Leonora Merry

What started as a conversation about information and data ended up as a conversation about beliefs and humanity.

I wrote some words about our panel discussion last week about trust, information and polarised views.

www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/fo...

Photo (c) Emile Holba 2026

We're kicking off day 2 of #ntsummit with a powerful talk from @teuntoebes.bsky.social

Tune in: events.zoom.us/ev/AleCC_gRU...

Baroness Casey tells #ntsummit that a public mandate is needed for social care to finally get the action it needs.

▶️ Watch our Summit livestream:

👉 buff.ly/9RtiYiq

📽️ Find the recording as soon as it's available via our YouTube channel:

👉 buff.ly/YrLrtEW

NEXT: Baroness Casey will share insights from her ongoing independent review into adult social care in England at #ntsummit.

Watch for free via Zoom.

👉 buff.ly/9RtiYiq

Big moment for social care as Baroness Louise Casey makes her first ever speech about the Adult social care commission.

Chuffed that she chooses our small but mighty @nuffieldtrust.org.uk think tank to make it

Prof Martin Marshall
@nuffieldtrust.org.uk chair
Opening the annual #ntsummit
The health policy event highlight of the year
It is a real privilege to be a trustee and board member of this fantastic organisation
And speaker line up for the next two days is fantastic

The stage is set, quite literally, for the @nuffieldtrust.org.uk summit. Already trails of Louise Casey’s speech on the Today programme. Delegates arriving. Breakfast eaten. Good luck team Nuffield!

What an amazing panel I will have the privilege of chairing tomorrow at the Nuffield Trust summit, looking at polarisation and the fragmented information environment. You can tune in via the live stream here:

events.zoom.us/ev/AleCC_gRU...

How should health be valued in UK policy evaluation? | LSHTM The UK cost-per-QALY threshold remains a pivotal component of health technology assessment (HTA). Yet its meaning, credibility, and operational role are increasingly contested. The threshold is often

EVENT: On Wednesday 11 February, our Senior Policy Analyst @sallygainsbury.bsky.social will be joining a @lshtm.bsky.social event about planned changes to the NICE threshold , organised by the Global Health Economics Centre.

Explore the full programme and register. 👇

Natasha Curry awarded MBE We are delighted that Natasha Curry has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours.

We are so proud of our fantastic Deputy Director of Policy Natasha Curry who has been awarded an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours for services to social care policy.

Congratulations Natasha! www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/na...

Nuffield Trust response to proposals to improve dental care for those with most urgent needs Thea Stein responds to the government’s proposals to improve dental care for people with the most urgent needs.

Two years on from a landmark Nuffield Trust report on the near-terminal decline of NHS dentistry, our Chief Executive @theasrstein.bsky.social responds to today's government proposals to improve urgent dental care.

Read the statement 👇

BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room, Why are early career doctors angry? Why is there a shortage of training posts for resident doctors?

📻 Coming up on Radio 4 at 4pm, hear from our Policy Analyst @markgdayan.bsky.social on #TheBriefingRoom. With more strikes planned and a new offer on the table to try to end the dispute, this episode will unpick some of the key issues for resident doctors at the moment.

Abolished to perfection? Building a better centre for the NHS | Institute for Government The abolition of NHS England creates both risks and opportunities.

What are the risks and opportunities of abolishing NHS England?

Our report with @nuffieldtrust.org.uk sets out how the government can get the process of NHS reform right www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

I just watched the programme with my 6 and 9 year old sons whose granny lives in Abbey street in Cerne. They were so excited to see lots of familiar places (including the well which one of them always manages to fall in). My 6 year old now wants to be an archaeologist. Great programme and project!

Plan B: What the forthcoming NHS workforce strategy should not ignore As the government prepares to publish a new 10-year NHS workforce plan, questions remain about how to build a realistic and sustainable approach to staffing the health service. This long read by Lucin...

There's a new workforce plan on the way for the NHS in England. But what's needed to make it a success?

That's what my latest blog considers 👇

The NHS has a history of setting plans that are rightly ambitious but which fail to live up to the hype - there's much to reflect on and learn from 🧵(1/6)

Important piece here from Sally and LSE's Huseyin Naci, which sets out a different perspective to the vocal calls for the UK Govt to spend more on branded medicines. Well worth a read for anyone trying to make sense of the current drug pricing row

The brilliant @theasrstein.bsky.social on the elephant in the room about the NHS - facing trade offs about what *isn’t* possible when the limits of what *could be* possible are endless. At our #Lab25 fringe with @kiranstacey.bsky.social @lewisatkinson.bsky.social & @kingsfundlibrary.bsky.social

Assisted dying in practice: International experiences and implications for health and social care Exploring 15 jurisdictions across the world, this is the most detailed look to date at what the UK can learn from other countries as the UK and Scottish Parliaments debate bills to legalise assisted d...

Just re-sharing this superlative, timely and important report from @nuffieldtrust.org.uk
www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/research/ass...

Pithy and pointed.

There's another strapline for you @leonoramerry.bsky.social

This morning the government unveiled new league tables for all providers across the NHS. Interviewed on Radio 4 this morning, Secretary of State Wes Streeting described our concern that league tables…... This morning the government unveiled new league tables for all providers across the NHS. Interviewed on Radio 4 this morning, Secretary of State Wes Streeting described our concern that league tables ...

Thea Stein's riposte to Wes Streeting's comments on R4 about the league tables and our commentary here: linkedin.com/feed/update/....

Meanwhile I'm mulling a new tagline for the next rebrand: "Elitist nonsense for better healthcare". Has a ring to it.

We’re 2 weeks out from the Lords debate on #AssistedDying, so now is the time to start thinking in more detail about how this service would actually work if it becomes legal.

Great to have Nuffield Trust researchers out on the airwaves sharing insights from other countries today.

Absolutely brilliant job here for a top notch researcher/policy analyst. Join our fantastic team and work on some of the most pressing issues facing public policy in the UK today 👇. Please share with your networks!

We've updated our explainer on doctors' pay in England 👨‍⚕️

It includes this analysis of real-terms changes to resident doctors' pay since 2010/11.

We also explore longer-term trends in doctors' pay, and how it compares with the wider economy and UK countries.

Read the explainer: buff.ly/sFnmx8x

A must-read on the underlying problems of a life sciences strategy based on selling more (and more expensive) stuff to the NHS, and an NHS plan which envisages saving £££ through efficiencies and prevention. It doesn't add up.

If you read nothing else on the life sciences strategy and ten year heath plan, read this. Beautifully written, clearly argued and really important thinking from the brilliant @sallygainsbury.bsky.social 👇

A decade working with @nigel-edwards.bsky.social drummed into me the importance of thinking about the theory of change sitting underneath major policy reform. So it was a pleasure to have him back to the @nuffieldtrust.org.uk as a guest blogger to reflect on the recent Ten Year Health Plan 👇

Politicians must stop their unthinking defence of hospital care To fulfil the 10-Year Health Plan's vision of a community-centric service, politicians and local leaders will need to align their actions and engage collectively with the communities for whom this mat...

How might our chances of realising the 10 year vision for health be improved if politicians were to campaign to 'Save our District Nurses' rather than 'Hands off our Hospitals'? A few reflections from me in @hsj.co.uk

www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-r...

Has the 10 Year Plan failed to learn lessons from history? In this guest blog, Nigel Edwards argues that the new 10 Year Plan has plenty of good ideas, but the past would tell us that it’s a lot easier to suggest such ideas than to implement them, not least w...

The 10 Year Health Plan is full of ideas, but how will they happen?

Former Nuffield Trust chief executive @nigel-edwards.bsky.social has looked at what held back past reforms - a clear theory of change and humility about what central directives can achieve will be key if this plan is to succeed.

Interesting push by the IfG. From the anecdotal evidence I've heard, the new government rules effectively banning civil servants and many others from speaking at public events is causing utter chaos within many parts of the civil service.

💯 This is a weirdly retrograde rule that makes government less responsive and adaptable. Would be good to see quick movement on this.