In December 2006, the Department of Health issued its second 'operating framework', The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2007/08, which provides a set of rules and guidance for NHS organisations in England for the year ahead. Aimed primarily at managers and clinical staff, the operating framework for 2007/8 ...
The 2006/7 Operating Framework, published at the end of January 2006, sets out the Department of Health's priorities for the NHS in England over the next financial year, a year which the document expects to be 'challenging'. It is aimed primarily at NHS managers and their counterparts in local government. ...
The government's reforms of contracts and pay for NHS staff are designed not just to pay staff more but also to secure changes in working patterns and productivity that translate into benefits for patients. This paper assesses the impact of the new consultant contract in England. Its findings are based ...
As part of Lord Darzi's review of the NHS, each strategic health authority (SHA) outside London was commissioned to produce a report outlining their 'vision' for care in their region over the coming decade. This briefing provides a thematic summary of some of the key features of the nine SHA ...
Government health policy has been encouraging a shift in the balance of care from hospital to community settings. The Department of Health commissioned The King's Fund, in partnership with Loop2, to undertake a simulation-based project entitled SeeSaw to understand how this shift in care could be achieved. This report outlines ...
The pace of change and reform in the NHS has been relentless as government and those who work in the NHS seek ways to improve the service. The King's Fund set up an expert working group to examine how effective the current incentives were in achieving this aim. The group ...
Lord Darzi's report, NHS Next Stage Review, attempts to open a new chapter in the story of 'quality' in the English NHS: how to move on from a centrally driven performance management regime - with its focus on driving activity and meeting targets - to a more sophisticated strategy that ...
The reconfiguration of acute and community hospital services in England has recently come to dominate discussions about NHS reform - both locally and nationally - and is provoking a great deal of controversy. This briefing examines the background to the current debate, identifies the main factors driving the changes, explores ...
Since 1997, the Labour government has made some momentous changes to the way primary care is managed and delivered. The creation of Primary Care Groups, the development of NHS Direct and the implementation of clinical governance will all have an effect on GP services for decades to come. In "What ...