The NHS in the UK has come in for a lot of bashing of late, especially from politicians and the media. The former do so for largely ideological reasons, while I fear the latter often report the exceptions…
The government has announced an extra £1 billion is being channelled into efforts to make the NHS “paperless” by 2018. Central to this aim are plans to make patient health records digital. The goal is…
Health services are under constant scrutiny and rarely out of the news. But discussions about how and even whether they can continue are likely to exercise the whole developed world in the near future…
People with learning disabilities die significantly younger in England and Wales than people without learning disabilities. Men with learning disabilities die 13 years earlier on average and 20 years earlier…
Claims that doctors are sectioning mental health patients in order to get them access to beds on psychiatric wards amount to “more than anecdotal evidence”, according to a committee of MPs who have just…
The point of surgical procedures is to save or improve the quality of our lives, but things can and do go wrong because of system or human errors. In too many cases patients are failed because of so called…
One of US President Barack Obama’s key health advisers has just published a review in the aftermath of the Mid Staffordshire hospital scandal. Don Berwick’s review is both thoughtful and reflective but…
The NHS 111 telephone service was designed to direct people to the right help for urgent medical problems but has faced a barrage of criticism since it was implemented in April. The most recent blow was…
A campaign to prevent a downgrade of Lewisham Hospital in south-east London was given a significant boost after a high court judge ruled that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and others were acting beyond…
Foundation essay: This article on the state of mental health services is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the UK. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis…
Another argument has broken out between the government and doctors over a proposal to charge immigrants to use the NHS. The government claims a levy will make the NHS more fair and sustainable and stop…
Julian Le Grand, London School of Economics and Political Science
David Nicholson, the retiring Chief Executive of NHS England, has warned against what he called “carpet bombing” the NHS with competition. For him, and others, less focus on competition is a good thing…
Since the 1940s our welfare state has been built around the assumption that it’s possible to distinguish between people who are “sick” and people who are merely “frail” or “disabled”. While we consider…
It’s a traditional part of the theatre of health policy for trade unionists to give secretaries of state for health a hard time. The latest example of this was the vote of no confidence in Jeremy Hunt…
Foundation essay: This article on the relationship between health and social care in the UK by Bob Hudson, Professor of Applied Social Science at Durham University, is part of a series marking the launch…
Gwyn Bevan, London School of Economics and Political Science
Data on hospital performance often shows a wide variation and this poses the question of whether it should be available to the public or kept confidential. The government wants more transparency and announced…
A new study shows an association between less access to GPs and high rates of attendance in nearby accident and emergency (A&E) units. It’s an interesting piece of work but risks inflaming an already…
New research linking less access to GPs and higher demand in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments could ignite the row over the A&E crisis. The number of people visiting A&E in England…
The public often suspects that the financial crisis is the real cause of hospital closures, even when other reasons are given. The NHS has found it virtually impossible to proceed with closing, or even…
Politicians and policy makers are blaming failures in out-of-hours GP care for the rising demand on accident and emergency (A&E) units. The number of attendances at A&E departments in England rose…
Deputy Director, Intellectual Forum at Jesus College in the University of Cambridge, and Researcher for the Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, University of Cambridge