Experiences of older people using services affected by fragmentation across local health and care systems, warns CQC

Those working within health and adult social care services are passionate about providing the best possible experience to the older people within their care.

However, their efforts can be compromised by the competing priorities, performance measures and accountabilities of their employing organisations. Collectively, this can limit choice and can make movement between services seem confusing and fragmented.

This is one the key themes the CQC has found, having completed a third of its Government-commissioned reviews that explore how well local systems work together to support and care for people aged over 65.

Does hospital competition improve efficiency? The effect of the patient choice reform in England

This paper from the Centre for Health Economics investigates the effect of hospital competition on dimensions of efficiency including indicators of resource management and costs. Findings suggest that increased competition had mixed effects on efficiency.

Commissioning through Competition and Cooperation

This Policy Research Unit in Commissioning and the Healthcare System (PRUComm) project aimed to investigate how commissioners in local health systems managed the interplay of competition and cooperation in their local health economies, looking at acute and community health services (CH).