Government policy is driving a fundamental shift of care from hospitals to more community-based settings. There is a growing expectation that this shift will be supported by the development of a network of new facilities in which primary, community and secondary care services are co-located, often referred to as polyclinics. ...
Local accountability has been a significant policy issue within the NHS generally. However, primary care trusts are in the main accountable to the centre and there have been calls to review this. This paper discusses a range of options for reforming the relationships between PCTs and their public. It explores ...
An independent NHS board has been advocated by a number of commentators, who believe it will reduce both micromanagement and day-to-day political interference in the running of the health service. This report argues that an independent board would be limited in its ability to achieve these aims. It suggests a ...
Bringing together the findings from the Caring Choices events and website, this report looks at possible solutions to the problem of funding long-term care. Caring Choices, a coalition of 15 organisations from across the long-term care system, aimed to raise awareness and encourage debate, as well as generate and test ...
There is a level of public concern about the safety of maternity care in England, highlighted by a number of high-profile cases. The King's Fund set up an independent inquiry to establish how safe maternity services are and to make practical recommendations for change. This report of their findings is ...
Complementary medical practitioners may be a distinct minority in places such as Europe, North America and Australia, but in other countries the number of practitioners and the people who use their services are in the majority. Many practitioners practise without qualification or adequate training, and in response to this the ...
This is the second paper in a series, Kicking Bad Habits, on how people can be encouraged to adopt healthy behaviour. Looking at interventions targeted specifically at low-income groups, this paper asks which interventions are effective in getting people to quit smoking, eat healthily and exercise. It reveals that the ...
Attempts to give more choice to users of public sector services has been a major theme of the Labour government's public sector modernisation programme. Policies have been developed in health care, education and social housing that aim to give users a greater choice of publicly or privately owned providers, and ...