Access to care

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

Smoker and non-smoker

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?

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 and the budget setters taking responsibility for this.

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?

Public services: how can we design digital pathways for all groups in society?

Brexit

Brexit: the implications for health and social care

Brexit has major implications for health and social care in England. Here we look at some of the latest developments that could impact the health and care system in England.

NHS medicines provision: a tricky balancing act

With medicines spending growing at a time of NHS funding restraint, difficult choices lie ahead for policy-makers. Leo Ewbank assesses the current situation and looks at what the future may hold.

Rising cost of medicines teaser image

The rising cost of medicines to the NHS: what’s the story?

In the face of rising costs, the NHS is grappling with how to provide access to medicines in an affordable way. Our new briefing explores the NHS’s approach to managing its spending on medicines and choices that policy-makers are likely to face in future.

Rising spend on NHS medicines could jeopardise patients’ access to drugs, warns The King's Fund

NHS funding levels are failing to keep pace with growth in NHS spending on medicines, potentially compromising patients’ access to drugs, our research finds.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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