We need innovation, improvement and implementation more than ever – but how?

We need innovation, improvement and implementation more than ever – but how? Despair comes easily in health and social care these days. From the daily headlines about crowded hospitals and growing ambulance delays to the underlying investment gap in workforce and infrastructure. Services are struggling to keep up with current demand, never mind get on a sustainable path to meet future expectations.

It’s time for some (cautious) optimism, however. Millions of people still receive great, timely care every day, thanks to the huge efforts made by staff across the UK. It's easy to miss this achievement among all the difficulties we face. And making progress on innovation and improvement is now more important than ever, not just to enhance the services we have today but also to create the services we need tomorrow. The Health Foundation