Blog

An important issue in understanding trends in waiting times is seasonal variations. John Appleby looks at hospital waiting times in his data blog.

Stephen Moss, Chair of Mid Staffordshire, spoke at our conference this week about the lessons he had learnt from the 'story of a hospital that lost its way'.

Our health and the Big Society event provoked an interesting debate on balancing the reality of the financial situation with the vision in the health White Paper.

When the Spending Review was announced, the NHS budget got off lightly in comparison to other departments. But will inflation eat in to or even reverse this increase?

The health White Paper sets out a significant set of reforms for the NHS. We plan to follow the evolution and implementation of these changes and assess their impact.

Liz Thiebe discusses the Seattle Study Tour and notes the lessons we should be learning about commissioning and management in the UK.

A report out today discusses the issues in using mortality to measure the quality of hospital care. But is this a good measure of quality of care?

The term 'Big Society' has been used to cover all manner of ideas, but many of us find it hard to define. So what are the implications for health and social care?

The government last week published two new consultations on choice and information, which could have significant implications for how end-of-life care is delivered.

While initial reactions to the NHS White Paper were positive, there are still a lot of questions unanswered for the doctors who will now need to commission services.

As the dust settles after the Spending Review, the coalition government's determination to shift power away from central government is becoming clearer.

While the government plans to leave the development of consortia to be decided locally, many people feel that size matters and that guidelines should be provided.

In the Spending Review, the coalition government has promised to ringfence the NHS budget and to provide real increases in funding each year for four years.

Reflecting on the journey back from Australia to England, Mark Jennings concludes that there are great similarities between these two health systems on opposite sides of the world.

John Appleby considers the first set of data on post-operative patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) published by the Department of Health.

The government has pledged to ring-fence the NHS budget from real-terms reductions, so in one sense the spending review is a done deal. Or is it?

As the election campaign ratchets up a gear prospective MPs are vying for our votes and using local service changes and promises to save hospitals as currency.

The British Medical Association's GPs Committee has published its 'fundamental principles' for GP commissioning - but will it help GPs to deliver high-quality care?

The coalition has moved quickly in its first 100 days to set out its plans for the NHS. Do they build on Labour's health reforms, or are they much more radical?

Public health needs to move out of the lecture hall and into the living room, according to Anne Milton MP. But what role should GPs be playing in public health?