Publications | The King's Fund

Two people standing outside a nursing home

Social care 360

This review outlines and analyses 20 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.

What does the NHS England review of waiting times mean for accident and emergency departments?

As NHS England proposes new waiting times targets, Siva Anandaciva weighs up the impact of the four-hour target and outlines seven key issues for the new standards that have been proposed for emergency departments.

Improving population health

What does improving population health really mean?

Everybody in NHS policy seems to be talking about population health. But what does it really mean and how can we improve it?

Closing the gap: Key areas for action on the health and care workforce

Closing the gap: Key areas for action on the health and care workforce

Staffing is the make-or-break issue for the NHS in England. In this joint report with the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation, we set out the policy actions that need to be at the heart of the workforce implementation plan due to be published later this year.

The Autumn Budget: joint statement on health and social care

Nuffield Trust, the Health Foundation and The King’s Fund are urging the government to address the critical state of health and social care in its forthcoming Autumn Budget.

What is happening to waiting times in the NHS?

We examine the big issues and recent NHS performance on waiting times.

How is the NHS performing? November 2017: Quarterly Monitoring Report

Performance against a number of key indicators is worse than at this time last year, and finances remain precarious despite an emergency funding injection.

State of health and care in England

Services are at full stretch and struggling to maintain standards, says Chris Ham.

Making the case for quality improvement: lessons for NHS boards and leaders

At a time of significant financial and operational pressure, local and national NHS leaders need to focus on improving quality and delivering better-value care. We make the case for quality improvement and share lessons for NHS boards and leaders.

Patient in hospital bed

NHS hospital bed numbers: past, present, future

The number of NHS hospital beds in England has more than halved over the past 30 years. This briefing examines the data on hospital beds, explores the drivers underpinning the changes observed and considers whether STPs’ proposed bed reductions are realistic.

Making an impact: Matthew’s story

We talk to Matthew Lanham, Chief Executive of the Neuromuscular Centre – a charity that won a GSK IMPACT Award in recognition of its work to improve people's health.

Diagram of NHS commissioning cycle

What is commissioning and how is it changing?

Commissioning is the process by which health and care services are planned, purchased and monitored. Here we look at the commissioning process in more detail, the organisations involved and how it is changing.

What does the public think about the NHS?

As part of our project on the changing relationship between the NHS and the public, the Fund commissioned some initial polling from Ipsos MORI. The results are in.

Sustainability and transformation plans in London: an independent analysis of the October 2016 STPs (completed in March 2017)

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) are key to the future of health and care services. This report, commissioned by the Mayor of London and based on work completed in March 2017, looks at the five STPs in London, their contents and common themes.

Funding application form and coins

Building resilience and sustainability – tips for charity leaders

Our work with charities through the GSK IMPACT Awards has highlighted some of the most common challenges they face. Here we share 10 key pieces of advice for charity leaders, based on the knowledge and insight we have gained.

Modelling excellence in the charity sector: learning from 20 years of the GSK IMPACT Awards

This report explores the work of small to medium-sized health and wellbeing charities that have won GSK IMPACT Awards, identifying their characteristics and capabilities and looking at the common factors contributing to organisational effectiveness.

Talking leadership: Mark Redhead on the Top Manager Programme

As we launch a new scheme for alumni of our Top Manager Programme, Mark Redhead talks to us about his experience of the programme and how he is applying what he learned to his work.

Developing accountable care systems: lessons from Canterbury, New Zealand

The health system in Canterbury, New Zealand, has undertaken a significant programme of transformation over the past decade. Our report considers lessons that the NHS can learn as it embarks on its own journey of transformation.

NHS funding and privatisation: the facts

Professor Stephen Hawking’s views on the NHS have prompted a lively debate. Here we set out the facts about NHS funding and privatisation and look at the pros and cons of different ways of paying for health care.

Yet more performance ratings for the NHS: new STP ratings are narrowly focused and centrally driven

In July NHS England published its first 'progress dashboard' for the 44 new sustainability and transformation partnerships, but these new ratings are narrowly focused and centrally driven, say Hugh Alderwick and Veena Raleigh.

Priorities for health and care

What are the priorities for health and social care?

Ahead of the party conference season, we assess the state of health and social care and set out the big issues facing the government.

Enhancing the healing environment: Carrie’s story

Here we talk to Carrie Clarke, who received funding through our Enhancing the Healing Environment programme to transform a ward for people with dementia.

Quality improvement in mental health

Quality improvement has a role to play in improving the quality of care in mental health services. Our report looks at what organisations need to do to implement a quality improvement approach effectively and the benefits this can bring.

Nine things we learnt about provider finances in 2016/17

Nine things we have learnt from NHS Improvement's financial data, which gives an insight into the challenges facing NHS providers of hospital, ambulance, mental health and community services.

Blog: Comment and analysis on the key issues in health and social care

All blog posts from The King's Fund.

Health and care explained: How does the health and care system work? How is it changing?

This selection of content aims to make sense of the health and care system – including videos, articles, illustrated summaries and more.