Sustainability and Transformation Plans: Five key questions for planners

"For each STP, five key questions need to be asked:

1. Will there be enough staff with the right skills?
2. Will there be enough beds?
3. Will there be good access to non-emergency (elective) care?
4. Will NHS care still be good quality care?
5. Will NHS care be effectively complemented by social care and public health measures?"

Sustainability and Transformation Plans: Five key questions for planners
V Kotecha
Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI)
July 2017

Read the report here.

Securing meaningful choice for patients

"This guide sets out more detail on the fundamental enablers for effective patient choice and the key actions needed to strengthen or put them in place."

Securing meaningful choice for patients: CCG planning and improvement guide
NHS England, NHS Improvement,
August 2016

Access the guide here.

People with mental ill health and hospital use

"Our aim for this work is to improve understanding of how people with mental ill health use hospital services differently from those without. The differences observed should help those planning services so that resources are adequately assigned and influence future policies to continue striving towards parity of esteem."

QualityWatch: Focus on: People with mental ill health and hospital use: Exploring disparities in hospital use for physical healthcare
H Dorning, A Davies, I Blunt
The Health Foundation, Nuffield Trust
October 2015

Read more here.

The European health report 2015

"The gaps between the highest and lowest values reported in the Region for the Health 2020 indicators linked to social determinants of health – infant mortality, life expectancy, primary school enrolment and unemployment – have shrunk, but the absolute differences between countries remain large."

The European health report 2015: Targets and beyond - reaching new frontiers in evidence
WHO Regional Office for Europe
October 2015

Read more here.

Putting integrated care into practice: the North West London experience

"Policy-makers must set realistic expectations, provide sustained and tailored support, and allow time for clinicians and managers to deliver changes to the ways in which patients are cared for. Alongside this, there is a need for careful and robust monitoring of progress over the longer term, feeding into local governance and accountability arrangements, so that investment and implementation deliver the transformational changes promised at the outset."

Putting integrated care into practice: the North West London experience
G Wistow, M Gaskins, H Holder, J Smith
Nuffield Trust
October 2015

Read more here.

The European health report 2015

"The gaps between the highest and lowest reported values for the Health 2020 indicators linked to the social determinants of health –  infant mortality, life expectancy, primary school enrolment and unemployment – have shrunk. Preliminary data suggest that this positive trend has continued since 2010, although absolute differences between countries remain large."

The European health report 2015: Targets and beyond - reaching new frontiers in evidence
World Health Organization
September 2015

Read more here.

Communications in health care improvement - a toolkit

This toolkit is for health care professionals working in improvement who want to understand and use communications to better plan, implement and spread their work.

Access the toolkit here.

Integrated population needs-based planning

"Planning techniques such as the one described here consider the impact of health care policies on service, workforce and expenditure requirements, bringing these together to avoid the roadblocks arising from health-free planning methods."

Improving the fiscal and political sustainability of health systems through integrated population needs-based planning: Seminar briefing 17
S Birch
Office of Health Economics
June 2015

Read more here (free registration is required).

Workforce planning in the NHS

"This report explores experiences with workforce planning, and how they align with strategic policy in a number of areas: mental health, general practice and community nursing."

Workforce planning in the NHS
R Addicott, D Maguire, M Honeyman, J Jabbal
The King's Fund
April 2015

Read more here.

Tackling the myths about outcomes in health

"Outcomes-based approaches to planning, organising and measuring the performance of healthcare offer new opportunities to tackle variation, improve cost-effectiveness and, most importantly, put patients first."

Outcomes based approaches to healthcare: Tackling the myths about outcomes in health
Outcomes based healthcare
March 2015

Read more here.

Improvement science webinars

"The Health Foundation has produced this webinar series which will focus on issues of importance to the emerging community of improvement science researchers and practitioners in healthcare."

Access the webinars here.

The Engagement Cycle

"The Engagement Cycle helps organisations undertake meaningful patient and public engagement for maximum impact. It is a tried and tested, practical resource, used by dozens of Clinical Commissioning Groups (and others) to plan, design and deliver great services for, and with, local people."

Access The Engagement Cycle here.

Right Care reading list: Priority-setting

NHS Right Care regularly publishes reading lists on specific themes relevant to the Right Care programme. The latest one is a reading list providing the best evidence on Priority-setting/Prioritisation.

Access the reading list here.

Bite-size guides to support patient and public participation

NHS England has developed the following bite-size guides, to support patient and public participation in the NHS:

1. Principles for participation in commissioning 
2. Governance for participation 
3. Planning for participation 
4. Budgeting for participation 

These guides are linked to the Transforming participation in health and social care guidance (September 2013).

Healthy ageing in the 21st century: the best is yet to come

"Enabling people to experience healthy ageing is a long-term project, for which society, communities, and we as individuals, need to plan carefully."

Healthy ageing in the 21st century: the best is yet to come
Birmingham Policy Commission
February 2014

Read more here.

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2014/15 to 2018/19

"Last year’s guidance identified stronger commissioning as a key theme for driving change. This section has set out those things which local commissioners need to include in their plans which will deliver the change they want to see."

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2014/15 to 2018/19
NHS England
December 2013

Read more here.

Planning and delivering service changes for patients

"This guidance is designed to support CCGs and NHS England with the planning, development and assurance of proposals for major service change and reconfiguration. It provides a high level process, sets out good practice, and explains how to assess proposals against the Government’s ‘four tests’."

Planning and delivering service changes for patients
Strategy Unit - NHS England
December 2013

Read more here.

Good practice in joint health and wellbeing strategies

"This self-evaluation tool provides guidance on good practice in planning, developing and delivering Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies based around key questions to consider and top tips on approaches that might be taken."

Good practice in joint health and wellbeing strategies: a self-evaluation tool for health and wellbeing boards
NHS Confederation
September 2013

Read more here.

Commissioning a good child health service

"Good commissioning – or planning – is the key and this guide will help you commission the right services for your patients. It will help you meet their current and future needs in the most effective and cost-effective way possible."

Commissioning a good child health service
Clinical Innovation and Research Centre
Royal College of General Practitioners
March 2013

Read more here.

Commissioning HIV testing services in England

"This toolkit is designed primarily for the many individuals and organisations who will have some responsibility for the commissioning of HIV testing services."

Commissioning HIV testing services in England: a practical guide for commissioners
National AIDS Trust
March 2013

Read more here.