Blog | The King's Fund

Theresa May: credit where it is due?

As Theresa May formally steps down as Conservative leader, Nicholas Timmins considers whether history will remember her legacy on health kindly.

A new trend in elective hip surgery?

After more than a decade of steady growth, the number of elective hip procedures is in decline. Deborah Ward and Lillie Wenzel unpack this surprising trend.

The NHS misses its new target for planned elective care

Siva Anandaciva considers the shift in priorities for the elective care waiting list and outlines three key considerations for developing a new strategy: how to best measure waiting times, setting realistic targets and the importance of short waits for patients.

Spare change: the public and NHS funding

Is the NHS adequately funded, and how should funding be raised? Harry Evans explores the findings of the British Social Attitudes survey on public attitudes towards NHS funding and taxation.

What does the public think about the NHS and Brexit?

Will leaving the European Union be good or bad for the NHS? Beccy Baird explores the results of the BSA survey, which asked members of the public what they think Brexit will mean for the health service.

Why is public satisfaction with the NHS still falling?

Ruth Robertson explores the factors behind why public satisfaction with the NHS is still falling, despite 2018's funding boost.

Better value and a better night's sleep: keeping acutely unwell children and adults out of hospital

Mathew Mathai, Consultant Paediatrician at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, explains how the concept of a ‘virtual hospital’ and keeping patients out of hospital where possible has helped to improve quality and reduce costs.

NHS performance: bad, better or both?

In light of rising demand for NHS services how should we talk about performance against targets? Deborah Ward takes a different view of the data.

The changing shape of NHS finances

As austerity and widespread staffing shortages began to bite over the past decade, the finances of NHS providers often took a familiar shape each year. But more recently this pattern of financial performance has been increasingly pulled out of shape and distorted.

Is the problem of excessive winter deaths unique to the UK?

Veena Raleigh assesses patterns in the latest mortality data for European countries.

The perpetual winter’s tale

Matthew Kershaw looks at the ongoing pressure on NHS performance and calls for action to ensure that the situation during the winter crisis does not become the new normal.

Achieving a balance between quality, access and money

Focusing on just one of these priorities can seem more straightforward, but that is not the reality of life for NHS leaders and is not the right approach, says Matthew Kershaw.

Public satisfaction with GP services drops to lowest level in 35 years

Ruth Robertson considers why public satisfaction with GP services has dropped to its lowest level in 35 years.

Hidden from the targets: how long are patients waiting for NHS care?

Deteriorating performance against national waiting time targets is one of the most visible signs of the increasing pressures facing the NHS. But do the current headlines fully capture how long patients are now waiting for NHS care?

Priorities for the NHS in 2018/19 and beyond

Does the new NHS planning guidance contain good news or bad? Richard Murray takes stock of the changes.

NHS winter crisis: when a plan is not a plan

Matthew Kershaw highlights the need for a fundamental change to the way NHS emergency care is provided.

Preventing a recurrence of this winter's pressures

Preventing a recurrence of this winter’s crisis

Chris Ham considers what needs to be done to stabilise the NHS and ensure that this winter's crisis does not recur.

A&E performance reaches a new low

The media and groups of NHS staff are describing an A&E service in crisis, while the government says the NHS is more prepared for winter than ever before. What does the latest national data say about how A&E departments are coping compared with previous winters?

Black alerts: for emergencies only?

Matthew Kershaw considers whether the frequency of black alerts this winter is putting staff and patients under unsustainable pressure.

Delayed transfers of care: a target that misses the mark?

David Maguire considers what progress has been made in reducing delayed transfers of care.

Publications: Independent research and analysis on health and social care

Reports, long reads and articles.