Ghosted by an old friend
“…personal contact was a vital element in general practice from the beginning. By 1959 50% of people in England regarded their GP as a personal friend.”
How data makes things worse
All light brings shade. My list of ‘changes that have been all upside and no downside’ is short and debatable.
Leadership training and support for organisational development: an offer from the Strategy Unit
The Strategy Unit has long been known for the quality of its analytical work, and the clear, critical thi
How is growth in diagnostic testing affecting the hospital system?
Diagnostic services, such as medical imaging, endoscopy, and pathology, have grown substantially in recent years and at a faster rate than most other healthcare services. Increased diagnostic testing brings benefits to patients, but rapid growth of this service area within a complex, adaptive system such as the NHS is likely to have had unintended consequences. Midlands ICBs wanted to understand the impact of diagnostic growth on hospital services.
No more suffering in silence, we want to talk about the menopause
To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, Karen Bradley, Principal Consultant at the Strategy Unit, and Susan Blakey, Senior People Consultant at MLCSU, two advisors involved in the recent project, ‘Menopause and the NHS Workforce’, discuss its significance and share what they want to see happen as a result of the published report.
Evaluating and embedding social values in procurement at East London NHS Foundation Trust
This report presents emerging findings from the early development stages of a social value approach to procurement by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). These findings provide insights for other organisations beginning to explore how to use procurement to contribute to improving health and reducing health inequalities.
Urgent Community Response – What Works?
The Strategy Unit, with our partners Ipsos, has been commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) to provide a long-term national evaluation of the Urgent Community Response programme rolled-out across England. The programme aims to shift resources to home and community-based services as part of the NHS commitment to providing the right care, to the right people, at the right time. And there are a range of outputs from the early work that provide learning for local systems as they develop their services.
Advancing the analytical capability of the NHS and its ICS partners
The Strategy Unit were asked by the Strategy and Development Team in the Directorate of the Chief Data and Analytics Officer, NHSE/I, to make recommendations for advancing analytical capability across the health and care workforce.
Less noise and more light: using criteria-driven analysis to tackle inequalities
Reducing health inequality is a long-standing aim of health policy. Yet the gap between policy aim and population outcome has grown in recent years: on most measures health inequalities have got worse.
COVID-19: breaking the cycle of deprivation and ill health
Promoting whole-system action on the wider determinants of healthy life expectancy in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic
Making sense of evidence
It's time to celebrate World Evidence-Based Healthcare (EBHC) Day. In a world dominated by COVID-19 and the associated infodemic, this day arguably has more resonance. Closer to home, EBHC Day also coincides with our Insight 2020 festival and the launch of the Midlands Decision Support network. What better opportunity to ask, 'what does evidence-informed decision making actually mean'?
Health service use in the last two years of life
Health and care services get just one opportunity to support people at the end of their life. When this support is compassionate and appropriate, unnecessary suffering can be avoided and grieving can be eased. When this is not the case, harm and distress can result. The difference in these experiences can be profound.
Socio-economic and environmental impact of Herefordshire and Worcestershire STP
Anchor institutions are large, typically non-profit, public sector organisations whose long-term sustaina
Exploring Mental Health Inpatient Capacity
This report explores the pressures on inpatient mental health services across Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in England, drawing on a wide range of datasets, published research and interviews with staff working on mental health services. The report was commissioned by and includes a response from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Learning and Development of Problem Solving Techniques
What is innovation?
Clinical Workforce Scenarios for the Black Country
The future is highly uncertain.
Emerging from the silos: how the NHS can support economic growth
The Strategy Unit has been leading the way on supporting local NHS bodies to consider the wider economic impact of how they operate. Here, David Frith highlights what a shift this is for the NHS, along with the range of opportunities NHS bodies should consider exploring.
Let’s face the music and (not) dance
David Frith leads our strategy consultancy work with NHS and third sector organisations.
Tools & templates: Problem structuring
Problem trees and driver diagrams can help you to understand the causes and effects of your problem.