Topic: Access to care

Our work on rationing and other ways of controlling access to NHS, health and care services

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Understanding NHS financial pressures: how are they affecting patient care?

Severe financial pressures on the NHS show no signs of easing, but how are they affecting patient care?

Ruth Robertson: How are financial pressures affecting patient care?

Ruth Robertson shares findings from our report, Understanding NHS financial pressures: how are they affecting patient care?

The impact of NHS financial pressures – a mixed picture

We know that financial and operational pressures in the NHS can affect patient care in a number of ways, but how and why does the impact vary across different service areas?

Ministers, not NHS England, should decide on the affordability of cost-effective new treatments

The NHS can no longer afford to fund new treatments to the extent that it has done in the past. This potentially has big implications for patients, but the message is being delivered by un-elected NHS organisations when it should be ministers & the budget setters taking responsibility for this.

Did the government meet its pledge to deliver seven-day services?

Ahead of the general election, we explore whether the government met its pledge on seven-day services.

Half of NHS areas planning to cancel or delay spending because of financial pressures

The NHS is now planning to delay or cancel spending in half of local areas this year to meet financial targets, according to The King’s Fund’s latest quarterly monitoring report.

Demands on NHS and social care reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.

Improving access to mental health services reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.

(Elective) hips don't lie: Data reveals pressures on hip replacement services

How have elective hip replacement services been affected by wider financial pressures in the NHS? James Thompson looks at what the data shows.

How are financial pressures affecting patient care?

Completed project

The impact of NHS financial pressures on patient care

This project explores whether the unprecedented slowdown in NHS funding growth since 2010 has affected patients' access to high-quality care, and whether financial pressures are felt differently in different parts of the health system.

Caz Sayer: How are financial pressures affecting patient care?

Caz Sayer gives her response to The King's Fund's report, Understanding NHS financial pressures: how are they affecting patient care?, and discusses the difficult decisions commissioners are currently facing as a result of financial pressures and how these are affecting patients.

Clare Marx: How are financial pressures affecting patient care?

Clare Marx, President of The Royal College of Surgeons, gives her response to The King's Fund's report, Understanding NHS financial pressures: how are they affecting patient care?

Elective treatment on the back-burner?

Financial and operational pressures in the NHS are having a significant impact on elective treatment; the 18-week waiting time standard will not be met in any month during the current financial year. James Thompson analyses the latest data and the tough choices ahead for the NHS.

Read all about it: media coverage of NHS rationing

How does the national media understand and report on rationing in the NHS, and what is the impact of this coverage? Anna Charles reports on our findings.

NHS rationing under the radar

With local health systems being told to balance their books in the middle of the biggest financial crisis in recent NHS history, Ruth Robertson considers the impact of this pressure on patients and staff.

Politicians must be honest with the public about the NHS

The King's Fund is calling on the government to review its priorities for the NHS and be honest with the public about what the health service can deliver with its budget.

Brexit

Five big issues for health and social care after the Brexit vote

In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, we consider what lies ahead for health and social care, and the five big issues that will need to be considered.

How are NHS financial pressures affecting patient care?

Ruth Robertson looks at the ways in which NHS financial pressures can affect patient care, and the difficulties in assessing the real impact.

Six ways in which NHS financial pressures can affect patient care

NHS finances are almost at breaking point. What does this mean for people who access health services?

Assessing demand and supply in general practice

Beccy Baird shares her views on the progress of a project that will collect detailed evidence around the changes in activity in general practice over the past five years.

The three crises facing the NHS in England

Ministers need to be honest with the public about the consequences for patient care, says Chris Ham.

Is the NHS delivering enough of the right things?

Underuse happens when effective care isn’t delivered when it’s needed and it can lead to people needing more complex care as their conditions get worse. So, where might the NHS not be delivering enough of the right things?

The public’s view of which treatments should be available on the NHS

It's hard to disagree with the principle that both costs and effects of treatments need to be weighed in order to make decisions about improving value for money and productivity. For a majority of the public however, this is not a principle they hold.

Financial pressures in the NHS reading list

A selected list of references held by The King's Fund library.

NHS finances: Our work on NHS funding, budgets and finances

Productivity: Our work on efficiency, value for money, supply and demand in the NHS