The Health Foundation

NEW: Surgical hubs play a pivotal role in NHS England’s plans to reduce elective care waiting times by increasing capacity. Our new evaluation provides the first robust causal evidence that NHS surgical hubs can significantly increase treatment volumes, which could help reduce the waiting list for elective care. Key findings from our evaluation show: ➡️ In their first year, the 31 trusts with newly-opened hubs undertook 21.9% more high-volume low-complexity surgery (such as hip replacements and cataract removals) than they would have done without a hub. This is equivalent to 29,182 more procedures than expected per year at these trusts. ➡️ In the year following the last COVID-19 lockdown, the 23 trusts that had established a hub pre-pandemic undertook 11.2% more elective activity (of all kinds) than they would have done without a hub. This amounts to 51,086 more procedures than expected between April 2021 and March 2022. ➡️ As well as higher productivity, we found evidence of shorter inpatient stays, suggesting that hubs also have the potential to improve overall efficiency in elective care delivery. High-quality evaluation is crucial to making effective, evidence-led decisions that will lead to measurable outcomes for patients. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/daZ29qAF

NEW: We all need somewhere to call home – not just walls and a roof, but a secure, stable, safe place to grow up and live in. Assistant Director for Healthy Lives, David Finch writes that the new Renters Rights’ Bill offers health-enhancing policy measures that can help improve the security and quality of private rented homes. However, he also argues that it is crucial these new measures are supported with the necessary enforcement and improvements to housing quality standards, along with addressing wider affordability pressures, to ensure our housing market doesn’t remain stuck with last century’s standards and a continuation of historic affordability and insecurity issues. Read David's blog 👇 https://lnkd.in/eXq7DRgS

We’re attending this year’s party conferences, beginning with the Liberal Democrats in Brighton. What five things should be prioritised to build a healthier UK? The Health Foundation will be discussing this and more over the coming weeks. Our priorities: ➡️ Investing in health as an asset and a priority for cross-government action. ➡️ Improving people’s health and tackling inequalities. ➡️ Strengthening capacity and resilience in the NHS. ➡️ Transforming care through innovation, technology and reform. ➡️ Reforming and investing in the adult social care system.

A new report from the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU), supported by the Health Foundation, highlights the challenges in addressing health and socio-economic inequalities in Scotland. The analysis shows that more people in Scotland are in relative poverty than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with food insecurity, homelessness and fuel poverty all at higher levels. It also highlights there is a critical gap in the evidence needed to determine whether policy efforts are having the expected impact. SHERU is a joint collaboration between the University of Strathclyde's Centre for Health Policy and Fraser of Allander Institute, led by Chris Creegan and is part of the Health Foundation’s Driving improving health and reducing inequalities in Scotland programme. Read the full analysis ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eMmkaUCi

NEW: We are seeking to commission a partner to design and deliver a cross-sector senior leaders’ programme to drive improving health and reducing inequalities in Scotland. Applications are now open and we are offering a maximum of £150,000 (including VAT) for this project over two and a half years. The deadline for responses is 12.00 (midday) on Tuesday 15 October 2024. Register for our information call on Thursday 19 September to find out more about this opportunity. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eBn32ifH

The fourth episode in our new Leading Improvement in Health and Care podcast series is now live. Each month, we’ll explore the learning and experiences of people making change across systems. In the UK, Black mothers are up to four times more likely to die during pregnancy or in the postnatal period (six weeks after childbirth) than white women. The systemic biases and structural racism behind the figures are an area where improvement has the potential to make real impact. Black Maternity Matters is a ground-breaking collaboration tackling the inequitable maternity outcomes faced by Black mothers and their babies. They’re working to support maternity systems to offer safer, equitable care for all. We talk to three of their improvement leaders: 🎤 Sonah Paton, Founding Director of Black Mothers Matter, collaborative partner on Black Maternity Matters. 🎤 Noshin Menzies, Senior Project Manager, Health Innovation West of England. 🎤 Ann Remmers, Maternity and Neonatal Clinical Lead, Health Innovation West of England. Listen now ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ee7XGHmd Hosted by Penny Pereira, Managing Director of The Q community at the Health Foundation, and Matthew Taylor CEO of NHS Confederation, each episode aims to spotlight where improvement is working well, as well as the challenges it faces. This podcast is part of Learning and Improving Across Systems, a partnership with NHS Confederation and the Q community to support health and care systems to learn and improve.

Scientists are racing to understand a concerning uptick in cancer rates among younger adults. Some evidence points to roles for established risk factors – including smoking and obesity. But research is also exploring environmental exposures – such as microplastics and ‘forever chemicals’, and how these interact with the body. We ask what this all means for cancer research, health services and national policy. And we explore where there might be grounds for hope. Our Chief Executive Jennifer Dixon discusses with: 🎤 Kimmie Ng MD, specialist in oncology and Director of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Centre at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. 🎤 Charles Swanton, Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and a consultant oncologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Listen now 🎧 https://lnkd.in/d_XGRpxR

NEW: What is personalised prevention and does it hold the key to improving health? Over the past decade, government ambitions for personalised prevention have increasingly focused on technology, health data, and genomic-based approaches as a way to reduce the strain on the NHS. Our latest analysis reveals that, while these approaches hold promise, they rest on five assumptions not yet fully supported by today's clinical, technical, and data capabilities. While technology can play an important role in driving long-term service transformation, the new government must prioritise evidence-backed initiatives while continuing to build capability and invest in robust research in other areas. More broadly, new approaches to personalised prevention are just one part of the broader action required to deliver the government’s ambition to improve health and narrow inequalities, and investment cannot come at the expense of action on the wider determinants of health. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/emfzapum

Which technologies offer the biggest opportunities to save time in the NHS? Technology has the potential to play a significant role in helping tackle the demand, workforce and efficiency challenges the NHS faces. Informed by clinicians’ views, our latest analysis explores which technologies might help boost NHS productivity and release time for care, and recommends actions to realise these gains. We found that many immediate benefits will come from the optimisation and spread of existing technologies, including electronic health records and tools for professional-to-professional communication, rather than newer technologies still in development. Looking to the future, clinicians were on balance optimistic about the potential for AI to save them time in their work within the next 5 years.  However, we know that productivity gains will come not just from technology itself but from how well it is used. To realise the potential benefits, action is needed to the tackle barriers staff say they face in using technology effectively. Realising the benefits of technology in healthcare – including the productivity ambitions signalled in the 2024 Spring Budget – requires understanding the needs and experiences of those who have to use the technology and supporting them effectively. Meaningfully involving NHS staff will also help build the coalition for change that is needed for technology to transform how the NHS provides care.  Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eVWaxPfc

💭 Check out Professor Paul Gregg’s thought paper for the Commission for #HealthierWorkingLives looking at employment, economic inactivity and incapacity. He suggests early intervention to support those most at risk of leaving work due to ill health, financial incentives to make work more rewarding and a reassessment of employer responsibilities. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eTnKZ5j9