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“The choice for the NHS is stark: reform or die.” Those words from the introduction to the new ten-year plan for the NHS in England clearly set out the challenge facing healthcare today. Warning that demographic changes and an aging population are putting unsustainable pressures on already stretched systems, the introduction highlights the need for […]

The potential health delivery benefits arising from the digital revolution cannot be underestimated. In the past we have reported on the way in which virtual wards have enabled at-home monitoring and treatment programmes; in the process freeing up vital space in hospitals whilst also helping to ensure that more patients can be treated by existing […]

Is the increased availability of online patient access allied to upgraded telephone systems ushering in the end of the 8am health appointment rush? It certainly seems so if the experience of one Leeds surgery is anything to go by. According to NHS England, the Lingwell Croft surgery deploys a mix of online contact forms, phone […]

The idea that prevention is better than cure has long been one of the central planks of health provision in the UK. And it’s certainly an idea which has gained traction in recent times. Put simply, the earlier that health problems, or the likelihood of problems developing, can be identified; the greater the chance of […]

Once upon a time, far from advocating a good brisk walk, the standard treatment for pack pain was bed rest. Lots and lots of bed rest. So much so that a study from 1992 started with the observation that the recommended treatment for lower back pain varied from two days to two weeks. Interestingly that […]

In 2021 our article “It’s good to talk” highlighted the more than 600,000 individuals who had completed a talking therapy course in the previous year. That article also commented on the NHS’s ambition to help 1.9 million people with talking therapies by the year 2023/24 in addition to those who were receiving talking and other […]

 “You book a table in a restaurant these days—or even an appointment at the hairdresser—you’ll get a text message 24 or 48 hours in advance to remind you. Why doesn’t the NHS do this?” Speaking on the BBS’s Laura Kunessberg show, the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, highlighted SMS text messaging as one element of a […]

Whether looking at quality and outcome, cost-effectiveness, or safety; the value of patient partnerships as a means of healthcare delivery cannot be underestimated. As the Patients Association comments: “In a well-resourced system, patient involvement enhances services and drives them towards excellence.” Key to that partnership are approaches such as shared decision making, actively seeking patient […]

Electronic scanners, virtual hospital beds, digitised patient records….: no matter how technological the health solution, every journey towards recovery often starts with a simple phone call. And that’s never more the case than when the call is an emergency. And yet, there are still far too many instances when that phone call is delayed. Alarmingly […]

Is a work life balance simply a matter of finding the time or energy to switch away from work and embrace home time? Well not entirely if a new report by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is anything to go by. The report has spotlighted some of the challenges which an aging workforce […]