The Week, 15 February 2018

18 Feb 2019 12:11 PM

Blog posted by: Rose Lasko-Skinner, 15 February 2019.

Reformer Of The Week

John Tizard and David Walker, who argued the Government should improve the way it accounts and audits public money so that it can make better decisions when spending.

Quotes Of The Week

"The fundamentals of AI and machine learning are based on digital data curation, statistics and probability, and it is these areas that the NHS staff of today will need to master in order to benefit from the tools of tomorrow.”

Dr Hugh Harvey, Clinical Lead, Kheiron Medical, on Monday.

"there are huge gaps in the data and in our understanding of what public spending actually buys"

David Walker, former Director, Audit Commission, on Tuesday.

Good Week For

NHS workforce 

This week, the Topol Review was published recommending how best to train and educate the NHS workforce to adapt to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in healthcare. 

The NHS Long-term plan 

At a Reform event on Thursday, Lord Prior argued the last 25 years of NHS reform had led to a fragmented, dysfunctional system, the fixing of which would be the focus of the NHS 10-year plan. 

Bad Week For

Waiting Times  

On Thursday, it was reported that A&E waiting times were the worst they had been since the four-hour target was introduced in 2004.

Higher education access 

On Thursday, new data revealed that poor white students were another group badly represented at university with more than half of England's universities having fewer than 5 per cent poor white students in their intakes. 

Reform's Week 

On Wednesday, Reform hosted a roundtable led by Joanna Davinson, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer at the Home Office. This event was held in partnership with Sopra Steria. 

This was followed, on Thursday, by a panel event held in partnership with Baxter discussing the Long-Term NHS plan for stability and reform. The event was covered by The Times and The Telegraph. 

Reform’s Dr Luke Heselwood, Senior Researcher, authored a blog on Monday arguing for a ‘collaborative approach’ to ensure disadvantaged students apply to top universities. 

Andy Bell, Deputy Chief Executive Centre for Mental Health, highlighted the unhelpful divide between mental and physical health in a blog on Wednesday.