Funding options for the NHS and social care in the UK

In June 2016 RAND Europe, in collaboration with the Personal Social Services Research Unit at University of Kent and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies were commissioned to undertake a programme of research into health and social care funding trends, innovations, and public acceptability.

The research aims to identify a range of feasible options for the future funding of health and social care in the UK in light of the anticipated gap between projected funding and demand for services.

Context

Health and social care services in the UK are facing a significant delivery challenge as the pressures on the service far exceed planned funding. The task facing the government is not just to secure the resources and deliver service change for the coming five years but also to place health and social care services on a more sustainable footing for the longer term. To do this both services need to reform and a public and political consensus on the longer-term funding levels also needs to be established.

Aim

This research aims to improve the quality of debate on the long-term funding of health and social care in the four countries of the UK.

Determining the relative public acceptability of different funding models is as important a contribution to the evidence base for policy making as is identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the latest thinking about technically feasible solutions.

Approach and methodology

RAND Europe will be the lead contractor; the team is additionally supported by market research and public engagement specialists and an advisory panel of experts from the four UK countries and other countries of particular interest.

The approach includes assessing international evidence and thinking and developing a UK assessment framework, followed by feasibility and public acceptability testing before final reporting. The proposed methodology includes desk-based reviews, informant interviews, case studies, general public focus groups and a discrete choice experiment (DCE). An Expert Reference Group will also input.

Contact information

For more information about this project, please contact Jon Sussex, Chief Economist at RAND Europe.