I Don't Know What it is But I Don't think it's Serious

This book takes a look at evidence based medicine in practice. We all know why a GP might measure a patient's blood pressure, and that high blood pressure requires certain actions, but Tim Crossley draws on his experience in the consulting room to explore how guidelines work in practice.  What action does the GP take when balancing the risks of slightly raised blood pressure with the problems arising from the polypharmacy which might follow? What does the GP say to his patient who likes eating newspapers? What does the evidence say on this? Is there any? Here real-world decision making meets medical evidence and knowledge and is presented in an engaging and often humourous way by the author.
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A citizen-led approach to health and care: Lessons from the Wigan Deal. King's Fund

•Over a period of six years, public services in Wigan have been through a major process of transformation, based on the idea of building a different relationship with local people. The new approach to delivering services has become known as the ‘Wigan Deal’.

 

•This report provides an independent critique of the Wigan Deal drawing on in-depth research, including interviews with key stakeholders, focus groups with members of the public and evidence from data analysis. It explores what local authorities, NHS organisations and others can learn from Wigan’s journey of transformation.

 

•The Wigan Deal is an example of ‘asset-based’ working, in which public services seek to build on the strengths and assets of individuals and communities to improve outcomes. Although other areas have explored similar approaches, Wigan is notable for the scale and consistency with which these ideas have been applied.

 

•Widespread cultural changes are needed in public services to realise the full potential of this kind of approach, and this involves challenging engrained ways of working. In Wigan this has been achieved through bold leadership and a long-term strategic commitment to working differently with local people and communities.

 

•To build a new relationship with the public there needs to be a shared way of working across all of the services operating in a place. In Wigan, the local authority has led the development of the Deal, but a key part of the process has been closer working with the NHS, voluntary sector organisations and others to establish a common approach.

 

•Wigan’s journey shows it is possible to achieve substantial savings while protecting or improving outcomes, but only if services are genuinely transformed and upfront investment is available to help bring about new ways of working. The Deal is not a panacea, but it does illustrate the kind of work that is needed to shift to a new model of public service delivery in which patients, service users and communities are involved as active partners in improving health and care

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/wigan-deal