Articles

If there's one thing economists agree on it is the fact that the hole in the public finances – currently around £86bn, nearly 6 per cent of the United Kingdom’s gross domestic product – needs to be filled.

For deficit deniers, the reason this needs to be dealt with is that left unchecked the hole will get bigger and the consequences of that would be catastrophic for the UK economy.

The flagship policy of GP-led commissioning will transfer real budgets to groups of practices and signals political support for change towards the creation of larger GP-led clinical collectives with more direct accountability.

The link between death rates and the number of operations carried out by a hospital is not a straightforward one.

There is little new in this. Turnover is high – the average tenure of a chief executive is said to be around two and a half years. And therein lies the problem.

Jo Maybin looks the essential elements of the Operating Framework, including adjustments to the three tiers of 'vital signs' introduced last year.

John Appleby provides a data analysis of the new PCT allocations, looking at the likely impact, particularly in the context of the wider economic climate.

The government is set to empower patients with personal budgets for care, but clear rules must guarantee choices are well informed and cost-effective, say Anna Dixon and Rebecca Ashton

The NHS Next Stage Review outlines a sensible set of measures to transform patient care, but The King's Fund's chief executive Niall Dickson argues that real cultural change will be needed in the health service if the vision is to be translated into reality.

David Cameron wants to abolish NHS targets. But there's a place for them in the complex alchemy of healthcare provision, writes John Appleby.