Our healthcare system cannot improve unless we know how patients are treated, and if that treatment has worked. However, the only way this can happen is if we keep measuring healthcare processes and outcomes. Although healthcare professionals know what best practice is, they do not always know how to improve their own practice.
Case studies
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Reducing health inequalities in Tower Hamlets
Tower Hamlets ranks as one of the most deprived communities in the UK. Encompassing all the GP practices in the borough, this project aims to reduce inequalities in how healthcare is delivered and ultimately in the health of the population.
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Quality improvement in chronic kidney disease
Patients with chronic kidney disease cannot remove waste products from their blood and can be prone to anaemia, cardiovascular disease, renal failure and ultimately death. This project aims to help GPs in southwest London and Surrey better identify and manage patients with the condition.
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Developing resources for people with insomnia
Around one in ten people suffer chronic insomnia, which occurs on a regular basis or over a long period of time. This project aims to improve treatment for people with insomnia by promoting a range of treatment options beyond sleeping pills, which carry the risk of side effects and addiction.
Publications
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Bridging the quality gap
Stroke is the third biggest killer in the UK yet our stroke care lags behind other developed nations. The Health Foundation’s report Bridging the quality gap is a thorough exploration of the quality of our stroke care. Despite the national priority accorded to stroke, services in the UK are not as high quality as they should be.
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Necessary measures
All clinicians want to provide patients with the best possible care. However, the only way clinicians can be certain about the quality of care they provide is by measuring what actually happens and comparing this to established best practice.
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Engaging with Quality in Primary Care
Over 80 per cent of contact between the public and the health service takes place in primary care settings. The Health Foundation’s Engaging with Quality in Primary Care scheme is funding nine projects to engage primary care clinicians in improving clinical quality in primary care in the UK.
Featured data
Current activities
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Engaging with Quality Initiative
This scheme aims to engage healthcare professionals to improve the quality of clinical care across the UK. Awards have been made to Royal Colleges and other professional organisations to enable them to carry out eight clinical quality improvement projects.
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Engaging with Quality in Primary Care
This scheme is funding nine projects to engage primary care clinicians in quality improvement projects and, by doing so, increase capacity for improvements in clinical quality in primary care in the UK.
Features
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Hate something, change something, make healthcare better
Stephen Thornton, Chief Executive of The Health Foundation, argues that without meaningful information and good clinical measurement we cannot improve healthcare.
Latest news
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Health Foundation supports regulation plans
The Health Foundation has supported the Government’s plans for the regulation of the NHS and healthcare professionals, as outlined in the recent Queen’s speech.
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New research assesses impact of regulation
Inspections, targets, standards and mandatory reporting can make a difference to the quality of healthcare, according to latest research published by The Health Foundation today.
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New website charts NHS progress
The Health Foundation has launched a new website that provides an independent, accurate and up-to-date picture of how well the NHS is performing.