The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and The Lancet have announced a joint commission to examine The Future of the NHS. The LSE-Lancet Commission is the first of its kind to study the NHS across the whole of the UK, assessing evidence from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Led by the LSE Department of Health Policy, the commission will run throughout 2018, the 70th anniversary year of the NHS. It will focus on the major challenges facing the NHS across the UK, which range from the pressures to secure adequate funding, to supplying a sustainable skilled workforce and meeting the ever-changing healthcare needs of the population, consider current and future challenges, and draw on local, national and international evidence to develop key policy recommendations. The commission will publish its findings in 2019.
Commenting on the announcement of the LSE-Lancet Commission, LSE Director of Research Professor Julia Black said: “At a pivotal time for the NHS, this LSE-Lancet Commission offers an important opportunity to focus on both the big challenges facing the NHS as well as potential solutions.”
Dr Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, said: “The NHS now faces an emergency. The goal of the LSE-Lancet Commission on the Future of the NHS is to renew the vision for the UK’s four health systems and to offer practical, feasible recommendations for its renaissance.”
Professor Elias Mossialos, Head of the Department of Health Policy at LSE, said: “The LSE-Lancet Commission on ‘The Future of the NHS’ continues a long tradition of involvement of LSE academics in both the establishment and evaluation of the NHS, from Beveridge’s 1942 report to the present day. Determining how best to deliver high-quality care free at the point of need has proven a challenge since the establishment of the NHS, irrespective of which political party has been in government. A deeper understanding of the health of the NHS requires us to take the longer view. As the service celebrates its 70th year, the LSE-Lancet Commission on the future of the NHS presents a timely opportunity to do so.”
The LSE-Lancet Commission is comprised of a group of more than 20 commissioners prominent in research, policy, management and clinical practice from across all constituent countries. An initial meeting of commissioners was held at LSE in November 2017, with further planned in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
An important part of the Commission is a ‘Call for Evidence’, which is an open opportunity for organisations and individuals to provide their perspective on the challenges facing the NHS and any innovative approaches which may help address these challenges. Evidence can be submitted only via www.lselancetcommissionnhs.com
To mark the announcement, an article ‘The Future of the NHS: no longer the envy of the world?’ was published in The Lancet on Saturday 17 March.