The rise and decline of the NHS in England 2000–20
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at how political failure led to the crisis in the NHS and social care. Multi-year funding increases and a series of reforms resulted in major improvements in NHS performance between 2000 and 2010, but performance has declined since 2010 as a result of much lower...
Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2022
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at results from the British Social Attitudes survey. The National Centre for Social Research’s (NatCen’s) British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey has been conducted annually since 1983. Each year the survey asks people what it's like to live in Britain and what they think about how...
Dying well at home
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at commissioning quality end-of-life care. Increasingly people are dying at home rather than in hospital and this trend is set to continue. This raises questions about whether there are the right staff with the right skills to support people in their home at the end...
Independent health care and the NHS
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at the role of the independent sector in providing health care. Discussion around the role of the independent sector in providing health care often focuses on the ‘privatisation’ of the NHS. Private providers have always played a role in the NHS, and while there was...
Strategies to reduce waiting times for elective care
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at he strategies that have been used to reduce waiting times in England in the past 20 years. In the face of record high waiting times for elective care, we undertook research to understand the strategies that have been used to reduce waiting times in...
NHS staffing shortages
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at why politicians struggle to give the NHS the staff it needs. The workforce crisis has been a prominent issue for years, but there has been little concerted action from governments to tackle the challenge. For almost two decades now there has been no clear...
Cardiovascular disease in England: supporting leaders to take actions
This report from UK think tank The King's Fund looks at delivering a coherent CVD and public health strategy focusing on prevention and management. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes 1 in 4 deaths in England, and is a leading cause of morbidity, disability and health inequalities. The Covid-19 pandemic has added to the urgency of tackling...
Poverty and the health and care system
This report from UK think tank the King's Fund looks at the role of data and partnership in bringing change. Health and care systems can mitigate, reduce and prevent poverty’s effects on health, but to do this they need to be much better at sharing and acting on data. Our long read with the Centre...
Why do diagnostics matter?
This report from UK think tank the King's Fund looks at maximising the potential of diagnostics services. The Covid-19 pandemic has increased awareness of the role that diagnostics play in disease detection, prevention and management. Policy-makers have also singled out diagnostics for greater focus in recent years, particularly given their pivotal role in supporting system...
Interoperability is more than technology
This report from UK think tank the King's Fund looks at the role of culture and leadership in joined-up care. Integrated care systems (ICSs) and provider collaboratives are ushering in a move towards more collaborative working across organisations in health, social care and the voluntary and community sector – and digital health technologies have an...