Opportunity costs and local health service spending decisions

"The additional cost pressure represented by a new NICE Technology Appraisals is likely to be accommodated at least partly by greater efficiency and increased expenditure rather than displacement of services."

Opportunity costs and local health service spending decisions: a qualitative study from Wales
S Karlsberg Schaffer, J Sussex, D Hughes, N Devlin
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:103

Read more here.

Privatisation and independent sector provision of NHS healthcare

"The British Medical Association’s first report on privatisation in the health service is published today and calls for Government and health bosses to implement a series of recommendations aimed at protecting the NHS from being destabilised."

Privatisation and independent sector provision of NHS healthcare
British Medical Association
April 2016

Read more here.

Spending Review 2015: what it means for health and social care

"Care services in England remain on the brink of collapse despite the extra investment in social care. None of the measures outlined in the Spending Review will plug the funding gap in social care expected over the course of this Parliament."

Spending Review 2015: what it means for health and social care
Nuffield Trust Parliamentary Briefing
December 2015

Read more here.

The health of health finances

"It is clear that the NHS faces severe financial challenges. Are the Government’s plans to deal with them adequate? This paper reviews the evidence by looking at recent financial results and forecasts and the pressures they indicate; making comparisons with trends in spending levels; and analysing the specific pressures likely in future years."

The health of health finances: CIPFA Briefing
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy
August 2015

Read more here.

Reconsidering accountability in an age of integrated care

"The NHS and publicly funded social care are important not only for people’s individual wellbeing, but also to the health of the population, the fairness of our society, levels of taxation and economic growth. Hence, although it may be tempting to argue that health and care decisions should be left solely to clinicians and patients, it is surely right that services are accountable to the public."

Reconsidering accountability in an age of integrated care
B Jupp
Nuffield Trust
July 2015

Read more here.

Talent management: Developing leadership not just leaders

"A wealth of recent reports have argued that health services must adapt to deliver continually improving, high-quality and compassionate care, but today’s leaders know that these demands are made against the backdrop of tighter financial restraints and slower projected financial growth in the public sector."

Talent management: Developing leadership not just leaders
S Massie
The King's Fund
June 2015

Read more here.

Do higher primary care practice performance scores predict lower rates of emergency admissions?

"Good-quality primary care management of patients with a SMI should reduce complications of a serious mental illness and comorbidities and should, therefore, be associated with lower unplanned admission rates."

Do higher primary care practice performance scores predict lower rates of emergency admissions for persons with serious mental illness? An analysis of secondary panel data
R Jacobs, et al.
Health Services and Delivery Research, 2015, 3(16)

Read more here.

Emerging practice in outcome-based commissioning for social care

"This paper is a progress report exploring the lessons learnt from a variety of approaches taken by councils to “outcome-based commissioning” in adult social care (sometimes called payment by results)."

Emerging practice in outcome-based commissioning for social care: Discussion paper
J Bolton
Institute of Public Care
Oxford Brookes University
April 2015

Read more here.

Read the related paper here.

Can the NHS handle the outsourcing of clinical services?

"If the outsourcing of NHS clinical services to the private sector is to continue, and if patients and the public are to be confident that standards are being met and that value for money is achieved, a number of measures need to be taken to address the issues raised in this report."

The contracting NHS - can the NHS handle the outsourcing of clinical services?
Centre for Health and the Public Interest
March 2015

Read more here.

Procurement and competition rules: Can the NHS be exempted?

"An incoming government could make broader changes to policy and the system architecture of the NHS that would ensure that commissioners and public sector providers were rarely subject to these rules in practice."

Procurement and competition rules: Can the NHS be exempted?
B Collins
The King's Fund
March 2015

Read more here.

Impact on local government and poorer communities

"This report focuses in particular on the impacts on poorer households and communities, and seeks to identify some key messages for policymakers that would enable the process to continue in a way that minimises harm and has most chance of delivering savings in a manner that supports more efficient and more effective local government services."

The cost of the cuts: The impact on local government and poorer communities
A Hastings, N Bailey, G Bramley, M Gannon, D Watkins
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
March 2015

Read more here.

People helping people: the future of public services

"This report argues that mobilising the energy and contributions of members of the public should become a core organising principle for public services."

People helping people: the future of public services
E Clarence, M Gabriel
NESTA
September 2014

Read more here.

Public sector commissioning of local mental health services from the third sector

"If commissioners are to lead the transformation of mental health services then there needs to be sufficient investment in their capacity and expertise to ensure that they have the tools and time to undertake this role."

Public sector commissioning of local mental health services from the third sector
J Rees, R Miller, H Buckingham
Third Sector Research Centre: working paper 122
May 2014

Read more here.

Supporting public service transformation

"The primary audience for this document is cost-benefit analysis practitioners. By reading it, they will gain a clear understanding of the technical approaches developed by New Economy to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of public policy interventions."

Supporting public service transformation: cost benefit analysis guidance for local partnerships
HM Treasury, Public Service Transformation Network, New Economy
April 2014

Read more here.

Four principles for a better public sector

"Innovative governments are making it easier for citizens to access public services."

Government by design: Four principles for a better public sector
D Farrell, A Goodman
McKinsey & Company
December 2013

Read more here.

Systematic reviews for informing policy decisions

"This guide is a short introduction for decision-makers and researchers or anyone else considering whether a systematic review may be appropriate to fill a gap in knowledge or to use as a resource. It will help anybody planning on commissioning a review of what research is already out there. You may be an analyst, evaluator, policymaker or commissioner."

Learning from research: systematic reviews for informing policy decisions
D Gough, S Oliver, J Thomas
Alliance for Useful Evidence
EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London
December 2013

Read more here.

Role of complaints in transforming public services

"Getting complaints is much better than not getting complaints – they show that people think it’s worth complaining and that they will be listened to, and that they believe that they have power to influence the system."

Grumbles, gripes and grievances: the role of complaints in transforming public services
R Simmons, C Brennan
NESTA
April 2013

Read more here.

Improving the allocation of health resources in England

"We review how health resource allocation in England and the formula on which it is based have changed over time, with a detailed critique of how decisions are currently made and how the process will change from April."

Improving the allocation of health resources in England: how to decide who gets what
D Buck, A Dixon
The King's Fund
April 2013

Read more here.

Integration across government

"This report examines how well government identifies and implements opportunities to integrate public services or other programmes."

Integration across government
Cabinet Office and HM Treasury
National Audit Office
March 2013

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What works: evidence centres for social policy

"It is a fundamental principle of good public services that decisions are made on the basis of strong evidence and what we know works."

What works: evidence centres for social policy
HM Government
March 2013

Read more here.