Adam DoyleAssistant DirectorNHS Sutton and Merton Community Services

How do you measure the effectiveness of a provider ?

The QALY method helps us measure these factors so that we can compare different treatments for the same and different conditions. A QALY gives an idea of how many extra months or years of life of a reasonable quality a person might gain as a result of treatment (particularly important when considering treatments for chronic conditions). NICE (2010)

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has launched a direct attack on a leading think tank over its analysis of the government's spending review.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said poorer families with children will be the "biggest losers" of the cuts.

But Mr Clegg told the Guardian newspaper that the IFS's definition of fairness was "complete nonsense".

He said it took account only of tax and welfare and ignored factors like access to public services and social mobility.

Labour has called the planned £81bn cuts over four years a "reckless gamble" with the economy that leaves children "hardest hit".

It has been estimated that the cuts will lead to the loss of 490,000 public sector jobs.

On Thursday, at a public question-and-answer session, Mr Clegg called for a more "balanced" assessment of what the coalition was doing and accused some critics of its measures of "frightening people". BBC 2010.

This is an opportunity for the third sector

What is this opportunity?

adam.doyle@smpct.nhs.uk