Health and care explained

Making sense of the health and care system

What's new?

Commissioned report

Dentistry in England explained

NHS dentistry is a pillar of the primary care system. But how is dentistry organised in England? In our explainer we explore the service's structure, commissioning and contracting, NHS dental appointment costs, workforce and the challenges facing this part of the health and care system.

The NHS in crisis – evaluating the radical alternatives

What are the benefits and potential drawbacks of the 'radical' alternatives to the NHS? We explore the main options and if they could solve problems in the health and care system.

The NHS explained

The NHS explained free online course: how the health system in England really works

Build your understanding of the NHS — its inner workings, current and future challenges, and how it all fits together — on our free online course.

Key resources

From our animations to our essential nutshell explainers, this section brings together our key health and care explained resources.

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Data visualisation: the NHS in a nutshell

Only have five minutes? Our nutshell explainers are quick-read guides that tell the story behind the figures to help you understand the NHS, health and social care in England.

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

Watch: The King's Fund animations

Covering everything from population health to NHS funding, our animations will help you understand the health and care system in England.

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Resource: Health and care defined

The health and care policy landscape is constantly evolving and the language that we use to describe this landscape changes along with it. This jargon buster aims to demystify and clarify some of the concepts and terms that are frequently used in health and care policy.

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Listen: The King's Fund podcast

Our monthly podcast explores the big ideas in health and care. We sit down with experts from The King’s Fund and beyond about the NHS, social care, and all things health policy and leadership.

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What do we think about key health and care issues?

From the health and care workforce to mental health services, we set out The King's Fund view on a range of topics, based on our research and policy analysis as well as the work we do with individuals and organisations in the health and care system.

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Online course: The NHS explained

How much do you know about the history of the NHS and how it all works and fits together? What will it look like in the future? Our course will help you understand the building blocks that make up the health care system in England.

Learning and support

Have a question about health and care? Why not ask our library enquiry service or our policy and leadership experts at a virtual conference or course?

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Have a question? Ask a librarian

Do you have a health or social care question? Need to check a reference or a fact? Our free enquiry service will soon have you up to speed.

Speakers at our compassionate leadership online event

Join us at an event

Find out about our conferences and events, hosted in-person at the Fund or virtually.

Making sense of Covid-19 and emergency care

A close up of a bar chart in bright colours

What’s going on with A&E waiting times?

Waiting times in accident and emergency (A&E) departments are a key measure of how the NHS is performing. In recent years, patients have been waiting longer in A&E; here we look at why that is.

Patient in hospital bed

NHS hospital bed numbers: past, present, future

The number of hospital beds in England has more than halved over the past 30 years. This explainer looks at data on hospital beds, explores the drivers underpinning the changes it shows, and considers whether further reductions to bed numbers are realistic.

Making sense of NHS funding and finances

The NHS budget and how it has changed over time

Data visualisation

The NHS budget and how it has changed

What is the NHS budget and how is it funded? Find out in our nutshell.

Data vis teaser - NHS trusts in deficit

Data visualisation

NHS trusts in deficit

As part of the new five-year funding deal announced for the NHS in 2018, national NHS bodies have said that no trusts should be in deficit by 2023/24. Have they met the target?

Making sense of adult social care

Key facts and figures about the NHS

Data visualisation

Key facts and figures about adult social care

What is social care? How many people deliver social care? How much does social care cost individuals and the state? We answer some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about social care.

Two older people stood outside of a care home.

Social care 360

Our latest 360 review outlines and analyses 12 key trends in adult social care in England over recent years. Using a variety of publicly-available data, it provides a uniquely rounded – ‘360 degree’ – view of the sector.

Making sense of population health and inequalities

population health animation teaser

What is population health?

What is a 'population health' approach? And what role do we all play in keeping our communities healthy? Watch our new animation to find out.

What are health inequalities?

What are health inequalities?

This explainer provides an overview of how health inequalities are experienced in England’s population.

Making sense of general practice and community services

Primary care networks explained

A key part of the NHS long-term plan, primary care networks (PCNs) will bring general practices together to work at scale. But what are they? How are they funded and held accountable? And what difference will they make? Beccy Baird explains the latest form of GP collaboration.

What is social prescribing?

Social prescribing enables GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services to support their health and wellbeing. But does it work? And how does it fit in with wider health and care policy?

Red stethascope teaser

The 2020/21 update to the GP contract explained

NHS England and the British Medical Association’s general practice committee have negotiated an update to the five-year GP contract framework published in January 2019. This explainer outlines the changes and explains what they mean for the future of general practice.

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

Watch our animation to discover the key organisations that make up the NHS and how they can collaborate with partners in the health and care system to deliver joined-up care.

Making sense of integrated care

Place-based partnerships explained

What are place-based partnerships, and how are they working in practice? Chris Naylor and Anna Charles explain the purpose, expectations and governance of these local collaborations.

Digram showing how integrated care systems will work under the 2022 Health and Care Act

Data visualisation

Integrated care systems: how will they work under the Health and Care Act?

We've developed a diagram to show how integrated care systems will work under the Health and Care Act.

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

Watch our animation to discover the key organisations that make up the NHS and how they can collaborate with partners in the health and care system to deliver joined-up care.

Image showing illustration of the Parliament of Westminster

The Health and Care Act: six key questions

The Health and Care Act, which introduces significant reforms to the organisation and delivery of health and care services in England, received Royal Assent in April 2022. In this long read, we explain what the changes brought in by the Act mean in practice.

Example lead provider structure of a provider collabarative.

Provider collaboratives: explaining their role in system working

What are provider collaboratives and how will they fit into the wider health and care system? Our explainer looks at how these structures could develop and the opportunities they offer.