Performance

Our work on performance against NHS targets and the ways in which success is measured

How is the NHS performing? June 2018

How is the NHS performing? June 2018 quarterly monitoring report

Although we have technically moved out of winter, the latest performance data paints a picture of continuing pressure on NHS staff and services. While A&E departments understandably received much of the focus over the winter months, a quieter decline continues in waiting times for planned (elective) care.

Trolleys and targets: a never-ending winter for hospitals

Trolleys and targets: a never-ending winter for hospitals?

A podcast about big ideas in health and care. Episode two: Does winter ever end for the NHS these days? Helen McKenna talks about winter pressures in A&E with Siva Anandaciva and Matthew Kershaw.

Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2017

Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2017

Public satisfaction with the NHS overall has dropped sharply in the past year and dissatisfaction is at its highest level since 2007.

What is happening to waiting times in the NHS?

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

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?

How are financial pressures affecting patient care?

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?

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?

An NHS winter that never seems to end?

Siva Anandaciva argues that A&E performance may not bounce back as quickly as expected when winter recedes.

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

More patients with complex conditions is the main reason for worsening performance in A&E departments, according to the 22nd quarterly monitoring report from The King's Fund.

Sicker patients the main reason for A&E winter pressures

Sicker patients with more complex conditions are the main reason for worsening performance in A&E departments, according to The King’s Fund’s latest quarterly monitoring report.

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.

'Public increasingly concerned about NHS'

Chris Ham comments on research by Ipsos MORI suggesting public concern about the NHS has jumped to its highest level since 2003.

An insight into frontline clinical care in acute hospitals

Having spent time shadowing frontline physicians in acute hospitals, Chris Ham and Don Berwick set out the challenges they observed and talk about how the Fund is working with others to develop an agenda for improvements.

Frontline clinical care in acute hospitals

Our research looks at pressures on frontline clinical care in acute hospitals.

The NHS at mid-winter

The number of NHS trusts reporting operational pressures is unprecedented, and bed occupancy levels are unsustainably high. Richard Murray examines the story behind the numbers.

Political crisis in the NHS

The government should heed the warning signs and embark on fundamental reform.

Is the NHS in crisis?

The NHS is struggling to cope with record demand and social care services are stretched to the limit. We look at the pressures on services and what needs to be done to put the system on a sustainable footing for the future.

Demand and activity in the NHS: still rising

As we publish our new briefing, Richard Murray considers the wider context of increasing demand and activity in English hospitals.

Demand and activity

How hospital activity in the NHS in England has changed over time

Why is the NHS struggling to maintain standards of care despite increased funding? Demand for services is rising.

Demand for hospital services outstripping NHS funding

The number of admissions to hospital are rising steeply and are outstripping increases in the NHS budget, according to new analysis published today by The King’s Fund.

Can the NHS and social care be expected to withstand financial pressures as police and defence services have in the past?

Ahead of next week's Autumn Statement, Nicholas Timmins compares the financial pressures currently facing the health and care system with those weathered by other sectors in the past.

International health care comparisons reading list

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

Statistics and data reading list

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

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