Dr Jennifer Dixon CBE delivered the latest ScHARR Pemberton Lecture with the title:
Reform strategies for the NHS: effective or cosmetic cladding. The recording of the lecture can be viewed here.
The NHS is the largest, highest profile, most complex and risky industry
in Europe, in England alone spending £124bn this year, employing over
1m staff and providing care for the majority of the population every
year. As is the case across OECD countries, health care costs outstrip
GDP growth, and so the search for effective reform is constant.
The suite of reforms has changed over the years – how and what has made a
difference? How does the current strategy stack up, and are there gaps
if the NHS is to make progress faster? How can we tell? And if there
were a moratorium on all national policy for 3 years, would patients
notice any difference to care?
In this lecture, Jennifer draws on her experience from academe,
medicine, policy analysis, and the wide portfolio of activities by the
Health Foundation to prompt discussion on how progress in the NHS might
be optimised.
Dr Jennifer Dixon is Chief Executive of the Health Foundation.