Regional impact assessment of air quality improvement: The air quality lifecourse assessment tool (AQ-LAT) for the West Midlands combined authority (WMCA) area.

Poor air quality is the largest environmental health risk in England. In the West Midlands, UK, ∼2.9 million people are affected by air pollution with an average loss in life expectancy of up to 6 months.

Improving generalist end of life care: national consultation with practitioners, commissioners, academics, and service user groups.

Objective: To identify major concerns of national and local importance in the provision, commissioning, research, and use of generalist end of life care.

Design: A national consultation and prioritising exercise using a modified form of the nominal group technique.

Participants: Healthcare practitioners, commissioners, academics, and representatives of user and voluntary groups.

NHS politics. Winging it.

At present, NHS managers are highly constrained, suffering excessive regulation and central control. More autonomy for trusts would mean fewer directives and less performance management. Giving trusts a new organisational form, such as a public interest company or foundation hospital, might be reinvigorating and would not involve further reorganisation.