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

We’re celebrating our 50th episode of the Health Foundation’s monthly podcast with a look back at the most listened to episodes over the last four years. Revisit our top five most popular podcast episodes ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e7Xzw-qP

What are the biggest challenges to implementing AI in health care? Eric Sutherland, Hatim Abdulhussein and Rachel Power discuss its name, the importance of human involvement, and the possible trade-offs for patients. Catch up on our #NHSAIStrategy event ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e3ie2QNb

What happens when you support a group experiencing profound health inequality to build a voice and lead service change? We explore the groundbreaking work of Brighton and Hove Common Ambition ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ekQ-ACW5

We’re delighted that Hetan Shah, Chief Executive of The British Academy will deliver our fifth #REALChallenge lecture. There is excitement about how artificial intelligence might help deliver better health for the nation. This could be through new scientific discoveries, better diagnostics, more efficient services, and better information in the hands of the public. But how can we make sense of the opportunities and risks presented by these new technologies? Our keynote speaker, Hetan Shah, will warn of the risk of rushing breathlessly to unleash technology. He will explore how policymakers can navigate the hype and critically assess what’s needed to ensure AI gives people what they want and need to improve their health. The fifth REAL Challenge annual lecture is a hybrid event which will take place at the Royal College of Physicians. Attendees can register to attend in-person or to watch the live stream remotely. Register now ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gjpQ6MYz

New analysis looks at the scale of the NHS maintenance backlog – the estimated cost of bringing NHS estates or buildings back to a minimum expected standard. It finds that, since 2021/22, the backlog has grown by £2.1bn. Over the same period, investment to reduce the backlog fell by £707m in real terms, contributing to this growth. Read the full analysis 👇 https://lnkd.in/gphw3ky4

Do you have experience in setting up and managing large-scale change projects in a complex environment? We are looking for a Project Manager to support the 'Our Future Foundation' programme. Find out more and apply by 23.59 on 6 January ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gRJZ7NqJ

Analysing data collected from comparable countries, Senior Analytical Manager, Francesca Cavallaro looks at what we can learn about hospital admissions for mental health conditions before and during COVID-19, and how England compares with other countries. Read the full blog 👇 https://lnkd.in/eqTpTpmQ

This week, the STANDING Together initiative – co-funded by the Health Foundation in partnership with the NHS AI Lab, and enabled by NIHR – published a new set of recommendations aiming to help improve the way datasets are used to build AI health technologies and reduce the risk of potential AI bias. The use of AI-enabled technologies in health care brings significant potential, from helping diagnose illness faster and more accurately, to streamlining time-consuming administrative work. However, there are already notable examples of how these technologies might exacerbate existing inequalities. This can often be a result of the inequalities reflected in the datasets used to train and test AI tools. Recognising and addressing these biases – which the recommendations seek to do – is a key step towards ensuring that the proliferation of AI-enabled technologies in health care can benefit everyone. Read more about this work and its recommendations in a news post from University of Birmingham (below) and find out more about the projects funded through our partnership with the NHS AI Lab on our website.

Getting the balance right between empowering frontline NHS clinicians and managers, and maintaining central performance standard, is really hard - new The Health Foundation blog on the government’s announcements in this space over the last weeks 👇