Blog Comment and analysis on the key issues in health and social care Search Apply Listing Content Type Viewing: All blogs All blogs Blogs Library blogs Share this content Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Email Print this page Topics Health and care services Adult social care (-) Cancer services Community services Emergency care End-of-life care General practice Hospital care Long-term conditions Maternity services (-) Mental health New models of care Public health (-) Sexual health care Leadership, systems and organisations Clinical commissioning groups Clinical leadership Equality and diversity Health and wellbeing boards Integrated care Local service design Patient leadership Quality improvement Sustainability and transformation plans System leadership Voluntary and community sector Workforce and skills Patients, people and society (-) Carers Children and young people Health inequalities Housing Older people (-) Patient experience Patient involvement Patient safety Population health Public opinion Technology and data Volunteers Policy, finance and performance Access to care Better Care Fund (-) Brexit Commissioning and contracting Devolution General election 2017 General election 2019 Governance and regulation Health and Social Care Act 2012 NHS finances NHS five year forward view NHS long-term plan (-) Performance Productivity Social care finances Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Blog A tale of two Acts: the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, and their interface Helen Gilburt shares her research into how mental health and social care professionals make decisions around whether to detain people with mental disorders under the Mental Health Act or the Mental Capacity Act – Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Her research uncovered a range of understandings and misunderstandings which impact on practice. Blog 2020: the health policy year in 12 charts The wheels of health policy turn quickly. So, as 2021 begins Siva Anandaciva looks back at the key health policy moments of 2020 to consider the challenges and opportunities that the year brought. Blog Twelve social care personas: which one(s) are you? Simon Bottery identifies 12 different perspectives on adult social care – and argues reform needs to accommodate as many as it can. Blog The Comprehensive Spending Review and Covid-19: the more we know, the less we know... How will the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review address the short-term and long-term needs of the health and care system, especially when the future is so uncertain? Jonathon Holmes considers the Chancellor’s options. Blog The new NHS and mental health: where are we going wrong? Providing joined-up services that address people’s physical and mental health needs has long been a challenge. Jihad Malasi asks whether primary care networks could be the answer to providing holistic primary care mental health services. Blog Mental health care in the time of Covid-19 Helen Gilburt reflects on the experiences of staff and people with mental health problems during the first months of Covid-19 and urges mental health services to learn from those experiences to plan for the future. Blog What has Covid-19 taught us about supporting workforce mental health and wellbeing? The Covid-19 outbreak has exposed gaps in psychosocial support for health care workers. Mary Docherty, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London, considers the action needed to address those gaps and meet the needs of the workforce in the future. Blog Shielded voices: hearing from those most in need Charlotte Augst, Chief Executive of National Voices, and Dan Wellings, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund, make the case for including communities using services in the Covid-19 response. Blog Why are improvements in life expectancy slowing in the United Kingdom and across Europe? In an international collaboration, The King's Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development examine the role of cardiovascular disease in changes in life expectancy. Blog Learning from Grenfell: how can services better work with the communities they serve? As health and care services rapidly transform to tackle the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, Sally Warren considers the value of working with and within communities to drive change, drawing on the lessons learnt in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy. Blog Public satisfaction with the NHS rose sharply in 2019 – why? Dan Wellings and John Appleby consider how staff satisfaction, patient experience and recent funding announcements may have influenced public satisfaction with the NHS. Blog Learning the lessons from Grenfell: ‘our stories and our voice’ The Grenfell tragedy and its aftermath have revealed that public sector organisations do not always adequately serve local communities. In this guest blog, authors from Grenfell United reflect on the importance of sharing stories and real engagement at all levels to build trust and ensure meaningful support. Blog 2019: The health policy year in 12 charts Siva Anandaciva takes a quick look back at some of the key events that shaped national policy in 2019 and asks what the year ahead might have in store for health and care. Blog Five reasons why this NHS winter may be different Siva Anandaciva considers the prospects for a NHS dealing with winter pressures, workforce challenges and limited funding, while planning for a no-deal Brexit. Blog Tackling poor health outcomes: the role of trauma-informed care People who have experienced trauma face a number of barriers to accessing health care. Deborah Fenney explains why a trauma-informed approach is essential for supporting a group that currently face poor health outcomes. Blog An outsider’s reflections on NHS primary care reform New Zealander Martin Hefford reflects on his time in the UK and ponders the questions about primary care reform that arose from his conversations with those working in primary care, secondary care and the third sector. Blog Securing money to improve mental health care... but no staff to spend it on Ambitions to improve the quality of mental health care will fail if they are not accompanied by plans to address staff shortages. Helen Gilburt looks at the effect of staff shortages on staff, patients and quality of care. Blog Party conference season: the key announcements on health and social care As this year’s party conference season comes to a close, what have we learned about the main parties’ priorities for health and social care? Richard Murray weighs up the key commitments, from funding and the NHS workforce to social care reform. Blog NHS sickness absence: let’s talk about mental health Rising demand for services and systemic staff shortages are putting NHS staff under increasing pressure. What impact is this having on sickness absence rates in the NHS, and what can be done to reduce the pressure on staff? Blog Cancer or dementia: the social care system is unfair to people with either condition The often-made contrast between ‘free’ support for cancer and ‘means-tested’ support for dementia is not entirely accurate, says Simon Bottery. Subscribe to our Weekly Update newsletterPublications: Independent research and analysis on health and social care Reports, long reads and articles.
Blog A tale of two Acts: the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, and their interface Helen Gilburt shares her research into how mental health and social care professionals make decisions around whether to detain people with mental disorders under the Mental Health Act or the Mental Capacity Act – Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Her research uncovered a range of understandings and misunderstandings which impact on practice.
Blog 2020: the health policy year in 12 charts The wheels of health policy turn quickly. So, as 2021 begins Siva Anandaciva looks back at the key health policy moments of 2020 to consider the challenges and opportunities that the year brought.
Blog Twelve social care personas: which one(s) are you? Simon Bottery identifies 12 different perspectives on adult social care – and argues reform needs to accommodate as many as it can.
Blog The Comprehensive Spending Review and Covid-19: the more we know, the less we know... How will the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review address the short-term and long-term needs of the health and care system, especially when the future is so uncertain? Jonathon Holmes considers the Chancellor’s options.
Blog The new NHS and mental health: where are we going wrong? Providing joined-up services that address people’s physical and mental health needs has long been a challenge. Jihad Malasi asks whether primary care networks could be the answer to providing holistic primary care mental health services.
Blog Mental health care in the time of Covid-19 Helen Gilburt reflects on the experiences of staff and people with mental health problems during the first months of Covid-19 and urges mental health services to learn from those experiences to plan for the future.
Blog What has Covid-19 taught us about supporting workforce mental health and wellbeing? The Covid-19 outbreak has exposed gaps in psychosocial support for health care workers. Mary Docherty, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London, considers the action needed to address those gaps and meet the needs of the workforce in the future.
Blog Shielded voices: hearing from those most in need Charlotte Augst, Chief Executive of National Voices, and Dan Wellings, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund, make the case for including communities using services in the Covid-19 response.
Blog Why are improvements in life expectancy slowing in the United Kingdom and across Europe? In an international collaboration, The King's Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development examine the role of cardiovascular disease in changes in life expectancy.
Blog Learning from Grenfell: how can services better work with the communities they serve? As health and care services rapidly transform to tackle the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, Sally Warren considers the value of working with and within communities to drive change, drawing on the lessons learnt in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy.
Blog Public satisfaction with the NHS rose sharply in 2019 – why? Dan Wellings and John Appleby consider how staff satisfaction, patient experience and recent funding announcements may have influenced public satisfaction with the NHS.
Blog Learning the lessons from Grenfell: ‘our stories and our voice’ The Grenfell tragedy and its aftermath have revealed that public sector organisations do not always adequately serve local communities. In this guest blog, authors from Grenfell United reflect on the importance of sharing stories and real engagement at all levels to build trust and ensure meaningful support.
Blog 2019: The health policy year in 12 charts Siva Anandaciva takes a quick look back at some of the key events that shaped national policy in 2019 and asks what the year ahead might have in store for health and care.
Blog Five reasons why this NHS winter may be different Siva Anandaciva considers the prospects for a NHS dealing with winter pressures, workforce challenges and limited funding, while planning for a no-deal Brexit.
Blog Tackling poor health outcomes: the role of trauma-informed care People who have experienced trauma face a number of barriers to accessing health care. Deborah Fenney explains why a trauma-informed approach is essential for supporting a group that currently face poor health outcomes.
Blog An outsider’s reflections on NHS primary care reform New Zealander Martin Hefford reflects on his time in the UK and ponders the questions about primary care reform that arose from his conversations with those working in primary care, secondary care and the third sector.
Blog Securing money to improve mental health care... but no staff to spend it on Ambitions to improve the quality of mental health care will fail if they are not accompanied by plans to address staff shortages. Helen Gilburt looks at the effect of staff shortages on staff, patients and quality of care.
Blog Party conference season: the key announcements on health and social care As this year’s party conference season comes to a close, what have we learned about the main parties’ priorities for health and social care? Richard Murray weighs up the key commitments, from funding and the NHS workforce to social care reform.
Blog NHS sickness absence: let’s talk about mental health Rising demand for services and systemic staff shortages are putting NHS staff under increasing pressure. What impact is this having on sickness absence rates in the NHS, and what can be done to reduce the pressure on staff?
Blog Cancer or dementia: the social care system is unfair to people with either condition The often-made contrast between ‘free’ support for cancer and ‘means-tested’ support for dementia is not entirely accurate, says Simon Bottery.
Publications: Independent research and analysis on health and social care Reports, long reads and articles.