The King's Fund blog: health policy, NHS leadership, health and social care

The conundrum of children’s and young people’s health: time to address it

David Buck looks at the seemingly paradoxical trends in children and young people's health and wellbeing, and argues that it's time for policy-makers to start responding.

Crowd-sourcing the future of the NHS

With the winner of our The NHS essay competition due to be announced next month, Katie Mantell reflects on the wide array of insightful ideas submitted.

‘Waste’ in health care: separating good from bad

Chris Ham argues that some waste in health care is necessary to deliver better value in the longer-term.

Taking back control: Integrated Personal Commissioning

Patrick Hall asks whether personalised care planning and budgets could improve the experiences of people with complex needs, achieve better outcomes and make better use of limited resources.

Taking the right approach to community-based health services

Beccy Baird reflects on perceived public feeling towards the proposal that the NHS should invest in community-based health care rather than hospitals.

Demand and activity in the NHS: still rising

As we publish our new briefing, Richard Murray considers the wider context of increasing demand and activity in English hospitals.

Doing justice to mental health in STPs

Chris Naylor looks at whether mental health is being considered carefully enough in the development of sustainability and transformation plans.

The general management 'mistake'

Following Jeremy Hunt's comments about whether the creation of a general management class in the NHS in the 1980s had been a mistake, Matthew Lewis reflects on whether this is the case and how clinical leadership can be better developed.

Missing the wood for the trees

Ben Collins reflects on the reasons behind the failure of the UnitingCare contract, and lessons that have been learnt for commissioning in the NHS.

What now for social care?

Widespread dismay greeted the omission of any reference in the 2016 Autumn Statement to the perilous state of social care funding. Richard Humphries looks at the options available.

What have we learnt about keeping people safer?

Following our recent event on keeping people safer in the health and care system, David Naylor reflects on how the implementation gap between theory and practice can be narrowed.

Wisdom, vision and courage are needed to develop people and improve care

With the publication of a new national framework for improvement and leadership development in NHS-funded services, Michael West considers how it offers optimism and practical next steps for a beleaguered NHS.

HIV services: collaboration in a time of fragmentation

In light of a recent judicial review on the use of anti-retroviral drugs for HIV prevention, Joni Jabbal looks at the outcomes from our research into the impact of NHS reforms on HIV services.

Unmet need for health and social care: a growing problem?

With recent research from Age UK suggesting that 1.2 million older people are not receiving the social care they need, Anna Charles looks at how this issue appears to be slipping under the radar.

Producing quality patient information

Lynsey Hawker looks through The King's Fund's archive to explore how guidance on what constitutes good-quality patient information has changed over the years.

Involving patients and the public in developing STPs

With recent discussion around the lack of patient and public involvement in the development of STPs so far, Mark Doughty considers how this can be addressed moving forward.

A health service on the brink: a priority in the corridors of power?

With the much-anticipated Autumn Statement next week and NHS financial pressures hitting the headlines, Chris Ham considers the political context and what lies ahead for a health service on the brink.

Can the NHS and social care be expected to withstand financial pressures as police and defence services have in the past?

Ahead of next week's Autumn Statement, Nicholas Timmins compares the financial pressures currently facing the health and care system with those weathered by other sectors in the past.

Workforce and workload pressures are building in general practice, so why be a GP?

As we publish the first results from our new monitoring of general practice, Emily Northern looks at the challenges facing the sector and asks why doctors choose to become GPs.

Commensality – or bring back the lunch break

Reflecting on insight from the high-performing Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Chris Ham considers how its values could be applied to improve performance and outcomes in the NHS.