Publications by authors named "A Weale"
Article Synopsis
- Health technology assessment (HTA) relies on value-based reasoning that combines ethical considerations with empirical evidence, but its current language is unclear and inconsistent, leading to transparency issues.
- A group of 24 researchers proposes a new framework to clarify key terms and types of normative commitments in HTA, improving the decision-making process for practitioners and policymakers.
- The framework aims to foster better public reasoning and accountability, ensuring that health decisions are made transparently and can be ethically evaluated.
In August 2020 the UK government announced without warning the abolition of Public Health England (PHE), the principal UK agency for the promotion and protection of public health. We undertook a research programme seeking to understand the factors surrounding this decision. While the underlying issues are complex two competing interpretations have emerged: an 'official' explanation, which highlights the failure of PHE to scale up its testing capacity in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic as the fundamental reason for closing it down and a 'sceptical' interpretation, which ascribes the decision to blame-avoidance behaviour on the part of leading government figures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe abolition of Public Health England (PHE) during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about the future of the public health system in the UK, particularly in England. The two new bodies established in haste to replace PHE prompt reflection on the executive agency's fate and the need to identify any lessons to ensure that a public health system is put in place that is fit for purpose. The UK COVID-19 Inquiry provides an opportunity to make recommendations, but it will need to act quickly to avoid recommendations being ignored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland (VSGBI) Peripheral Arterial Disease Quality Improvement Framework (PAD QIF) stipulates targets for managing patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI); however, it is unknown whether these are achievable. This survey aims to evaluate contemporary practice for managing CLTI in the UK.
Methods: A questionnaire was developed in conjunction with the VSGBI to survey the management of CLTI and canvass opinions on the PAD QIF.