Increasing understanding of the NHS

Three conversations struck me recently. First, I was explaining the concept of health inflation to a well-educated, well-informed member of the general public. That demand for healthcare is rising annually at a greater level than funding levels came as a shock to him.

Then I found myself discussing the difficulties of so-called reconfiguration with an NHS insider. We talked about how hard it is to make a change when there is not a clear link between the cost of healthcare locally and the choices being made about how limited funds should be spent to deliver most value for patients.

Finally, an advocate of deliberative polling – where a response is elicited from an individual once they have been appraised of the arguments for and against – told me how this approach can fundamentally change attitudes to a subject. These three conversations are relevant to the thorny issue of changes to the NHS...

Read on at Ethos Journal

Ethosis aimed at public sector leaders, politicians, academics and policy specialists debating the future of public services today.