Blog | The King's Fund

Initiating improvement: the impact of the Care Quality Commission’s approach to inspection

In light of the recent National Audit Office report, Rachael Smithson considers the Care Quality Commission’s approach and the ways in which the organisation is having an impact on quality of care.

Surviving and thriving as a small health and wellbeing charity

Natasha Thomas, Chief Executive of GSK IMPACT Award-winning charity Health Action Local Engagement, reflects on what she has learnt as a charity leader over the past 14 years.

Clinical leadership – moving from good will to good practice

Durka Dougall looks at the areas in which clinical leadership can make a difference as the health and care system evolves, suggesting that a more strategic and comprehensive approach is needed to meet modern-day needs.

London calling: health and inequalities in the capital

Kathy Johnson explores the London Programme: a co-ordinated programme of development work and grant giving set up by the Fund in 1979 with the aim of improving health care in the capital.

Sustainable primary care provides a platform for system change

In the final blog in our series about the transformation of the Canterbury health system in New Zealand, Vince Barry, Chief Executive of Pegasus Health, looks at how building sustainable primary care creates a platform for change.

‘You need a whole system to work for the whole system to work’

In this guest blog, David Meates, Chief Executive of the Canterbury District Health Board in New Zealand, explains how organisations within the Canterbury health system have moved from playing the ‘blame game’ to working together to provide the best possible care for the local population.

Whole-system transformation needs whole-system engagement

Recently, the Fund hosted a visit by leaders of the health system in Canterbury, New Zealand. In this blog, the first of three drawing on experiences shared during the visit, Chris Ham focuses on how Canterbury’s leaders began transforming care and the results they delivered.

How does the NHS work? A never-ending story

Our new six-and-a half-minute animation explains how the NHS works. Katie Mantell looks at how and why we produced it.

Public engagement – pitfalls, barriers and benefits

As part of our project on the NHS and the public, Dan Wellings asks why the NHS can be reluctant to involve the public in decision-making and makes the case for why it should.

The NHS and the public: a historical perspective

This is the second in our series of guest blogs about the changing relationship between the NHS and the public. Here, Mathew Thomson, Professor of History at Warwick University, looks at the historical context of the public’s relationship with the NHS.

A system response to provider failure: does Greater Manchester point to a different future?

Should we start to look at provider failure as a system issue rather than an organisational one? Chris Ham looks at the lessons the NHS can learn from Greater Manchester.

Falling number of nurses in the NHS paints a worrying picture

Richard Murray considers the falling number of nurses and health visitors in the NHS.

Accountable care: policy fad or step forward on the journey towards integrated care?

Nicola Walsh looks at the progress towards integration in emerging accountable care systems and considers the challenges facing leaders and managers.

Comprehensive quality improvement: not ‘why should we do it?’ but ‘when will we start?’

As the Fund publishes a report on leadership for quality improvement, Matthew Kershaw encourages NHS organisations to embrace its lessons for leaders and make a start.

What do child health indicators tell us?

What do the recently published child health indicators tell us about how well children are doing? And how could the indicators inform a cross-sector strategy for children in England? Jill Roberts looks for answers.

Hospital bed numbers – can the downward trend continue?

Leo Ewbank asks whether sustainability and transformation plan proposals to reduce the number of hospital beds are realistic.

Is investment in GP services increasing?

Is the promised extra funding for general practice reaching frontline services? Beccy Baird explains how the lack of national data makes this a hard question to answer.

Compassion and innovation in the NHS

Michael West looks at the support available to NHS organisations that want to create compassionate cultures to stimulate innovation.

Co-ordination, co-operation and reorganisation: the Fund’s national focus on health care in the 1970s

Deena Maggs explores the work of the Fund during a period of significant reorganisation in the NHS.

Streamlining the organisation of the NHS without a top-down reorganisation

Chris Ham makes the case for aligning the work of NHS Improvement and NHS England.

Publications: Independent research and analysis on health and social care

Reports, long reads and articles.