Hong-Anh Nguyen

Hong-Anh Nguyen

I'm a librarian at The King's Fund and alongside managing the library and public enquiry service, I also lead on our service that helps to keep people up to date on health policy in England.

Location England

Activity

  • Thanks for pointing this out - we'll amend this to reflect a 7 day week!

  • If you need support for your health and wellbeing, please seek advice and help from your line manager, organisation or one of the services listed here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/leading-well-for-staff-health-and-wellbeing-in-the-nhs/1/steps/1599345

  • @GaryOng totally hear you about the fuzzy boundaries between work/life and I think this is probably something a lot of people can relate to. It would be interesting to hear from you (and other learners) about what you think complicates these boundaries?

  • @sharonmaggs fabulous to hear that you've identified a practical action that you can take away with you at the end of this week. Hope that giving yourself time and permission to look after yourself starts making a difference to your every day health and wellbeing.

  • It's great to be able to take time to reflect on the origins of our leadership style and as you say, think about how it works with colleagues' preferred leadership styles. It might also be worth reflecting on how you can flex your leadership style to meet your team and colleagues' preferences and needs too.

  • So glad to hear this @JanineDyson - it's so important to understand our own health and wellbeing and that in itself forms the basis of your ability to lead and support others with wellbeing in mind. Glad to hear that you've come away feeling like this week has been valuable!

  • Would be great to hear your reflections after you complete the exercise @KirstyMitchell !

  • Ooh interesting - what app are you using? Would be great to for other learners to also share their ideas on what's worked well alongside this exercise!

  • Hey Karen! Lovely to see you on the course! :)

  • I really like that way of putting it Susan! :)

  • Wonderful to hear @JulieCockerton - I hope that hearing from your fellow learners throughout the rest of this course will continue to be a rich source of learning and insight too!

  • This is wonderful to hear @MelanieMaddison! :)

  • Hi @AngelaSmith - wonderful to see a fellow librarian on this course! Lynsey is my colleague and I'll mention to her that you're doing this course on her recommendation! Hope you find it enriching and stretching :)

  • Hi @allerdienahubbeling - the diagrams are only available to download as an accessible text only version. You can find the accessible version for Julia Unwin's diagram here: https://www.futurelearn.com/links/f/j59872rek1mrj76ik7ku5sz3nf4nth1

  • I hope that Week 1 has been a good introduction to the NHS and will provide a great foundation for your continued learning for the rest of this course!

  • Glad to hear that this step was useful for so many learners in providing a clear overview of social care! Many learners have discussed the visibility issue that social care has in relation to the NHS and that public awareness and understanding of social care contributes to this. We won't be going into social care in depth on this course as we'll be focusing on...

  • Thanks to all who shared their experiences and views with us. Many people have brought up some external factors such as changing societal attitudes and the stigma that is still attached to ill mental health. Another theme that has come through in the comments are around the issues with timely access to mental health services. In Week 3, we'll be looking at how...

  • Thank you to all who shared their thoughts on what influences your health. Looking across all your answers, there's such a variety of factors that you've identified and it really illustrates just how much our health is dependent on so many things outside of access to health and care services. We'll be touching on this in more depth later on in the course so...

  • Hi @KevinCooper - you're right, PHE were a key part of the public health system, along with many other bodies and organisations. This video is focused more on the aims of public health practice. Hope this helps!

  • Thanks for all your comments and it's good to hear that this video is a useful overview of the system! As many of you have said, it's still incredibly complex, even when distilled down into a 6 minute video. We'll be covering many of the aspects that learners have highlighted as areas of further interest in the following weeks to come on this course.

  • Hi @RaniaRaza - you can download the final image from our website: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/audio-video/how-does-nhs-in-england-work

    Hope that helps!

  • Hi @Molly-RoseWatkins - we'll be touching on regulation in Week 3, so hopefully that will help!

  • Hi @ChristineYoung - look out for the steps in Week 4 on collaboration and partnership which will discuss ICSs and PCNs in greater detail! We won't delve into detail on progress on the Long Term Plan's cancer care ambitions. As the plan was published in January 2019, it's quite early on in terms of implementation and given the impact of Covid-19 as well, there...

  • Hi @juliekey - both of these aspects will be explored in Week 4 so look out for the steps on collaboration and integration and our relationship with the NHS!

  • Hi @AlisonHerdman - you're right, there have been ambitions before to bring together different organisations to co-ordinate planning. In Week 4, we'll be exploring the various initiatives that are being enacted in the NHS that aim to bring about greater partnership and collaboration between the NHS and other public services.

  • @FayeGoldman we'll be covering this in Week 2, so hopefully your questions about this will be answered then!

  • Hi @KevinCooper - we'll be getting into the role of PCNs further on in the course - look out for the steps on collaboration and partnership in Week 4!

  • I hope you all enjoyed learning about some of the key policy milestones over the last few decades. These are only a small selection of the policy changes that have taken place. Don't forget to check out the further reading and resources that we recommend under the 'See also' section which is at the end of the step. There are more resources there if you'd like...

  • Hi @ChristineYoung - that's a great question! The national direction and strategy for health and care services is set by NHS England and Improvement and the Department of Health and Social Care.

    Underneath that, there are more locally driven plans which take into account the particular needs of a local population (e.g. in a former mining community, there...

  • It's been great reading all of your insights on the history of health care in Britain before the NHS. Many of you have reflected on how this relatively recent history is little understood because so many people have grown up with the NHS as a constant in their lives. I hope that this step provides the historical context for understanding the NHS in England as...

  • Thanks for sharing this @JANELEE - I can imagine that it was hard for many people to shift their attitudes towards accessing health care because the universal access that the NHS afforded was such a dramatic shift in what was available before.

  • Hong-Anh Nguyen replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]

    The history of paramedics is a relatively recent one and I agree, it's very interesting! I listened to a great podcast about it recently: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/freedom-house-ambulance-service/

  • Thanks for sharing this @AlisonHerdman - really gives you a sense of how inaccessible health care was before the NHS and that people had to choose carefully when deciding to seek out care.

  • Thank you @ChrisScott for sharing your family story with us, that's so interesting and really gives an insight into the early days of the NHS. We owe a lot to people like your dad!

  • Hi @AlisonPipes - yes, you're able to upgrade at any point during the course! I'm afraid that there's no other confirmation or recognition of completion other than the certificate which comes with the upgrade.

  • Thanks to all who shared a bit more about themselves and why they're taking this course. It's great to get to know everyone a little better and also that we have such a diverse bunch of learners! I'm looking forward to seeing all the different perspectives, ideas and thoughts that you'll bring to the discussions on this course in the coming weeks.

  • Hi @BethTapster - wonderful to see fellow library workers on this course! Hope you enjoy it!

  • Hello @AngelaDrayton - another fellow librarian on the course! Hope that you find this course useful :)

  • Hi @RoelienClarke - welcome to the course and lovely to see a fellow librarian here! :)

  • Hello fellow library worker! Always nice to see library folk on this course - hope you find it interesting and useful to your role!

  • Thank you to all the learners who contributed their three words to describe the NHS. What comes through is just how much people appreciate the NHS and recognise the value of it. This also is evident in the concern that people express for the future of the NHS and the funding and resourcing that it receives. We'll look forward to hearing more from all learners...

  • If you or a loved one require advice, information or support on social care, the NHS website explains the options and sets out what organisations can support you.

    https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/

  • If you or a loved one require advice, information or support on any mental health issues, the websites of charities Mind and Rethink are worth checking out. They have lots of useful information and resources, as well as helplines too:

    https://www.mind.org.uk
    https://www.rethink.org

  • Hi @suzannebarwell - if you'd like a certificate of achievement for this course, you'll need to upgrade: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/the-nhs-explained/6/upgrade

  • Hi @HumayunAhmedTangil if you are interested in the kinds of posts that are available in the NHS, the following websites might be of interest:

    https://www.jobs.nhs.uk
    https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk

  • Hi @MearaTaylor - this is a great question! The rest of this week is dedicated to learning about all the various standards and targets that NHS performance is measured by so hopefully your question will be answered by the end of the week!

  • I hope that Week 1 has been a good introduction to the NHS and will provide a great foundation for your continued learning for the rest of this course!

  • Glad to hear that this step was useful for so many learners in providing a clear overview of social care! Many learners have discussed the visibility issue that social care has in relation to the NHS and that public awareness and understanding of social care contributes to this. We won't be going into social care in depth on this course as we'll be focusing on...

  • Thanks to all who shared their experiences and views with us. Many of you have discussed the link between mental and physical health which can get overlooked in the care of people who live with mental health conditions leading to fragmented care. In Week 4, we'll be discussing integration and collaboration as a driver for the future of the NHS so bear this in...

  • Thank you to all who shared their thoughts on what influences your health. Looking across all your answers, there's such a variety of factors that you've identified and it really illustrates just how much our health is dependent on so many things outside of access to health and care services. We'll be touching on this in more depth later on in the course so...

  • Thanks for all your comments and it's good to hear that this video is a useful overview of the system! As many of you have said, it's still incredibly complex, even when distilled down into a 6 minute video. We'll be covering many of the aspects that learners have highlighted as areas of further interest in the following weeks to come on this course.

  • Hi @BethSimpson we won't be covering this in depth but our explainer on access to care might be of interest to you: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/six-ways

  • Hi @AnthonyMamo thanks for your comments! On point 2, NHS England share the responsibility for planning and buying services with CCGs (it is devolved to CCGs at a local level but there will be more on this in Week 2).

    We'll get into STPs in greater detail in Week 4 so you should have a better understanding of them after those steps!

    Finally, on point 8...

  • @MonicaRaju we won't be covering this in depth but our explainer on access to care might be of interest to you: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/six-ways

  • Hi @LodewijkJanNauta - great question! Hold onto that thought as Week 4 will focus on the future of the NHS and how it may change.

  • I hope you all enjoyed learning about some of the key policy milestones over the last few decades. These are only a small selection of the policy changes that have taken place. Don't forget to check out the further reading and resources that we recommend under the 'See also' section which is at the end of the step. There are more resources here if you'd like...

  • It's been great reading all of your insights on the history of health care in Britain before the NHS. Many of you have reflected on how this relatively recent history is little understood because so many people have grown up with the NHS as a constant in their lives. I hope that this step provides the historical context for understanding the NHS in England as...

  • Thanks Claire! We're in the process of getting this sorted!

  • Thanks to all who shared a bit more about themselves and why they're taking this course. It's great to get to know everyone a little better and also that we have such a diverse bunch of learners! I'm looking forward to seeing all the different perspectives, ideas and thoughts that you'll bring to the discussions on this course in the coming weeks.

  • Thank you to all the learners who contributed their three words to describe the NHS. What comes through is just how much people appreciate the NHS and recognise the value of it. This also is evident in the concern that people express for the future of the NHS and the funding and resourcing that it receives.

  • @JelenaDjordjevic great question! There are a variety of recommendations on how health and social care could become more integrated. In 2014, we established an independent commission to look and this and you can find a summary of their findings here: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/new-settlement-health-and-social-care/summary

  • If you or a loved one require advice, information or support on social care, the NHS website explains the options and sets out what organisations can support you.

    https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/

  • If you or a loved one require advice, information or support on any mental health issues, the websites of charities Mind and Rethink are worth checking out. They have lots of useful information and resources, as well as helplines too:

    https://www.mind.org.uk
    https://www.rethink.org

  • @IzzyLane this will be a feature of Week 4 in the section on collaboration and integration!

  • @lynnCasey-Sturt we'll be learning more about this in Week 4!

  • Look out for the steps in Week 4 on integration and collaboration in this case @CatherineGrant - I think they'll be of interest to you!

  • @GeoffreyHilliard good question! PHE is a government department that is tasked with setting the strategic direction for public health in England. After the 2012 reforms, responsibility for public health lies with local authorities (i.e. outside of the NHS), although public health activities are still delivered within the NHS too. There is more information...

  • Hi @VickiBarrett - hopefully the steps on collaboration and integration in Week 4 of the course will be of interest to you!

  • @AidanMcGuire this is something we address in greater depth in Week 4 so hopefully your questions will be answered then!

  • Look out for this in Week 4 where we go into more detail about these new ways of working in the health and care system @EmmaW

  • Hi @JulesCurrie - welcome to the course! Great to hear that you're getting support from your GP and I hope that it isn't too long before you get access to wider support and treatment. I hope that you enjoy the course and find it useful!

  • Hi @preethamathew you can find out more on our website: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/courses

  • Hi @CarolineP. - we are funded primarily through our endowment (i.e. investments) and income generating activities such as conferences, venue hire and our training programmes. All the information about how we are funded is on our website: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-raise-spend-money

  • Hi @VirginiaGill you can work through this course at your own pace. You'll have 6 weeks from enrolment to complete the course. If you want to participate in the Q&As in Weeks 3 and 4, make sure to post your questions during those weeks, otherwise you can be flexible in how this course fits in with your other commitments and responsibilities.

  • Hi @ChinyereUwakwe - that's okay, you can work at your own pace! You'll have 6 weeks from enrolment to complete the course. If you want to participate in the Q&As in Weeks 3 and 4, make sure to post your questions during those weeks, otherwise you can be flexible in how this course fits in with your other commitments and responsibilities.

  • I think where remote working can be productive is down to lack of distractions which are common in office-based working (e.g. meetings, chatting with colleagues, ambient noise in open plan offices). Before the pandemic, I used working at home to specifically focus on things which required more sustained attention than I could give in the office. Now that...

  • I’m Hong-Anh from London and similarly to lots of other people, I’m taking this course because of the shift to remote working due to the pandemic. I think that this shift is here to stay (not necessarily in the form it takes now) so I’d like to learn more methods to manage collaborative working effectively!

  • Hi @RosinaF - yes our library service is open to the public! You can find out more about what our service provides here: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/consultancy-support/library-services

  • Hong-Anh Nguyen made a comment

    Thank you to everyone for their comments and I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the course and found it interesting! Many of you highlighted how much value reading the other learners’ comments bring and I wholeheartedly agree, so thank you to everyone for their contributions!

  • I agree! The team of educators and mentors at The King’s Fund also find reading the comments really interesting and thought provoking!

  • Hi @TaraOSMANY sorry to hear that you’ve been having issues with accessing Padlet. Can you let us know what error message you’re getting when you try to access it?

  • Thanks to everyone who contributed an essay, they’ve made for thought-provoking reading! Writing an essay for this step isn’t compulsory but if you’d like to read what others have written, please log into Padlet using the details above and don’t forget to like any entries too!

  • Thanks to all who commented on this step and there has been some really interesting and lively debate on this! From the comments, there is broad agreement that individual and state responsibility as outlined in this step is well balanced. Some learners asked about how the state and individuals might be held accountable for holding up the end of their deal....

  • Thanks to all who shared their thoughts on the ways in which technology may change the NHS in future. There was generally a sense in the comments that many of the developments discussed in this step would have a positive impact on health care in England. Some learners also highlighted the need to balance the use of technology with the benefits of face-to-face...

  • Thank you to all who commented and shared their thoughts below. There were a wide range of suggestions but a couple of things came up frequently: the need for secure access to unified medical records; improved IT infrastructure for services and the ability for digital technologies to make access to care quicker and more convenient. Others also pointed out that...

  • Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts and shared their own experiences. One big theme that came through in the comments was around communication and how this affects patient experience. Some people suggested that increased use of digital technologies could help to smooth communication and improve the experience for patients and staff.

  • Hi @GordonOliver, as you rightfully point out it’s confusing and there is lots of variation in what an ICS looks like. We reviewed the progress made by 8 different ICSs over the course of their first year and the resulting report might give you a better insight into how ICSs are working at scale, but also at a more local neighbourhood level too (p27 in...

  • Thanks @TraceyUdell - Canterbury was one of our global case studies and we outlined the valuable lessons from the experience and success of your district health board in our report: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/quest-integrated-health-and-social-care

  • Thank you to all who commented below. Again, similarly to Sam’s Story, there is broad consensus among you all that this population health approach is something that can be beneficial for all and is a worthwhile aim. This approach requires collaboration between many services and the next step will outline how the NHS is playing it’s part in achieving this.

  • Thanks for all your comments. There is broad consensus that a more joined-up approach is beneficial for patients and the following steps will look at how the NHS is working towards this aim. Some learners have asked for some real life examples of integrated care, the case studies on our website look at how integrated care is working around England and in other...

  • Thanks to all learners who shared their comments and opinions on the challenges facing the NHS following Brexit. Many shared concerns about the UK’s ability to access medicines and treatments and the impact of Brexit on the current workforce crisis. Some people asked about the opportunities that Brexit might bring. The lover piece that this step is adapted...

  • Thanks to all learners who commented on this step. Many of you highlighted the importance of integrating health and social care as part of the future of the NHS. Later on in Week 4, we will be looking at integrating care and the plans already in motion to address this.

  • @elainaark my knowledge of the history of health economics isn’t great so I can’t say much on the history of the MFF. However, the purpose of it is to ensure that patients do not experience any inequalities due to external economic forces. So it ensures that NHS services will proportionally receive funding taking into account things like labour costs and...

  • Thanks to all learners who contributed their thoughts to this step. Many expressed admiration at the NHS’ rapid response to adapt to meet the shifting demands of an unprecedented public health emergency. There were also concerns about issues such as supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing and the delays in elective treatment. In the weeks and...

  • Hi @RichardLawson apologies for this oversight - we will upload the transcript as soon as possible and notify you once we’ve done so!

  • Thanks to all who shared their thoughts on the future challenges facing the NHS. A wide range of suggestions cropped up, from funding to workforce and also the consequences of Covid-19 and Brexit. The NHS has and will continue to adapt to changes in society, population and technology and we hope that the rest of Week 4 will help you understand those changes in...

  • Hi @elainaark - the things that you've referred to (the market forces factor and the tariff) are pretty detailed technical aspects about the way that finances are allocated and payment mechanisms in the NHS. If you're really interested in these, then there is more information on the market forces factor in this guidance from NHS England and Improvement (the...

  • HI @TimWilson thanks for your comments. We do write about public health and the resourcing of these services in greater depth in our work on our website. A good place to start is our position on public health which you can read here: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/positions/public-health

    To see all of our work on public health, including reports,...

  • Hi @SamJoyce that's right! The Powis Review published interim findings on their review of NHS targets last year and since then the NHS has been testing some of these revised targets. There is more information on the NHS England website on these pilot areas: https://www.england.nhs.uk/clinically-led-review-nhs-access-standards/

  • Hi @RichardBetts - this is a great question! It's important to say that there are a range of measures on which NHS performance is judged by. Waiting times and access standards are particularly prominent (potentially because of the media coverage on these targets) but there are a range of other measures which centre on effectiveness of treatment, quality of...