Press releases
Competition and collaboration key challenges if NHS is to deliver seamless care to patients
01 September 2010
The Government must encourage collaboration as well as competition among health and social care providers if patients are to receive high quality and responsive care, says a report published today by independent health charity the Nuffield Trust.
Huge challenge ahead for GP groups to take charge of budgets for patient care
12 July 2010
Read Nuffield Trust Director Dr Jennifer Dixon's reponse to today’s publication of the Coalition Government’s health White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS.
'Unsustainable' rise in emergency admissions is avoidable and no longer affordable
05 July 2010
The number one issue facing the NHS in England is reversing the ‘unsustainable’ rise in emergency hospital admissions, the independent health charity the Nuffield Trust warned today following new analysis it has published which reveals there has been an almost 12 per cent rise in admissions over the last five years.
Six national health organistions publish report on GPs with real budgets
23 June 2010
Plans by the Coalition Government to give GPs power and responsibility for holding real budgets and commissioning health services on behalf of their local communities have the potential to help improve care, but will need time and careful design if they are to be successful. That is the verdict of six national organisations, including the Nuffield Trust, that have joined forces to inform the Coalition Government’s aim of fully devolving commissioning power to GPs.
Nuffield Trust response to revised Operating Framework 2010/11
21 June 2010
Read Nuffield Trust Director Dr Jennifer Dixon's response to today’s publication of the Revision to the Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2010/11, which outlined plans to relax the 18-week wait target for planned care, the four-hour A&E target and the 48-hour GP access target.
New report backs findings from Nuffield Trust study on comparative performance of health in Scotland and England but better comparable data needed in future
10 June 2010
Nuffield Trust Director Dr Jennifer Dixon comments in response to an analysis published today by the Centre for Public Policy for Regions (CPPR), in association with KPMG, which has found that both spending and staffing levels per person on health care are significantly higher in Scotland than in England.
Nuffield Trust responds to Coalition Government announcement on NHS Commissioning Board and future of SHAs
25 May 2010
Nuffield Trust Director Dr Jennifer Dixon comments in response to today's statement from the Department of Health on the future of Strategic Health Authorities and the establishment of an independent NHS Commissioning.
Nuffield Trust responds to Coalition Government's priorities for the NHS
20 May 2010
Nuffield Trust Director Dr Jennifer Dixon today welcomed the direction of travel on the NHS outlined today by the Coalition Government. Welcoming moves to provide a stronger voice for local communities, Dr Dixon said much-needed changes to local health services must not be derailed because they are unpopular.
Radical changes to the delivery and commissioning of patient care needed, say new reports
30 March 2010
The way patient care is commissioned, organised and delivered needs radical change if the NHS in England is going to respond to rising demand for care and a prolonged period of constrained budgets. That is the verdict of two reports published jointly today by independent health charities The Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund.
The Nuffield Trust responds to Health Select Committee verdict on NHS commissioning
30 March 2010
Read Dr Judith Smith's response to the Health Select Committee's latest report into the state of commissioning in the NHS.
The Nuffield Trust responds to BMA analysis of devolution report
18 March 2010
Dr Jennifer Dixon's response to an analysis from the BMA into The Nuffield Trust report: Funding and Performance of Healthcare Systems in the Four Countries of the UK Before and After Devolution.
Nuffield Trust statement on NHS Scotland figures included in study of UK health performance
21 January 2010
The Nuffield Trust would like to confirm that it has now received official confirmation from the Office for National Statistics that an official figure obtained from the ONS using data provided by Scotland, which was used in the Nuffield Trust’s latest report*, published on 20 January 2010, was incorrect.
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Some UK countries spending more on the NHS but delivering less, finds major new Nuffield Trust report
20 January 2010
A unique analysis of the performance of the NHS across the four countries of the UK before and after devolution has found striking differences in performance with some countries spending more on health care and employing greater numbers of health staff but performing worse when it comes to a range of indicators, such as waiting times and crude productivity of staff.
The report by the independent health charity the Nuffield Trust examines the performance of the health services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland across three time points – 1996/7, 2002/3 and 2006/7. It also examines the performance of the ten English regions and compares them with the NHS in England as a whole and the NHS in each of the devolved countries in 2006/7. This is the first time such an analysis has been conducted. Performance was tracked against a number of key indicators, including expenditure, staffing levels, activity (outpatient appointments, inpatient admissions and day cases), crude productivity of staff and waiting times.
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NHS inevitably facing real terms cuts without significant increases in productivity
10 December 2009
Commenting in response to the publication of the Department of Health report, NHS 2010-2015: from good to great, Nuffield Trust Director Dr Jennifer Dixon said:
‘The NHS is entering a period of unprecedented financial uncertainty and the scale of the challenge will be intense following today’s announcement that managements costs will be cut by almost a third and the tariff for paying hospitals will be frozen for four years. Without significant increases in productivity – the likes of which have not been achieved in the past – the health service will inevitably face real terms cuts in its budgets from 2011 onwards.
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Groups of clinicians with real budgets hold key to affordable, patient-centred and clinician-led NHS, says report
24 November 2009
The government should consider radical alternatives to one of its key health reforms, practice-based commissioning, by enabling groups of GPs and hospital-based specialists backed with real budgets to join forces to deliver better and more affordable patient care.
This is the key recommendation from a report published today by the independent health research charity The Nuffield Trust and the NHS Alliance. The report, Beyond Practice-based Commissioning: the local clinical partnership, examines how the NHS can finally achieve one of its central policy goals of engaging front-line health professionals in how patient services are designed and delivered and how NHS money is spent. This has long been a goal of government, but practice-based commissioning has struggled to deliver better services for patients or financial savings since it was introduced in 2005.
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NHS Mutual Report - A New NHS
1 July 2009
The NHS may have to learn from employee owned organisations to engage staff and unlock their potential to drive service improvements. This is the conclusion of a new report launched today by the Nuffield Trust, NHS Mutual: Engaging staff and aligning incentives to achieve higher levels of performance.
The report, authored by Chris Ham, Professor of Health Policy and Management, and Jo Ellins of the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham, outlines a number of ways in which employee ownership could be fostered as an employment model in the NHS.
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NHS needs to adopt an intelligent approach to efficiency
11 June 2009
As the NHS looks ahead to a tight financial settlement from 2011 on, the Nuffield Trust has published a report calling for an intelligent approach to efficiency savings that avoids ‘salami-slicing’ and ‘slash and burn’.
Health in a Cold Climate: Developing an intelligent response to the financial challenges facing the NHS, published today (11 June 2009), states that the NHS reform programme can only continue successfully if a comprehensive approach to efficiency is adopted, encompassing actions at the system, organisation, team and practitioner level.
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British researchers awarded prestigious US fellowships to explore critical health policy questions Harkness Fellowships awarded as call goes out for new applicants
16 April 2009
The Nuffield Trust and the Commonwealth Fund of New York are today delighted to announce the appointment of the 2009/10 UK Harkness Fellows in Healthcare Policy and Practice. First established by The Commonwealth Fund in 1925, and modelled after the Rhodes Scholarships, these Fellowships allow mid-career professionals to spend up to a year researching health care policy in the United States. This is the first year that the Nuffield Trust will be part-funding this prestigious scheme for UK applicants.
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New regulator provides real opportunity for care integration
01 April 2009
To coincide with the launch of the new Care Quality Commission on 1 April, the Nuffield Trust has launched a report Only Connect: Policy options for integrating health and social care.
The report examines partnership working between health and social care in three areas in England, and concludes that the new Commission has an important role to play in assessing the performance of NHS organisations and local authorities in promoting integration, and in encouraging innovation.
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New Nuffield Trust policy team boosts research capability
18 March 2009
The Nuffield Trust launches a new policy team this week. Judith Smith, a former senior lecturer in health policy and management at the University of Birmingham’s Health Services Management Centre, takes up the post of Head of Policy and Dr Sara Shaw joins from University College London as Senior Fellow in Health Policy.
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Nuffield Trust’s Response to the Consultation on the Draft Guidance about NHS Patients who wish to pay for Additional Private Care
29 January 2009
View Trust's response
The NHS needs to develop integrated care faster to provide better, more cost-effective care
21 January 2009
The Nuffield Trust is today publishing a report entitled Across the Pond - Lessons from the US on integrated care.
The report is based on case studies of four integrated care systems in the US in Colorado and the North West (Kaiser Permanente), Pennsylvania (Geisinger) and Minnesota (Health Partners). Though all four are not-for-profit systems, each has different a business model and governance approach.
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Better health outcomes and improved patient experience should be the primary aim of integrated care
08 December 2008
New Nuffield Trust report says acute trusts are vital to successful delivery
As the Dept of Health work to shortlist around 40 of the 109 applications for Integrated Care Pilot status, The Nuffield Trust has published a report entitled Integrated Care: Lessons from evidence and experience.
The report concludes that better health outcomes and improved patient experience should be the starting point of all integrated care initiatives. It also concludes that they should be the main rationale for clinical engagement, and for deciding the organisational structure and working methods required for effective integration.
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Devolved UK in danger of losing power in Europe
20 November 2008
The Nuffield Trust is launching a new report, as part of its extensive work on healthcare and devolution. 'Becoming European' released on 20th November 2008, examines how devolution in the UK could erode the nation’s current influential position in shaping European Union health policy, which could significantly impact health and healthcare in the UK.
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The Nuffield Trust rejuvenates
11 September 2008
The Nuffield Trust, a major independent health policy charity, continues its rejuvenation and strategic focus this autumn on health care reform, and announces a number of important changes:
- The appointment of six new trustees to its board
- Two new senior staff appointments
- The creation of a panel of senior associates
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NHS at 60 needs renewal not retirement
03 July 2008
A new book from the Nuffield Trust, ‘Rejuvenate or Retire? Views of the NHS at 60' launched to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the NHS, publishes exclusive insights and reflections from eminent political and healthcare figures which finds support for continuing to fund free access to Britain’s health service through taxation.
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Response to NHS next stage review
30 June 2008
The NHS Next Stage Review is a step in the right direction for the NHS – but important details are lacking, says the Nuffield Trust.
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The Quest for Quality
20 May 2008
The National Health Service has undoubtedly improved in the past decade but could still do better, says a report published today which reviews the performance of the NHS in England since New Labour came to power in 1997.
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Devolution and Health
28 January 2008
Many commentators have argued that devolution in the UK offers a rare opportunity to observe the evolution of four health systems
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Reflections on Children, Child Health & Society
10 January 2008
We are living in an era of unprecedented political and public focus on the needs of children and young people in England, argues Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green.
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Appointment of Director
13 December 2007
The Board of The Nuffield Trust announces the appointment of Dr Jennifer Dixon as its new Director.
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Clincally Integrated Systems
12 December 2007
Government policies on NHS reform are focused on tackling yesterday’s problems rather than those of tomorrow, argues Professor Chris Ham.
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Brian Edwards launches new report
31 May 2007
A top NHS strategist is calling for government control of the NHS to be curtailed and for the health service to be run by an independent body.
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