Blog | The King's Fund

Enhancing health in care homes: system leadership in action

Building relationships is central to the success of work under way to enhance health in care homes. Susie Perks-Baker looks at how respecting each other’s skills and knowledge can help.

Why have improvements in mortality slowed down?

Veena Raleigh looks at the current debate around the slow-down in mortality improvements in England and Wales.

Age-related dependency needs policy and long-term planning

Can we reduce late-life dependency or plan for it better? David Oliver reflects on the findings of a recent Lancet paper and asks what we can do to tackle the challenges it highlights.

Overcoming the challenges to improve health and wellbeing in care homes

David Oliver considers the role of care homes in the social care sector, and the challenges that need to be tackled while seeking to improve the health and wellbeing of care home residents.

Home truths: are older people paying the price for social care cuts?

Following the launch of the Social care for older people: home truths report, Patrick Hall considers whether older people are paying the price for cuts to social care.

Why is it more difficult than ever for older people to leave hospital?

David Oliver looks at the findings of the National Audit Office report and considers why hospitals are still failing to discharge older people on time.

Caring for older people with frailty: despite the challenges we do have some reasons to be cheerful

Ahead of our upcoming conference on delivering integrated care for older people with frailty, David Oliver reflects on the current challenges and opportunities.

Improving hospital discharge and intermediate care for older people

Healthwatch England's recent report, Safely home, described in harrowing detail the personal stories of patients who felt that their discharge from hospital was unsupported. It also described patients marooned in acute beds unable to move on. So how can older people's care be improved?

Admission to a nursing home can never become a ‘never’ event

I agreed with much of what Simon Stevens said at the Age UK For Later Life conference until he stated that he would be ‘disappointed’ if care homes still existed within the next 50 years. I didn’t get the chance to challenge him but I want to do it now.

Delivering innovations in the care of older people: an opportunity to brag, steal, learn and deliver?

We have ample evidence of what good care for older people looks like and numerous service models delivering it, yet we aren’t very good at disseminating good practice, and worse still at adopting and implementing improvements at scale and pace.

Whatever happened to the Department of Health’s plan for vulnerable older people?

Back in the summer of 2013, Jeremy Hunt announced a public consultation on a new plan to improve care for vulnerable older people. This was finally published last month, but what does the plan mean for older people's care?

The time has come to make health and care services work for our ageing population

David Oliver, the author of our new report on caring for an ageing population, presents the arguments for a whole systems, end-to-end redesign across all services and stages of health for local older populations.

The National Intermediate Care Audit: key to understanding integrated care for older people

We can’t deal with the emergency care crisis at the front door of the hospital without addressing the situation at the back door – there are still too many patients who could be sent home within 0 – 2 days but who would not be able to access community support in time, says David Oliver.

What are the real costs of falls and fractures?

David Oliver looks at the direct and indirect costs associated with falls and fractures, and how we can disentangle these from the costs of the multiple morbidities people who fall often live with.

Ageing: opportunity or challenge?

To secure the opportunities of the ‘gift of longer life’ we have to think differently about how we organise and fund our health and care services for an ageing population.

Named clinicians for vulnerable older people – how will it work in practice?

Jeremy Hunt recently announced that vulnerable older people in England are to have a named clinician responsible for their care when they leave hospital – but how will it work? And what are the caveats?

We must end ageism and age discrimination in health and social care

David Oliver argues that, unless our society changes its attitudes to older people, it will be an uphill battle to deliver results.

A new beginning for the care of older people in hospital?

Although the care of older people will be ‘core business’ for the foreseeable future, numerous reports have highlighted serious failings in that care. Does the government's response to the Francis Inquiry report mark a new beginning?

A mounting case for change, but will it drive change in a 'liberated NHS'?

In the light of two new reports, Candace Imison reflects on the impact of staff provision during out-of-hours on the quality of care.

Why continuity of care is crucial for patients

Continuity and co-ordination is essential for safe, effective and high quality care, however for older patients it has fundamental importance.

Publications: Independent research and analysis on health and social care

Reports, long reads and articles.