delivery of care has been introduced, in order to ease capacity and widen support […]
Just Because I Can Doesn’t Mean I Will: Behavioural science and translating professional change into practice
All innovation in health and social care has the same final common pathway: health and social care professionals doing something new or different. There are numerous theories of behaviour and behaviour change, so people who are trying to innovate can find it confusing and difficult to meaningfully draw on behavioural science. Here, Drs Jo Hart, […]
Accelerating innovation in new ways of delivering health and social care
As funding pressures, population change, and new models of care and management continue to develop within our health and social care system, the ability to encourage and drive innovation is more important than ever. Here, Dr Simon Turner, reviews recent studies on how an innovation-friendly environment can be achieved in local health systems. The greatest […]