Ideas that change health and care

Shaping policy and practice
Developing individuals and organisations
Sharing knowledge and debate
Explaining health and care

Joy Warmington

Joy Warmington MBE on anti-racism, leadership and the courage to speak out

What is anti-racism, and why is it important in the context of health and care? Jo Vigor sits down with Joy Warmington to find out.

Tackling health inequalities on NHS waiting lists: learning from local case studies

Our report looks at how identifying health inequalities and adopting an inclusive approach to NHS waiting lists has been used to reduce the backlog after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Transforming power relationships in partnership working

Exploring the practical challenges of working with power in the Healthy Communities Together partnerships.

More recent content

What are you looking for?

We provide insight on health and care policy and leadership through our courses, events, publications, projects, blogs and much more

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Research and analysis

Independent views on health and care.

Organisational development

Organisational development

Helping your organisation be fit for purpose and fit for the future.

Health and care explained

Health and care explained

Helping you understand the big issues in health and care.

Events

Events

Bringing people together to share knowledge, in person and online.

The NHS in crisis – evaluating the radical alternatives

What are the benefits and potential drawbacks of the 'radical' alternatives to the NHS? We explore the main options and if they could solve problems in the health and care system.

Open Wounds exhibition: Tottenham Rights in collaboration with The King’s Fund

Reflecting on 75 years of the NHS

Reflecting on 75 years of the NHS

Throughout 2023, we will be reflecting on 75 years of the NHS, the challenges its faced and is facing and explore what the future looks like for the national health service.

Can the NHS manage without AI?

What are the best-use cases for large language models (LLMs) and other AI in health and care? Pritesh Mistry looks at how LLMs are developing and their potential uses in the health and care system.

Workforce nutshell

The NHS in a nutshell

Essential facts and figures to understand how the NHS works

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

Watch our animation to discover the key organisations that make up the NHS and how they can collaborate with partners in the health and care system to deliver joined-up care.

The King's Fund priorities

Our strategic priorities for 2020–25: Areas of focus for the next five years to improve health and care

Our work spans the breadth of health and care policy and practice, giving us a unique understanding of the strategic context for health and care now and in the future.

A map of the United Kingdom with data in front of it

Commissioned report

How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries?

Comparing the health care systems of different countries can help us assess how the UK health care system is performing and where it could improve. Our new report found that the NHS is neither a leader nor a laggard when compared to 18 similar countries.

Jobs at The King's Fund

Find out more about current opportunities to join the King's Fund team.

What are health inequalities?

What are health inequalities?

This explainer provides an overview of how health inequalities are experienced in England’s population.

The Rainbow Foundation staff

GSK IMPACT Awards

The GSK IMPACT Awards provide funding, training and development for charities doing excellent work to improve people’s health and wellbeing.

An illustration of a person sat in chair being held by the silhouette of a hand

What is compassionate leadership?

Research shows that compassionate leadership has wide-ranging benefits for both staff and organisations. Learn more in this explainer.

Two older people stood outside of a care home.

Social care 360

Our latest 360 review outlines and analyses 12 key trends in adult social care in England over recent years. Using a variety of publicly-available data, it provides a uniquely rounded – ‘360 degree’ – view of the sector.

The health of people from ethnic minority groups in England

The health of people from ethnic minority groups in England

This long read examines ethnic differences in health outcomes, highlighting the variation across ethnic groups and health conditions, and considers what’s needed to reduce health inequalities.

The rise and decline of the NHS in England 2000–20: How political failure led to the crisis in the NHS and social care

Multi-year funding increases and reforms led to improvements in NHS performance between 2000 and 2010, but performance has declined since 2010 as a result of much lower funding increases, limited funds for capital investment, and neglect of workforce planning.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan explained

June 2023 saw the launch of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, in this long read we explain the NHS plan and how this will impact the workforce moving forward.

The NHS explained

The NHS explained free online course: how the health system in England really works

Build your understanding of the NHS — its inner workings, current and future challenges, and how it all fits together — on our free online course.

Reflecting on 75 years since the arrival of Windrush

Reflecting on 75 years since the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush

We're marking 75 years since the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to the UK by celebrating the contribution made by the Windrush generation and their descendants to the NHS, as well as highlighting the challenges they've faced.

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