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CommentData must be used to better inform decisions, not simply justify them
In a data-rich NHS, the question is no longer how much information is collected, but why so little of it is translated into meaningful improvement
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CommentThe NHS’s digital accountability gap
NHS England’s digital drive risks hollowing accountability: outsourcing and AI can expand assurance capacity, but cannot absorb clinical risk, reputational exposure or the state’s ultimate responsibility
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CommentContinuity of care and improved access are not mutually exclusive
Continuity of care reduces mortality and hospital use, yet has fallen sharply in the UK. Restoring it could improve both outcomes and access
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CommentNHS care should be more personal as well as personalised
The NHS has long promised person-centred care, but the latest evidence suggests delivery still falls short of intent
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CommentFor neighbourhood care to work, we need a shared data infrastructure
An East London initiative offers a practical blueprint for how the NHS can deliver the preventive, neighbourhood-based care set out in its 10-Year Health Plan
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CommentRespiratory care is on life support
The impact of this year’s winter pressures on the health system’s overburdened urgent and emergency care services again highlights the urgent need to improve NHS respiratory care
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CommentWhy improvement programmes fade away
Improvement endures only when boards protect learning, and do not treat it as optional
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CommentWhen safety does not sell
Despite decades of inquiries and warnings, the NHS continues to tolerate predictable medication harm, revealing a system better at analysing failure than preventing it
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CommentWaiting list recovery stalls as admissions fall
England’s RTT waiting list returned to long-term growth in December
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CommentThe risks that plans for an NHS Online hospital are ignoring
The proposed NHS Online hospital risks confusing speed with safety, embedding remote-first care in areas where clinical adequacy depends on physical examination, and losing clear accountability
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CommentCan health policy really be evidence-based?
Research evidence is indispensable in NHS decision-making, but it was never designed to answer the kinds of contextual, system-level choices boards and policymakers must make
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CommentWe risk creating a two-tier precision health service
Precision health can shift the NHS towards prediction and prevention, but success depends on investment, data, skills and fair access
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CommentSlow NHS decision-making makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks
When time-critical risks escalate, NHS governance that treats delay as neutral can unintentionally amplify harm and undermine patient safety
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CommentBeware: Reassurance is not assurance
When confidence in NHS service models wobbles, senior oversight can reassure – but without explicit governance, it may fall short of providing real assurance
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CommentBlaming individuals for care failures is sometimes the right response
The Great Ormond Street scandal exposes a growing imbalance in NHS patient safety policy. In moving away from blame, the system has also lost sight of individual competence, leadership responsibility, and the non-negotiables needed to prevent serious harm
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CommentNone of the government’s ‘three shifts’ will reduce the cost of healthcare
Andi Orlowski argues why the NHS needs to stop chasing savings and start making explicit value choices
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CommentThe National Cancer Plan contains many unanswered questions
The National Cancer Plan is a welcome response to the facts: England lags behind on cancer outcomes, and rising incidence will challenge systems even further. But, says Cancer Research UK, with the right focus on evidence and delivery, the plan could yield results
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CommentThe biggest drivers of healthcare demand are not what you think
Rising healthcare demand is usually blamed on an ageing, less healthy population. But new analysis suggests this is incorrect
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CommentIs your performance dashboard revealing what you need to know?
Digital decision-support tools are widespread in the NHS, but their impact remains limited. Digitisation has focused on generating insights without creating the organisational architecture needed to act on them
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CommentThe plan to regulate managers is well-intentioned but dangerous
Chief nurses are not opposed to accountability for managers and leaders – but they think the government has designed the wrong system