Bringing you the latest independent views on health and social care from The King's Fund, all of our reports and findings from our projects are available to buy or download.
To order printed copies of our publications, please purchase online or contact publications@kingsfund.org.uk or 020 7307 2568.
This briefing analyses and comments on the key proposals contained in the policy document NHS Autonomy and Accountability, which was released by the Conservative party in June 2007.
This briefing analyses the latest figures and data extracted from NHS trust boards, to assess the scale of the challenges to the financial security of the NHS in the future.
Has Agenda for Change achieved its ambitious objectives of reforming pay, developing new ways of working and delivering better care? Using key national informants and case studies in 10 NHS trusts, this paper assesses the implementation.
What next for the NHS reforms? Based on a simulation event and extensive discussions with stakeholders, this paper offers insights into the health system of the future.
Despite receiving widespread support, implementation of practice-based commissioning (PBC) has been slow. This report explores the current situation for PBC and considers how it might be driven forward within the NHS.
In January 2006 the Department of Health published 'Our health, our care, our say: A new direction for community services'. This briefing outlines the main policies.
One of the most controversial proposals in the government's Mental Health Bill is the introduction of supervised community treatment (SCT). This briefing explores some of the surrounding issues and the available evidence on the likely effect of SCT.
This briefing outlines the current system of professional regulation in the UK; describes the criticisms of this system; details the government's proposals for reform; and discusses the potential strengths and weaknesses of the proposed changes.
Presents discussions from a meeting of managers, economists and policy advisers on the right levels of public funding for health and what frameworks and processes should be put in place.
This briefing outlines the main points in the 2007/8 Operating Framework, provides some analysis of the content and discusses the implications of the accompanying documents.
A qualitative study of GPs' views on their role in supporting patient choice
29 Jan 2007
Rebecca Rosen, Dominique Florin, Ruth Hutt
This qualitative study explores GPs' views on their role in supporting patient choice at the point of referral, their views on Choose and Book and equity in choice.
Richard Lewis, Arturo Alvarez-Rosete, Nicholas Mays
Our report compares the regulatory frameworks in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia in Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand to the regulation of the NHS in England.
What impact have community-based compulsory treatment orders had in the first six months since they were introduced in Scotland, and what lessons can England and Wales learn from this experience?
Discusses the causes of the NHS deficit in 2005/6 and considers three recent policy developments, asking what their impacts might be on NHS organisations and how they could be improved.
Aims to stimulate debate about developing cancer services in England, as demographic trends, new treatments, increasing survival rates and NHS reforms have altered the context in which they operate.
Our briefing on local variations in NHS spending priorities analyses newly-available data, collected by the Department of Health, on the amount spent by primary care trusts on specific disease areas.
Creating the conditions for sustainable workforce development
3 Aug 2006
Gita Malhotra
Developing a sustainable and flexible workforce, using 'grow-your-own' approaches, could help the NHS face complex challenges as investment slows. This paper explores the conditions required to successfully implement these approaches.
Explores the arguments for and against the proposed ban on indoor smoking in psychiatric units, as well as the impact of smoking and smoking bans in these settings.
