Publications

This briefing examines the recent debate over hospital configuration in England; describes what changes are currently being proposed together with the main factors driving these changes; and sets out the process by which services can be reconfigured.

With the Healthcare Commission's annual health check putting the spotlight on the performance of NHS leaders, Karen Lynas warns against underinvesting in its leaders.

Tony Harrison and Ian Gilmore ask whether more care at home and new 'polyclinics' will spell the end of district general hospitals?

Has Agenda for Change achieved its ambitious objectives of reforming pay, developing new ways of working and delivering better care? Using key national informants and case studies in 10 NHS trusts, this paper assesses the implementation.

Imagine being able to see the future and assess health needs and the repercussions of policy initiatives. Windmill 2007 did that and found some valuable pointers.

At the dawn of a new political administration, The King's Fund Chief Executive Niall Dickson examines the issues likely to dominate health debate in the coming months.

This paper supports the challenges set out by the Department of Health for Payments by Results, but asks if its goals are likely to conflict in practice.

In January 2006 the Department of Health published 'Our health, our care, our say: A new direction for community services'. This briefing outlines the main policies.

One of the most controversial proposals in the government's Mental Health Bill is the introduction of supervised community treatment (SCT). This briefing explores some of the surrounding issues and the available evidence on the likely effect of SCT.

This briefing outlines the main points in the 2007/8 Operating Framework, provides some analysis of the content and discusses the implications of the accompanying documents.

Niall Dickson explains why workforce planning in health is a nightmare.

Jo Maybin says ministers face a struggle to win over sceptics about NHS reform.

The lack of a 'big picture' of where NHS reforms will take us means investment and strategic planning are severely hampered. Alasdair Liddell and Laurie McMahon describe a behavioural modelling approach that can help.

The King's Fund was commissioned to carry out this literature review on clinician behaviour on behalf of NICE.

What impact have community-based compulsory treatment orders had in the first six months since they were introduced in Scotland, and what lessons can England and Wales learn from this experience?

This paper responds to a report on medical regulation, 'Good Doctors, Safer Patients' and the review by the Department of Health on the regulation of non-medical health care professions.

Amid increasing independent and voluntary sector involvement in NHS service delivery this report highlights issues that the government and health service providers in all three sectors should address.

Drawing on evidence from five acute NHS trusts, this paper assesses the impact of the new consultant contract in England and asks whether reforms will translate into benefits for patients.

Explores how social enterprises, particularly those with a 'mutual' structure, could add value to the provision of primary and community care and practice-based commissioning, and suggests how this system could be implemented.

As we reach the end of the financial year, Niall Dickson warns there could be even more stories of deficits, wards being closed and staff being cut.