By Dag Larsson

The new year is a time of reflection, when people look towards the year to come and think of ways they can improve. I believe that the same logic should apply to our institutions.

The NHS is facing a productivity puzzle. The government pours increasingly large sums of money into it, but it is still struggling on key indicators. And yet waiting times have increased over the last decade and health outcomes have not improved enough.

Part of this is of course due to factors out of the NHS’ control: demographic factors like an ageing population and the increasing complexity and range of things the health service is asked to deal with. But it is also about an outdated way of delivering care.

Let’s start with the obvious: The main focus of the NHS is on treating patients when they come to the hospital. Of course we need to do this, but focusing too much on this overwhelmingly reactive approach means the NHS is too often behind the curve.

What if instead of just focusing on treating patients that........

© LBC