Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are currently the leading cause of death worldwide. In this paper, we examine the channels through which economic growth affects NCDs’ epidemiology. Following a production function approach, we develop a basic technique to break up the impact of economic growth on NCDs into three fundamental components: (1) a resource effect; (2) a behaviour effect; and (3) a knowledge effect. We demonstrate that each of these effects can be measured as the product of two elasticities, the output and income elasticity of the three leading factors influencing the frequency of NCDs in any population: health care, healthrelated behaviours and lifestyle, and medical knowledge.

In March, the Department of Health (DH) released the Learning from Mistakes League, in which NHS organisations are ranked by levels of openness and transparency (DH, 2016). While a welcome first step toward the centralised and open promotion of learning since the publication of the Francis and Berwick reports three years earlier, unfortunately, the league can be considered misleading for a number of reasons.

Introduction: This paper demonstrates the practical application of process mapping principles as a model for evaluating NHS improvement. The NHS improvement in question was the merger of three crisis resolution teams within an NHS trust in 2012. The aims were to improve overall operational efficiency and enhance multidisciplinary working to meet operational targets. This paper examined changes following the merger to capture the effects of service improvement and the reality of the patient journey. Methods: A pooled cross-sectional approach, using six years of aggregated hospital data, was taken. To achieve operational efficiency, a process map of referrals, readmissions, length of stay and waiting times for crisis resolution team assessments was examined. Prevalence of clinical referral rates and disease classification before and after the merger were compared. Conclusion: Between 1 April 2009 and 30 March 2015, length of stay and readmissions for patients to crisis resolution team rates reduced. Operational sustainability and capacity was enhanced through the redistribution of clinical human resources. Multidisciplinary skill mix (e.g. through improved team composition) also improved.

This commentary explores the role of evidence-based management for evidence-based decision-making legitimacy in mental health nursing.

This paper examines the feasibility of using a holistic approach to sustainability in a business context. The aim is to help organisations from a healthcare perspective increase their adaptability to volatile business environments, by aligning external and internal elements with success, based on internal validation of output. A literature review on existing sustainability theory was conducted and the results divided into versions of sustainability from an initial idea (1.0), to a situation where sustainably will become the nature of business rather than one of its objectives (4.0). In order to align business health and strengthen self-healing powers of businesses, eight pillars of relevance were identified as post conditional. The method adopted to interpret the approaches was informed by a structured process of healthcare perspectiveness healing using figurational dynamics as an analytical lens. Findings indicate that for implementation of an improvement structure based on holistic governance to be successful, acceptance of changes in economic, political and social spheres towards holistic business development need to exist. Secondly, figurational dynamics has to evolve as an overarching or inclusive system to include influences and inspiration from various specialist arenas.

There is increasing recognition among policymakers that health systems are no longer fit for purpose. Our hospital-centred systems, originally created to deal with communicable disease epidemics, are now faced with the challenge of delivering care to the exponentially increasing number of people living with (typically multiple)≈non-communicable disorders (NCDs). Global economic stagnation has also contributed to the pressures facing health systems – such that there is an imperative to develop new models of care.

Even prior to the conclusion of the European Union (EU) referendum (Brexit), the NHS was showing tremendous signs of strain. Immediately after the outcome was announced, promises of major re-investment of funds saved from payments to the EU were retracted. Since then, hospital closures, cuts and changes to health and social care have been revealed, with regular news broadcasts highlighting the crisis facing the NHS. The uncertainties about post-Brexit relationships, economy, politics and security are likely to further significantly impact the NHS and its sustainability. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the NHS are inextricably linked through research and education of health and social care professionals – changes therefore having implications for both.