Cancer Networks are responsible for the management of cancer services in England. They are, in principle, logical units for the analysis of cancer survival, since for most patients, the entire pathway of referral, diagnosis and treatment is likely to be contained within the territory of a Cancer Network. This study investigates the implications of using each patient's Cancer Network of residenc...

a Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre (Nutrition), Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, England, UK b Centre for Health Policy and Management, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland c Research Group on Geriatrics, Charit e Universit€ atsmedizin, Berlin, Germany d Department of Cl...

Introduction Inspection and external review are increasingly used in healthcare systems throughout the world, in various forms, in pursuit of quality assurance and improvement. Although the experience of systems such as accreditation in those countries which have used them for decades is decidedly mixed, we are nevertheless witnessing what has been described as an explosion in external audit, r...

OBJECTIVES To demonstrate the costs, outcomes and economic impact of early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services. DESIGN Longitudinal retrospective observational study of service usage and outcome data from mental health and acute care services for all those with a diagnosis of psychosis in contact with mental health services over a 3-year period (April 2010-March 2013). SETTING Thames V...

Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) ensures equal access care to all British residents. Health outcomes, nonetheless, vary across socioeconomic class, education level, and geographic location, a phenomenon particularly affecting Britain’s South Asian Muslim communities. This paper will contextualize the NHS within the British national imaginary and analyze discursive, social, and economic v...

In response to the International Journal of Health Policy and Management (IJHPM)editorial, this commentary adds to the debate about ethical dimensions of compassionate care in UK service provision. It acknowledges the importance of the original paper, and attempts to explore some of the issues that are raised in the context of nursing practice, research and education. It is argued that each of ...

Early in 2004, the British Government announced the award of eight enormous IT contracts with a combined value of more than d6 billion. The companies selected would introduce new IT systems and processes to Europe’s largest public sector organisation, the National Health Service (NHS) in England. The contracts were due to run for 7 years, until December 2010. At the end of June this year, the c...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper was to show that easily interpretable maps of local and national prescribing data, available from open sources, can be used to demonstrate meaningful variations in prescribing performance. DESIGN The prescription dispensing data from the National Health Service (NHS) Information Centre for the medications metformin hydrochloride and methylphenidate were compare...

Background Early physical activity and rehabilitation are advocated in the critical care unit for patients recovering from illness. Despite this, there still many factors associated with implementation of early into routine practice. One such factor that has been consistently identified is culture, yet little understanding how or why culture a impacts on rehabilitation. Aim To develop detailed ...