Healthcare systems generate vast amounts of narrative data every day. These narratives contain critical insight into patient experience, safety risk, operational pressure, workforce culture, service quality, and system failure. Yet most of this information remains fragmented across disconnected systems, reviewed manually, and analysed in isolation. Our internal review identified more than 70 distinct narrative data sources across eight major domains within NHS and healthcare

Every day, the NHS generates an extraordinary amount of narrative information. Patients describe experiences in complaints, Friends and Family Tests, PALS conversations, surveys, workshops, social media posts, and Healthwatch feedback. Staff document incidents, concerns, safeguarding issues, operational pressures, reflective practice discussions, and governance reviews. Clinicians record assessments, referrals, care plans, discharge summaries, and multidisciplinary discussion

Suzanne Bailey, Head of Mental Health and Psychotherapist shares her latest article this Mental Health Awareness Week 2026. Warning that this article mentions suicide and risk factors in suicide. At Akumen, we have been analysing data relating to suicide prevention. We examined ten randomly selected cases in which individuals had taken their own lives and found that nearly a quarter were linked to heartbreak. There is evidence spanning hundreds of years that heartbreak is a s

Mark Towers, our Lead Language Analyst shares his knowledge around the use of 'intensifiers' and the significance of their use in the workplace: This article is not about policing language, but about how meaning may be misread. A long‑standing irritation of mine is the use of the word literally, as exemplified by “I literally jumped out of my skin”. The same irritation often applies to words such as basically, absolutely, and obviously. I used to think this was simply about c

The meaning of the word violence “force that causes harm”, that force doesn’t always have to be physical or loud. It can be subtle, indirect, or even invisible. When absence becomes the wound There is a particular kind of harm that leaves no bruises, raises no alarms, and generates no incident reports. It doesn't announce itself. It doesn't even feel like harm, not at first, not for years, sometimes not for decades. This is the nature of neglect: nothing happened. The unrem

This Earth Day 22nd April 2026, we’re celebrating bees — not just because they’re brilliant, but because they quietly model something at the heart of Akumen’s work: how small signals shape whole systems. Bees are often talked about as pollinators, but they’re much more than that. They’re communicators, collaborators, and natural system‑builders. A single hive is a living example of how behaviour, environment and shared purpose interact to create something far bigger than the

Complaints in healthcare are often framed as problems to be managed — issues to resolve, concerns to close, cases to log. PALS teams work incredibly hard to support patients and families at moments of distress, and they do it with compassion and professionalism. But is the system they work within is designed for case handling , not learning ? And that is where the real opportunity is being missed. Every complaint is a signal. A story. A piece of lived experience that points t

Roy Lilley’s recent reflection on NHS leadership published on 12th March hits uncomfortably close to home. He describes a system where intelligent, experienced leaders quietly comply with decisions they privately believe are “chaotic, destabilising and corrosive to morale.” They go along with upheaval, job losses, and directionless restructuring — not because they agree, but because speaking up feels unsafe. It’s easy to label this as Groupthink, the Abilene Paradox, or bure

Across the health and care system, evaluation has never been more important. Rising demand, persistent inequalities and the pressure to innovate responsibly mean that commissioners and providers need credible, context‑rich evidence to make decisions that genuinely improve lives. Real‑world evaluation is now central to that mission. The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London captures this clearly in their first newsletter of 2026, with an article from Dr Andrew Walker, I

NHS organisations are awash with feedback. Staff share their experiences through pulse surveys, annual surveys and consultation. Patients share theirs through the Friends and Family Test, complaints, compliments and interviews. Health and Social Care Regulators, the CQC, assess services through the five domains: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well‑led . Each dataset is valuable on its own. But when they sit in silos, they hide as much as they reveal. Triangulating th

In this 3 part discussion Paul and Elouise delve into the subject of the impact of organisational change on the people involved. As always if you are interested in talking with us in more detail about this topic we would love to talk more. Email Eross@akumen.co.uk to arrange a meeting.

Roy Lilley’s “forest fire” metaphor from his nhsManagers.net article 'Improvement' on 9th January article captures something NHS leaders have felt for a long time: the ground shifting faster than anyone can keep steady. He’s right about the high turnover, the loss of experience and the way constant reorganisation makes improvement harder. But underneath all of this sits a simple truth — the human one. Management theory has long shown that major restructuring leads to a pred

AI has revolutionised the way that we work and live in todays society, but in the world of narrative data analytics the reliance on LLM's comes with a health warning. LLMs are designed to generate plausible language, not to preserve meaning. This distinction matters. In narrative analysis, the challenge is not producing insight-like text but holding meaning stable enough to measure, compare, and act on over time. Accuracy and Reliability Generative AI can produce outputs

On Thursday 27th November, I was honoured to join 280 stakeholders at the annual Suicide and Self‑Harm Conference, hosted by the Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention Team. The day brought together lived and learned experience experts in suicide prevention, self‑harm, mental health, and community engagement. The overriding theme was hope . Hope was described as a protective factor for many, and the message was clear: suicide is everyone’s business. Language Matters Speakers with

In today’s workplace, what you can’t see can cost you dearly. Traditional surveys and surface metrics often miss the real issues—burnout, disengagement, cultural friction, and innovation blockers. Leaders are left flying blind during times of change. Akumen’s Narrative Experience gives you a clear window into the lived experience of your workforce, transforming open feedback into evidence you can act on. Many organisations already collect employee feedback through surveys, pu

On 13th November over 200 people joined the Towards Zero Suicide annual event at the Royal Cornwall Showground in Wadebridge — and it was a powerful day. The event blended moving lived experiences with moments of lightness, laughter, and even dancing. It was a brilliant example of how serious conversations can still feel human, hopeful, and connected. Akumen' s Research & Innovation team were proud to run a workshop on AI & Protective Factors (the relationships, activities, v

The government’s Keep Britain Working review is a clear call for change. Too many people are out of work because of poor health, and too many employers are unsure how to help. The review says we need to act differently — and at Akumen, we’re already doing just that. We help organisations understand what their people are really experiencing, especially during times of change. Our Narrative Experience platform turns honest feedback — from surveys, interviews, or chats — into c

When change is underway, surface metrics don’t tell the full story. Disengagement, resistance, and innovation blockers often hide beneath the numbers — and that’s where risk lives. Akumen’s Narrative Experience solution helps consultants uncover what’s really going on. It turns open-text feedback into clear, real-time insight, giving you a window into the lived experience of your workforce. So instead of flying blind, you can lead change with confidence. Why businesses are c

At Akumen we are big fans of Roy Lilley’s often controversial, but to the point musings. His most recent opinion piece regarding CQC makes a powerful point: if we keep inspecting care services after things go wrong, we’re not improving anything—we’re just writing up the wreckage. His suggestion to scrap the CQC and replace it with a real-time forecasting service is bold, but it’s also grounded in common sense. At Akumen, we agree with the spirit of Roy’s proposal—and we’re re

Everywhere you turn, someone is talking about ADHD. Parents, teachers, managers, friends — half the people you meet either have a diagnosis or wonder if they should. What if the rise of ADHD diagnosis is the sound of our collective nervous system trying to tell us that something deeper is out of balance? To explore that question, imagine a round-table: nine people from different worlds, each with a piece of the puzzle. The Neuroscientist — Biology Matters ADHD is a neurodevel