OBJECTIVES Service and stakeholder evaluation of an NHS-funded service providing out-ofhours (OOH) emergency repeat medications to patients self-presenting at community pharmacies. SETTING Community pharmacies across the North East of England accredited to provide this service. PARTICIPANTS Patients self-presenting to community pharmacies during OOH periods with emergency repeat medication ...

The National Health Service, yet again, is being cajoled and coerced into being more efficient. Many in the NHS resent this, perhaps understandably given the way in which the concept of efficiency has been devalued by this government. It is, however, an unfortunate reaction because efficiency is not something to be despised or feared. Despite the cajoling, little seems to change. The Royal Comm...

OBJECTIVES In 2010, the Department of Health in England introduced an incentivised national target for National Health Service (NHS) hospitals aiming to increase the number of patients assessed for the risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with hospital admission. We assessed the impact of this initiative on VTE mortality and subsequent readmission with non-fatal VTE. DES...

BACKGROUND Since the economic recession began in 2008 anecdotal reports suggest that mental health services in England have experienced disinvestment, but published data to test this proposition are few. METHOD This paper presents information from a wider range of official, research and grey literature sources aiming to: (1) assess whether governmental investment in publically funded mental h...

OF RESEARCH. No more than 200 words covering the following topics: aims of project; research subject group; sample size, type and location; methods of working. Aims: We aim to conduct a: • Formative evaluation of the national implementation of the National Health Service’s Care Record Service (NHS CRS) in secondary care and to use the findings to inform the continued roll-out of the NHS CRS • S...

Methods: We used routinely collected data on 471,590 older people (aged 60 years and older) admitted with a hip fracture to National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England between 2003 and 2011. The main variables of interest were the use of early surgery (on day of admission, or day after) and mortality at 30 days from admission. We compared time trends in the periods 2003–2007 and 2007–201...

To cite: Gale C, Morris I, on behalf of the Neonatal Data Analysis Unit (NDAU) Steering Board. Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed 2016;101:216–218. INTRODUCTION Electronic data are increasingly recorded in clinical practice. Just as advances in genetics have gradually led to clinical benefit so too are ‘big data’ bringing tangible advances to patient care. The UK has a long history of using electroni...

BACKGROUND Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are mandated to use research evidence effectively to ensure optimum use of resources by the National Health Service (NHS), both in accelerating innovation and in stopping the use of less effective practices and models of service delivery. We intend to evaluate whether access to a demand-led evidence service improves uptake and use of research evid...

BACKGROUND Older people living in care homes in England have complex health needs due to a range of medical conditions, mental health needs and frailty. Despite an increasing policy expectation that professionals should operate in an integrated way across organisational boundaries, there is a lack of understanding between care homes and the National Health Service (NHS) about how the two sector...

This is a commentary on the article ‘The rise of post-truth populism in pluralist liberal democracies: challenges for health policy.’ It critically examines two of its key concepts: populism and ‘post truth.’ This commentary argues that there are different types of populism, with unclear links to impacts, and that in some ways, ‘post-truth’ has resonances with arguments advanced in the period a...