HSJ Health Check: Recent Episodes
HSJ
HSJ Health Check: Weekly analysis of the biggest issues in health policy and leadership, from HSJ's expert journalists. The go to place for an independent, informed and immediate take on health and care news.
This week we take a look at two of the hottest topics in the NHS – productivity and technology.
We’ll ask whether trusts really are getting more productive – and whether it’s fair to compare one to another.
And this episode explores why health service leaders need to be keep their egos in check – but only when it comes to tech. With Henry Anderson, James Illman and Joe Talora.
The HSJ Health Check podcast is tracking development of the government’s planned Health Bill. This week we talk to Ian Dodge, who shaped several major pieces of NHS legislation as a national director at NHS England and the Department of Health.
Mr Dodge reflects on the lessons that can be learned from two decades of NHS restructure Acts: They rarely succeed in transforming services, take longer and are more complex than thought, and open the door to a range of unpredictable challenges from outsiders and political opponents.
We talk about where these attacks might come, and the dilemmas facing goverment itself about what to include.
Mr Dodge says ministers have already missed the chance of sticking to a very slim piece of legislation, abolishing NHS England as straightforwardly as possible. “The 10-Year Plan blew that out of the water with a whole heap of things that the government decided to abolish,” he said. “Already this thing has ballooned.”
On timing, NHSE is unlikely to be abolished until “sometime between 1 October 2027 or 1 April 2028… and it will take up a vast amount of time and effort.”
Send views and questions to annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcast platforms.
This week we discuss an exclusive story about a major expansion of cancer testing centres that will see the private sector take on a bigger role delivering NHS services.
We’ll weigh up the success of the community diagnostic testing programme so far - and ask if one crucial factor could be holding it back.
Also, an update on plans to launch a ‘single patient record’, following revelations that NHS England wants to launch a prototype by the end of the year.
This week two more integrated care board chief executives have quit, the latest in a string of resignations amid major changes to their role.
We discuss what’s driving this leadership churn and also an update on the delayed redundancy scheme.
And we reflect on Labour's first year in charge of the NHS, asking what drove the government to gamble on a major reorganisation of accountability.
HSJ Health Check returns this week, just as NHS England unveils new performance rankings for every trust in England.
We unpick how the league table is drawn up, ask who exactly it is aimed at, and whether it will have any meaningful impact on performance and transparency.
Also, more on the cost of the latest doctors’ strikes and the financial asks facing trusts this year.
We are sorry for the poor quality audio at some points in this week’s podcast - we encountered problems with the platform we use to record it. We tried to clean it up as much as possible as we wanted to publish the discussion rather than scrap it all together this week.
This week on the last HSJ podcast before the summer recess, we cover what is going on with more than £2bn that NHS England wants to take off overspending trusts.
Henry Anderson and Dave West dig into this, and Wes Streeting’s promise to move some of this money into deprived areas – asking if this will actually work.
Also an update on plans for manager regulation after the government published its proposals earlier this week.
This week the HSJ team looks at the upcoming resident doctors' strike, plus how satisfied the public is primary care. Bureau chief Ben Clover, standing in for Annabelle Collins is joined by workforce correspondent Nick Kituno to talk about the BMA's latest strike action following the dramatic policy intervention made by NHSE Boss Sir Jim Mackey earlier in the week. Ben and primary care correspondent Caitlin Tilley then go through what the latest data shows about the public's impression of primary care services, and progress towards making the NHS App the service's front door.
Penny Dash's long-awaited review into safety and quality came out this week and put cost-effectiveness at the heart of implementing future recommendations from reviews and inquires.
We cover the biggest changes - including the scrapping of Healthwatch - and whether yet more upheaval will be worth it.
Also this week an update on the government's neighbourhood health plans as the next bit of the strategy is revealed.
The 10-Year Health Plan has been published, so this week Alastair McLellan and Dave West cover what really matters in the 150-page document, and why it's such a disappointment.
Also, what happened to the last chapter on delivery?
This week we cover concerns about the safety of certain AI technology used in the NHS, as NHS England tries to exert order over a chaotic market.
We also discuss the health secretary’s announcement of a “national maternity investigation” and the unanswered questions surrounding this unusual decision.
And finally, we talk more about HSJ revelations this week that a patient died as a result of the cyber attack on a south east London pathology system last year.
This episode explores the evolving concept of neighbourhood health, the question marks over who will take the lead in each area and why ICBs still have an important role to play.
We’re joined by Andrew Bland, chief executive of South East London ICB and London’s neighbourhood lead, and Ruth Rankine, director of the NHS Confederation’s primary care network, to discuss the cultural and financial challenges of scaling this local approach into a nationally viable model — one the government has placed significant hopes on.
Also with Mimi Launder and Annabelle Collins.
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan sits down with NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor during this year’s ConfedExpo conference, which has been happening at the same time as the Chancellor’s spending review.
They cover whether Labour may have hoped for more money for the health service, NHS reform (and the personalities involved), the cultural acceptance of the status quo in the NHS, and how Mr Taylor would advise Wes Streeting on avoiding further resident doctor strikes.
This week we bring you the latest in our series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill.
The series will explore what ministers and officials have in store as their vision for the NHS emerges, as well as the ups and downs of the process and politics of delivering legislation.
This week, Dave West and Annabelle Collins are joined by Siva Anandaciva, director of policy, events and partnerships at the King’s Fund and Barts Health associate non-executive director, and Helen Buckingham, former director of strategy at the Nuffield Trust, following 20 years experience at board level in local and national NHS organisations. We discuss what’s been going on behind the scenes since the last episode and our experts’ take on what should be in the Bill… both serious and not.
Earlier this month the government announced a “carrot and stick” approach to senior manager pay, so this week we go into the detail about what this will mean in practice and how it could affect recruitment to a workforce already facing a lot of churn.
Also, more on another way financial incentives will be used in the new NHS, and what the health service might get in the upcoming spending review.
This week the team look at two long-running issues in the NHS. Bureau chief Ben Clover, standing in for Annabelle Collins, is joined by Alison Moore to discuss whether scandal-ridden maternity services are going to get another national review, and whether that would be a good thing. Plus a look at some of the fundamentals in the sector.
Then Ben is joined by estates correspondent Zoe Tidman to look at whether the NHS needs a Robin Hood to redistribute some of the capital money from the richer trusts to the needier ones
In many areas the NHS is still in the foothills when it comes to using artificial intelligence, with most of the innovation found in diagnostics and speech dictation.
Trusts and tech companies talk of untapped opportunity, so we discuss some of the barriers, from poor clarity over how products are approved, to a lack of money and time to make the investment.
Also this week, why KPMG has been awarded millions to help the last hospitals launch their first electronic patient record.
NHS England has revealed its new “model ICB blueprint”, which will see more than a dozen functions transferring out of integrated care boards and requirements to cut the number of board members.
We cover what the new slimmed-down ICBs will look like and what these changes will mean for providers.
Also - HSJ revealed last week NHSE and the government are slashing ring-fenced funding for services such as maternity and mental health. We discuss the impact this could have on patient care and safety.
The first in an occasional series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill, which is due to bring about the biggest change in the central running of the NHS for more than a decade.
The government’s plans raise huge questions about how the NHS will be run in coming years. The series will explore what ministers and officials have in store as their vision emerges, as well as the ups and downs of the process and politics of delivering legislation.
This week Dave West and Annabelle Collins are joined by Bill Morgan, who as a seasoned political adviser in 10 Downing Street and the Department of Health has a hand in the several major pieces of health legislation, and Sharon Brennan, who as director of policy at National Voices has already given evidence to MPs on the latest plans.
HSJ revealed last week at least £150m has been wasted planning for "new hospitals" that might never materialise.
We explore where else trusts can turn, with major state-funded rebuilds now off the agenda for many areas.
That could mean reviving private financing, a new drive on patch-up maintenance efforts, and a much greater reliance on community services and tech.
Also this week, Samantha Jones’ likely appointment as new permanent secretary of the DHSC, and another significant senior appointment to NHSE.
Correction: £1bn - not £100m - is allocated to building safety works and reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete this year, although the point that more is needed still stands.
This week the team look at the continuing fallout from the ICB cuts and pending abolition of NHS England, following the first interview with new boss Sir Jim Mackey. Bureau chief Ben Clover stands in for Annabelle Collins as host and is joined by Dave West and Mimi Launder
Another damning coroner’s report has been published following the preventable death of baby Ida Lock at a Lancashire hospital, so this week we take a closer look at why the NHS is beset with so many maternity scandals.
It has also been reported health secretary Wes Streeting is considering a public inquiry into maternity care, and we discuss why this might not bring about the fast change so badly needed.
Also, we cover the ongoing chaos within the board of a world-leading specialist London trust.
As the dust begins to settle, we unpick one of the busiest weeks ever for NHS news.
We talk more about what the abolition of NHS England means for integrated care boards, Jim Mackey’s top team and their reset plans, and NHSE’s u-turn on imposing a new cap on elective spending.
The annual NHS Staff Survey results have been released, so this week we take a closer look at this year’s trends.
Among the findings is a worrying rise in the proportion of staff experiencing violence and discrimination from patients and the public.
HSJ’s Annabelle Collins and Nick Kituno are joined by Picker Institute CEO Chris Graham.
This week we discuss why private providers are threatening to refuse to treat NHS patients, and why hospital bosses are equally vexed.
We also cover how the outdated NHS IT estate has become a national security issue and what needs to be done to stop future data breaches and cyber attacks.
Amanda Pritchard is stepping down as NHS England’s CEO at the end of next month, while Wes Streeting embarks on a massive reorganisation of the centre.
This week we cover the reaction to this news, what’s lies in store for NHSE and who will be steering it through this significant change.
Also - an update on some top appointments at the Care Quality Commission.
This week the HSJ team look at money and what is coming for what is expected to be toughest financial year for the NHS in a generation. HSJ editor Alastair McLellan talks about the “pig of a year” senior leaders have warned of. While finance reporter Henry Anderson takes us through what the mood music is on bringing back PFI, an expensive way of getting new capital into the system – but is it the only way?
This week we take a closer look at Wes Streeting’s tough talk on NHS deficits – the health and social care secretary has told the NHS there can be no overspending without consequences.
But what will this actually mean in practice, how has NHS England responded, and what will trusts have to cut to balance the books?
Also this week, we discuss anHSJ story that revealed Ambulance services would still struggle to respond to a mass-casualty event like the Manchester Arena bombing despite recommendations made by a public inquiry.
NHS England published the 2025-26 planning guidance last week, so we break down what it means for the service.
We discuss new targets, including a challenging elective care ambition, the high-profile commitments dropped, and news that trusts are to take on more responsibilities from ICBs next year.
A busy few days also saw the NHS’s mandate for 2025-26 from ministers published last week, so we also discuss Wes Streeting’s tough instructions to the NHS and his interview with HSJ.
Also, we cover news of further job cuts at NHS England and how its leadership of the service has been changing.
HSJ Health Check is joined by two of the most influential and experienced NHS leaders to talk about lessons for the government's 10-year plan from their systems, and from the past.
Former NHS England chief Sir David speaks about how the Black Country, where he is now a trust chair, has used community services to reduce emergency admissions among older people. He says government should ensure the plan brings about stability of financial rules, and get successful local leaders involved in writing the plan.
Dr Dash, integrated care board chair in North West London and chair of an ongoing government reviews on safety and quality, discusses how her system is approaching change. She says the plan will need to “be very clear on how [it] will be implemented” rather than setting out only a “vision”.
This week the government finally revealed its new - and mostly delayed - target dates for the building of the promised “new hospitals”.
It left many trusts and communities severely disappointed and worried about how they will deliver care from ageing, and sometimes dangerous, estates.
We discuss the revised timelines for the NHP, the reaction from trusts and the impact the decisions have had on NHP teams.
Also - we pick out a group of hospitals mostly ignored in the national coverage, who all have RAAC concrete risks.
On this episode we unpick the ongoing tensions among leaders and senior doctors at one of the biggest trusts in England.
University Hospitals Birmingham - previously a flagship teaching trust with an influential leadership - has been through the mire over the past few years, with a string of concerns over culture and care quality.
A new top team says it is tackling deep-seated problems, but over recent months rows have flared publicly over consultants’ overtime pay, confidence in its leadership, and questionable international training schemes.
Also this week, a new senior appointment at NHS England, and what it could mean for the government’s 10-year health plan.
This week the team looks at the new elective recovery plan launched this month. The government has tightened to focus on what improvement looks like and introduced some new incentives, but will it be enough? We also take a look at the ever-contentious New Hospitals Programme. Bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by Henry Anderson and Zoe Tidman.
The HSJ Health Check team reveals our predictions for the big issues — and unexpected developments — in 2025, on this week’s Christmas podcast.
What to expect in reform, finance, integration, primary care, workforce and more in the coming 12 months.
With HSJ deputy editor Dave West, senior correspondent Henry Anderson, and correspondent Mimi Launder.
Send thoughts, tips, story ideas to ben.clover@hsj.co.uk
This week the team looks at the fallout from the government’s positions on staff pay from band 2 to VSM via the banks and agencies.
Bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by reporters Henry Anderson and Alison Moore.
This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by Mimi Launder and Joe Talora. The team talk about who is really in charge of overseeing providers and what Labour’s big plan to overhaul the health tech sector might mean.
This week guest host Ben Clover is joined by emergency care correspondent Matt Discombe and safety correspondent Emily Townsend. The team unpack the many policy implications of announcements made at last week's NHS Providers conference, as well as a big moment in the main auditorium. A worrying development with echoes of the Noughties also comes under the spotlight
ICS leader Fiona Edwards, trust chief Daniel Elkeles, and policy guru Nigel Edwards join the HSJ podcast to tell us what's needed from the government's 10-year health plan.
Helping and reforming general practice will be crucial, they agreed, but what should be dictated nationally and what must be left to national decisions?
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover is joined by the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers to talk money, quality and the CQC
This week guest host Ben Clover and the team look at what no money for winter means for the NHS, and how real a bold new integration scheme is.
This week the team discuss whether the NHS's whole safety, safe-staffing and quality system is getting overhauled, plus was it one simple trick that slashed waiting times at a trust? Guest host Ben Clover is joined by HSJ reporters Alison Moore and Emily Townsend.
This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by colleagues to talk about England's crumbling hospitals plus whether or not the money will be there for the elective catch-up
This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by colleagues to talk about what happens next for the Care Quality Commission, plus one of the biggest issues faced by the services
This week the team discuss what the Labour party conference means for the NHS, plus the latest on AI and cybersecurity following the summer’s major ransomware attack
This week guest host Ben Clover and colleagues discuss the big Streeting meeting plus a new player in primary care.
Guest host Ben Clover is joined by Emily Townsend and Zoe Tidman to look at the first weeks of the Thirlwall inquiry into the management response neonatal deaths at the Countess of Chester, the Lampard inquiry into the deaths of mental health patients in Essex and the module of the covid inquiry covering the NHS response to the pandemic.
The team discuss what we’re likely to learn and what impact they will have on how services, boards and the wider NHS manage themselves.
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcat guest host Ben Clover is joined by reporters Henry Anderson and Mimi Launder.
Henry takes us through the latest in what the new government does and does not expect this winter as the service is told there’s nt going to be any extra resources this year. Mimi analyses the next steps in the government’s dispute with GPs and what might happen now the British Medical Association has promised to ramp-up its collective action.
This week guest host Ben Clover is joined by Nick Kituno and Emily Townsend. They discuss one of HSJ's most-commented stories of recent months: Chairs - what they do, what they should do and whether they get paid enough. The team also analyse the recent CQC inpatient survey, which has some counter-intuitive results
This week's HSJ podcast looks at the latest development in Shropshire's troubled health system and hospitals, and NHS England's move to ramp up the rollout of the federated data platform.
https://www.hsj.co.uk/shrewsbury-and-telford-hospital-nhs-trust/ceo-who-led-trust-through-scandals-announces-departure/7037595.article
https://www.hsj.co.uk/technology-and-innovation/nhse-u-turn-mandates-trust-use-of-the-fdp/7037578.article
This week's HSJ Health Check podcast discusses the Chancellor's big interventions in the NHS pay, funding and reform - and fresh HSJ analysis showing the spread of huge deficits around England. With Nick Kituno, Henry Anderson and Dave West.
Read - Revealed: ICSs planning the largest deficits https://www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-efficiency/revealed-icss-planning-the-largest-deficits/7037571.article
On this episode we unpick the fast moving situation surrounding the GP ballot for “collective action” and the crucial pay negotiations between the BMA and the new government.
We also discuss a recent mortality review done by long-troubled Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust and why campaigners are still calling for a statutory public inquiry into avoidable deaths at the trust over the last decade.
This week we discuss the ongoing harm done by long ambulance handover delays and what the new government should do to address this problem.
Also more on the health policy experts hired by Wes Streeting to help draw up a ten-year plan for health, and our analysis of his first few days in office.
After this podcast was recorded the health secretary announced he had commissioned former minister, surgeon and academic Lord Ara Darzi to carry out an independent review of NHS performance. More on this story here.**
With Dave West, Alison Moore and Annabelle Collins.
While the rest of the country was watching the football, HSJ met shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting in a café in Ilford for a wide-ranging interview.
On this episode we bring you the highlights from his conversation with Alastair McLellan and James Illman.
We also cover the sudden resignation of the Care Quality Commission’s chief executive, the huge leadership challenges facing the beleaguered regulator and why it should be strengthened rather than abolished.
This week we’re joined by Sally Gainsbury and Leonora Merry from the Nuffield Trust think tank, who help us join the dots on the key issues for the NHS in the election campaign.
We cover their response to Wes Streeting’s comments about their manifesto analysis, why the NHS has been notably absent from the election campaign so far and the biggest challenges facing a new government.
Also with Annabelle Collins and James Illman.
As the election campaign moves into its final weeks, the shadow health secretary has confirmed a huge policy commitment that wasn’t in the manifesto.
This week we look at what Wes Streeting’s commitment to hit 95 per cent in A&E performance for the first time in almost a decade would mean for the NHS.
We also hear about an ambitious plan to “save 300 lives a year” - and how bosses rubber-stamped a decision to abandon it.
With Ben Clover, Lawrence Dunhill and James Illman.
This week’s episode comes to you from the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester, where we’re joined by NHS Confederation’s CEO Matthew Taylor and chair Victor Adebowale.
We cover Amanda Pritchard’s big speech and the reaction to it, the manifestos, the need for a new government to tackle capital spending, and more.
With Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
The NHS is facing weeks of disruption after pathology services across south east London were hit by a major cyber attack this week, affecting care from blood tests to transplants.
We cover the impact the attack will have on an already pressured system and the big questions facing the NHS and government around strengthening cyber security.
NHS England has announced incentives and penalties in a bid to improve the health system’s financial plans, so this week we discuss what the new regime involves and if it will make any difference to the national £3bn deficit.
Also this week we focus on two stories from Birmingham – more bullying concerns at University Hospitals Birmingham and an update on the long-delayed Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, which HSJ revealed is due to open without the funding needed to run it.
We also take a look at the latest pledges for the NHS by the political parties as the general election draws nearer.
With Nick Carding, Henry Anderson and Emily Townsend.
Rishi Sunak has called a surprise election, so we cover what could be in store for the NHS over the next six weeks and the different scenarios it could face if there is a change is government.
Plus, we consider NHS England’s intervention in the ongoing debate about productivity (and how that might affect the service’s ask for extra capital investment) and also the aftermath of NHSE’s massive restructure.
With Henry Anderson, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
Greater Manchester ICS is under huge pressure to reduce its deficit after suffering a recent financial collapse.
And now the ICS must navigate this without its substantive chief financial officer, who has been seconded to a post within NHS England. We discuss if there is a way out of the red and what this will mean for local care quality.
Also this week, a leaked NHSE review that concluded the NHS has a severe shortage of nurses with digital skills.
The tables have turned for the Care Quality Commission. This week HSJ revealed the government is launching a review of it’s new inspection regime and whether its ratings are properly incentivising care improvements.
We discuss what prompted this review, which senior NHS figure is leading it and what it could mean for the regulator.
Also this week, a fifth of all of England’s GP premises pre-date 1948 and we discuss how this ageing estate risks hampering the workforce plan.
We delve into the detail of HSJ's comprehensive survey of integrated care board leaders, as well as new interventions on the future of ICBs from NHS England and Wes Streeting.
From leaders’ biggest worries, and their achievements thus far, to their plans for the future, HSJ Health Check highlights some of the more surprising findings.
Also, more on the shadow health secretary's recent comments on tensions between ICBs and foundation trusts, and NHS England's new assessment framework.
With Annabelle Collins, Nick Kituno and Dave West.
This year sets the NHS one of its toughest financial challenges as pandemic cash dries up and funding shortfalls deepen.
We hear how three integrated care systems are already warning of significant consequences from the current financial requirements, and explore how the NHS plans to break even in 2024-25.
With Henry Anderson, Lawrence Dunhill and Nicholas Carding.
Send views and questions to annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcast platforms.
This week guest host Ben Clover discusses alarming developments in urgent care plus the Silicon Valley firm getting established in the NHS, with HSJ reporters Emily Townsend and Joe Talora.
2022-23 was probably the worst ever winter for the NHS, after a steep collapse in performance. This year’s been a little better — new figures confirm — but how was this achieved, and what does it mean for coming months?
This week’s HSJ Health Check podcast reviews the latest figures on emergency care performance — across A&E waits, ambulance delays and response times, discharge and length of stay.
On nearly all measures, services have been better this winter than the year before, but only a little bit, and still well down on 2019 levels, which were already poor.
We discuss what the service did to claw back performance, and the prospects for the coming year.
With Dave West, Matt Discombe and Alison Moore.
Send views and questions to dave.west@hsj.co.uk.
On this episode we discuss the quality of maternity services in the NHS, which have remained firmly in the spotlight.
We cover a recent HSJ investigation into delayed inductions of labour and cover the broader challenges facing maternity services amid multiple inquiries and more 'inadequate' CQC ratings.
Also more on why families whose babies died in the East Kent maternity scandal are still having to prove legal liability to get any compensation.
With one working day left before the new financial year, the NHS’s instructions for 2024-25 have finally been published.
HSJ’s James Illman, Annabelle Collins, and Dave West unpack what's in this year’s guidance and talk more about the sticking points that caused the long delay.
HSJ revealed this week the cost of building “40 new hospitals” in the NHS has increased by £4bn, so on this episode we dig into what’s driving this and if it will get past the Treasury.
Also this week – when PFI deals go wrong and how a fire at the Whittington Hospital in north London has led to a High Court case.
This week we discuss the implications of a long-awaited independent review into a patient safety scandal at Salford Royal Hospital, in which multiple patients were harmed by John Williamson, the former head of the spinal division.
We cover why concerns about care quality resurfaced long after the trust concluded its review in 2016 and why it failed to properly investigate at the time.
Also more on news that an Australian tech firm backed by one of China’s richest people is set to win the majority of contracts to deploy new AI diagnosis tools across the NHS.
HSJ Health Check debates the new NHS staff survey results, with trust CEO Matthew Winn, survey expert Chris Graham, and HSJ's Nick Kituno.
Some key findings are improved this year, but others reveal a service still struggling to recover from the pandemic. There's also an alarming increase in reports of discrimination.
Meanwhile, Matthew and Chris argue there can be no 'quick fixes' or gaming when it comes to being a good employer, so leaders should focus on looking after staff and making longer-term improvements. Staff survey results should also be used more when it comes to judging trusts nationally, they say.
There has been a huge increase in the proportion of treatments done by the private sector compared to before the pandemic, and for the first time we’ve worked out which parts of the country send most patients to independent hospitals.
Also, more on news that NHS capital budgets have been raided to pay for staff pay rises and the cost of strikes.
Read our full regional analysis of private sector use at the following link:
www.hsj.co.uk/quality-and-perfor…ls/7036620.article
A controversial new care model has come under fire from trust leaders, who have warned patients and clinicians are coming to harm.
We discuss the concerns surrounding the national roll-out of Right Care, Right Person, and why the emergency services have ended up playing a “high stakes game of chicken”.
Also this week, we discuss NHS England’s ambitions to digitise one in three patient interactions with the NHS and bold new plans for the NHS app.
We talk more about the decimation of England’s national public health unit less than three years after it was created. We cover the motivations behind this, the impact it could have on integrated care systems’ plans and whether Labour will reverse it.
Also, the latest on the planning guidance and how its become entangled with the Budget negotiations.
With Dave West, James Illman and Annabelle Collins.
This week we discuss a major obstacle in the planning guidance negotiations – how high to set the A&E four-hour target.
The government is pushing for a new target set at over 80%, while NHS England lobbies for one just one percentage point higher than the current target.
Also this week more on how the risk in emergency care has shifted from ambulances to acute hospitals and the thinking behind controversial regional guidance to prioritise patients in A&E who are less unwell to improve flow.
Two of the most successful NHS hospital chief executives – one current, Glen Burley, and one former, Dame Alwen Williams – join the HSJ Health Check podcast, arguing that the sometimes-contentious spread of the ‘group model’ and joint leadership will keep on spreading.
The Foundation Group CEO and former boss of Barts Health Trust – one of the mothers of the hospital group model in the NHS – also talk about how to make it work, managing exec time, staying in touch with the front line, and what it means for accountability.
And NHS management trainee Brigid McMorrow speaks about her analysis for HSJ which found one in three trusts now have a joint chair and/or CEO, often as part of a group model or a move towards merger.
You can read that analysis here: https://www.hsj.co.uk/acute-care/one-in-three-trusts-now-share-ceo-or-chair/7036353.article
Hosted by deputy editor Dave West.
This week for the first time a study has revealed the number of patients on PIFU pathways has not translated into a significant reduction in follow up appointments.
Also, a governance row across some of the biggest trusts in east London, while a major teaching hospital on the other side of the Thames sees its finances explode.
With Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and James Illman
Dental budgets are being raided by ICSs to fund other services in the middle of an unprecedented access crisis.
We cover a broken financial system, a discredited contract and increasing political pressure to fix NHS dentistry.
Also we review how NHS England is faring on its pledge to increase overall primary care investment.
HSJ recently revealed the dramatic differences in access to specialist medical treatments around the country.
We discuss what’s driving this inequality, who is missing out and what big-city trusts are doing to improve access.
Also, an update on how the NHS coped during the longest ever junior doctor strikes over Christmas and the New Year and why the planning guidance for 2024 is still yet to be published.
In our final episode of the year we make our predictions for what 2024 could hold for the NHS, including the first integrated care system merger, how the strikes will pan out and manager regulation.
Thanks for listening and we’ll be back in January!
Three years ago the NHS was the first healthcare system in the world to set an ambition to become net zero, but it struggles to prioritise this in the face of daily operational and financial pressures.
This week we discuss in depth the green targets, progress already made and why, despite competing priorities, they should still be high up leaders’ agenda.
Also, an update on what systems are being told to do to cope this winter.
This week we’re joined by Thea Stein, who recently moved into think tank world after nine years running an NHS trust.
We cover her reflections on her time at Leeds Community Healthcare Trust, why she is fed up of “visions” of integrated care and much more interested in the tricky detail, and the radical policies needed to recruit and retain more staff.
Leaders at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust have been heavily criticised in an independent inquiry into the actions of former maintenance supervisor David Fuller.
We cover the mistakes made by the trust that enabled him to abuse hundreds of bodies in its mortuary over 15 years and what the rest of the NHS must do in response to this horrific case.
Also, an update on the government’s pay offer to consultants and why its made the Royal College of Nursing so angry.
US firm Palantir has officially been awarded the lucrative federated data platform deal, which is one of the biggest NHS data projects in recent years.
This week Nick Carding, Joe Talora and Annabelle Collins discuss the controversy surrounding the deal, what the risks and benefits are for the NHS and what’s next in its implementation.
A trust that gave its name to a controversial A&E policy has seen performance improve significantly, so this week we discuss how North Bristol Trust handled the risks and how quickly its model could spread throughout the NHS.
Also, NHSE chief Amanda Pritchard told MPs this week there has been a ”misunderstanding” about productivity in the NHS - we discuss what’s actually going on behind the scenes.
This week Annabelle and James are joined by Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers.
We’re looking ahead to winter and an election year, in which the NHS faces ongoing strikes, stalling progress on waiting lists and challenging finances.
We also cover the damage done by ’short-termism’ and why turnover of trust CEOs is getting worse.
An increasing number of hospitals are appointing shared CEOs and chairs and with more large ’groups’ being created – this week we discuss the benefits and drawbacks to this new(ish) way of running things.
We focus on two recent examples - the Barts Health Group in London and University Hospitals of Leicester, which as of this week shares a chair and CEO with two neighbouring trusts.
With Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
This week we’re joined by Roger Kline, academic and workforce culture consultant, to discuss Steve Barclay’s latest edict orderingthe NHS to stop recruiting to equality, diversity and inclusion roles. Was the letter just red meat for the Daily Mail or could it do real damage?
We cover NHS England’s response, why the cost-savings argument doesn’t add up, and what's next for EDI roles.
With Nick Kituno, Annabelle Collins and guest Roger Kline
Sir Jim Mackey is moving on from Northumbria Healthcare FT after 18 years and taking the top job at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals FT. This week we discuss what this means for the NHS in the North East and also for NHSE, where he will be leaving his chief operating office role.
And in other people moves, we also cover David Loughton’s retirement from Royal Wolverhampton Trust and Walsall Healthcare.
On the podcast this week we bring you highlights and analysis from the Labour party conference in Liverpool.
We cover what a backlog recovery drive could look like under a Labour government and how Wes Streeting will take from Blair’s 1997 playbook to ‘underpromise and overdeliver’ on the NHS.
This week we discuss urgent high-level talks to address the £1bn funding gap - and ask whether strikes are really to blame.
Also this week, has NHS England come off the fence with its latest warning to the BMA?
Nothing is more important than the process of giving birth, but hospitals are increasingly struggling to induce mothers-to-be on time.
HSJ has found multiple examples of pregnant women waiting too long for their induction, in what could potentially be a national problem for a hugely challenged area of healthcare.
Also this week, we hear why former NHSX CEO Matthew Gould is back in the news and discuss the latest on NHS England’s controversial flagship data project.
With Nicholas Carding, Alison Moore and Joe Talora.
Send views and questions to Annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcast platforms.
Rishi Sunak announced an impressive sounding sum of money last week, apparently to help the NHS cope with winter pressures.
But, as ever, what might sound like a lot of money is really just a drop in the ocean - and it turns out it will only be used to offset costs relating to strike disruption.
We discuss the precarious financial and operational position this leaves the health service in, and also dig into plans for a new outpatient strategy expected later this year.
With Henry Anderson, Annabelle Collins and James Illman.
Manager regulation remains firmly in the spotlight so this week we ask: will it actually happen this time?
We discuss recent interventions from politicians, what’s stood in its way in the past, and take a closer look at NHS chief executive turnover, as we find more than half of trusts have a ‘first time’ CEO.
Also - more on audiology care failings, after it has emerged more children have come to harm across multiple trusts.
With Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
NHS trusts have been told by the government to carry out urgent risk assessments if they have a certain type of lightweight concrete in their buildings.
This follows multiple school closures because of safety risks around “reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete”. We discuss the impact these safety fears are having on the NHS, why hospitals aren’t also being shut down and what this means for the New Hospitals Programme.
Last Friday, neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of 14 counts of murder and attempted murder.
On this week’s episode we discuss how former leaders at the Countess of Chester Hospital had resisted a police investigation, the questions still to be answered by local and national leaders, and what lies ahead for the trust.
With Annabelle Collins and Lawrence Dunhill.
This week we’re focusing on patient experience and the public perception of the NHS.
Annabelle is joined by Chris Graham of the Picker Institute and Jacob Lant from charity National Voices to discuss the crash in patient experience revealed by recent national surveys, how the findings should be used to improve quality and reduce health inequalities and the part ‘real-time’ measures could play in the future.
General practice - already under pressure - will be under the political spotlight over the next 12 months, with an election looming and the GP contract up for renewal.
We discuss what reform could be in store, and whether an example in Wolverhampton - where the hospital trust has taken over a big chunk of local GP practices - is one for others to follow.
With Mimi Launder, Dave West and Annabelle Collins.
NHS England has finally published its new standards for NHS leaders, so this week we discuss how the revised ‘Fit and Proper Person Test’ will work, and if it is enough to stop the revolving door of poor leaders.
Also - we reveal where consultants were paid the most to cover shifts during the junior doctors’ strikes.
With Annabelle Collins, James Illman and Nick Kituno.
This week we assess the damage after one of the toughest weeks of NHS strike action, with junior doctors and consultants both taking action.
We ask what impact this had on the recovery effort and look at some of the surprising trends to emerge from the strike data. With Annabelle Collins, Ben Clover and James Illman.
A “shocking” volume of mental health patients are attending A&E accompanied by the police - but who’s fault is it? And what is the solution?
On this week’s episode we get into the debate sparked by comments made by a senior NHS director who called for an “absolute solution”.
Also this week, the results are in on which integrated care systems are the most digitally mature. But did the NHS need to pay McKinsey £7m to tell them?
This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by colleagues to discuss some of the biggest stories ahead of the junior doctors’ strike.
Matt Discombe reveals the results of an inquiry into an ambulance trust found to’ve withheld key details of patient deaths from a coroner. The report is damning but some stakeholders have said it is more notable for what it doesn’t cover.
Recorded on Wednesday before the longest junior doctors’ strike yet, James Illman and Henry Anderson explain how NHS England’s finance director may have let the cat out of the bag about something ministers deny – that the huge round of cancellations caused by industrial action mean the service might miss the PM’s pledge to have waiting lists falling.
This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by colleagues Nick Kituno and Zoe Tidman.
The long-awaited NHS workforce plan finally arrived last week, missing lots of the detail that managers and professional associations were crying out for. What was in it, what was not in it and a few surprises are covered in this week’s podcast.
Also, what are the prospects for the NHS’s crumbling estate. Correspondent Zoe Tidman takes us through the latest in the convoluted quest to get some refurbished hospitals finished this side of 2030.
This week HSJ is joined by Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, and Richard Murray, chief executive of the King’s Fund, who are both nearing the end of long stints at the think tanks.
Two of the most influential voices on health policy and leadership, the pair reflect on what has gone right and wrong over the last three decades, and why history keeps repeating itself.
They spoke to Annabelle Collins and Lawrence Dunhill.
NHS England’s surprise decision to hand US tech giant Palantir a further £25m deal this week without a competitive process provoked a mixture of fury and confusion. We explain what the new contract means and why its so controversial.
Also this week, we review the latest government mandate for NHS England and its luke-warm response to the Hewitt review of integrated care systems.
We're joined by Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation chief and HSJ Health Check fan, to discuss Amanda Pritchard's speech and other developments on day one of the ConfedExpo conference.
We discuss data revealing the true scale of long A&E waits for mental health patients and what acute trusts are trying to do about it without any extra national funding.
Also: most GP practices are still using old-fashioned paper records, despite a commitment four years ago to get rid of them. We discuss whether it’s worth GPs’ time and money to make the switch.
With Annabelle Collins, Joe Talora and Emily Townsend.
Targets to reduce the number of outpatient appointments are not being met by trusts. On this epsiode we discuss why the number of outpatient appointments has remained stuck at £124m, despite pressure to cut them, and what is being done about it.
Also this week, an update on integrated care systems’ finances and what is worrying them at the moment, plus a preview from HSJ’s forthcoming interview with NHSE chief financial officer Julian Kelly.
For more on outpatient appointment challenges, read James' Recovery Watch column: https://www.hsj.co.uk/expert-briefings/recovery-watch-new-data-lays-bare-outpatient-transformation-failings/7034898.article
After seemingly endless delays, the fate of the ‘40 new hospitals’ has finally been revealed by the government.
With eight key schemes pushed back until the next decade, the programme set to receive £10bn less than requested and funding subject to “future spending reviews”, we cover the immediate reaction and what’s next for NHP trusts.
Also - more on Labour’s vision for the NHS if they win next year’s election.
The government’s 40 “new hospitals” has dominated headlines - and decisions - over NHS capital funding in recent years, but this week HSJ revealed dozens of trusts are still waiting for money promised by the previous big capital programme.
We discuss why over £1bn is yet to be received for capital schemes announced in 2017 and 2018 and what impact this has had on services.
Also this week, an update on the latest chapter in The Christie Foundation Trust’s whistleblowing saga, after the publication of a CQC report that downgraded the trust's treasured ‘outstanding’ rating.
This week bureau chief Ben Clover stands in for Annabelle Collins and introduces two important stories, one that got national coverage and one that HSJ broke. Deputy editor Dave West takes us through the strange delay of some community diagnostic centres, which some suspect is politically-motivated as the government looks to what it can deliver before an election next year. Correspondent Mimi Launder then takes us behind the announcements on the primary care recovery plan. This received a lot of national attention earlier this week but HSJ obtained internal documentation showing just how patchy the roll-out is of some of the technology the government is counting on.
On this week’s episode Alastair reveals why NHS England’s elective recovery director Jim Mackey is replacing David Sloman as national operations lead later this year.
We also discuss why Tim Ferris was the right man for the national transformation job, but arrived at the wrong time.
Also this week: what’s next for the Agenda for Change pay deal and concerns raised about the poor care experienced by eating disorder patients in acute hospitals.
NHS leaders are being told they must prioritise balancing the books above all else, with some trusts even being asked to keep staff numbers down to save money.
We discuss the tricky relationship between ‘productivity’ and recruitment and the impact an intensified focus on finance could have on other important priorities.
A legal battle has erupted between a hospital trust and bank-backed PFI company over fire safety and payment refusals. We discuss why the case has potentially wider implications for other NHS trusts.
Also this week, we find out why NHS England had to apologise to staff impacted by problems during its restructure, and hear about the latest twist in an ICS dogged by troubling leadership issues.
Featuring Nick Carding, Ben Clover and Dave West.
Send views and questions to annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcast platforms.
A consortium of British companies have been knocked out of the hotly contested competition to win a £480m contract to provide the NHS with a new data platform.
We discuss who is left in the running, including a number of American tech firms with little or no experience of working with the NHS.
Also this week - an update on how the NHS has coped with the junior doctors’ strikes this week, and a quick look at the latest performance data, which for the first time has revealed the extent of the 12 hours waits in A&E.
Patricia Hewitt’s much-anticipated review of ICS autonomy was published this week. We discuss its recommendations, the politics behind it, and what meaningful, lasting impact it could have.
With Alastair McLellan, James Illman and Annabelle Collins.
NHS Blood and Transplant has been embroiled in allegations of racism that stretch back several years.
On this episode Annabelle is joined by Lawrence Dunhill who has been reporting on the agency’s failure to address these systemic problems.
The story spans secret recordings, a bitter employment tribunal and high profile resignations, with the organisation seriously struggling with blood stocks and staff shortages.
This week we discuss a quirk in last week’s pay deal between health unions and the government, which could see staff at the top of Agenda for Change paid more than senior managers.
We also dig into the “shameful” planned cuts to social care budgets to the tune of £550m, as revealed by HSJ last week.
This week we analyse the Spring Budget and what it means for the NHS, in particular the pensions tax overhaul.
We cover why Jeremy Hunt has gone for such an expensive fix and what impact it will have on the health service and its ability to retain experienced doctors.
Also this week, our insights into three days of junior doctors’ strikes and more on the ongoing BMA ‘rate card’ controversy.
This year’s NHS staff survey results have landed, so on this episode, we bring you the need-to-know findings and insights into how the NHS workforce are feeling.
Our team is joined by Chris Graham, the chief executive of the Picker Institute – the charity that organises the survey – and we discuss everything from the worrying drop in staff feeling safe to report clinical errors, to the shocking results once again reported by ambulance trusts.
Also with Annabelle Collins, Alison Moore and Emily Townsend.
Could foundation trusts be hindering the success of integrated care systems? Chair of Bolton FT Donna Hall thinks so, and argues its time to scrap them.
We discuss the merits of this and also whether integrated care systems’ strategies are too much “motherhood and apple pie” and not enough substance.
Also this week, an update on ICS finances, after its revealed 14 systems are now in the red.
Fresh from starting work as NHS Providers' new chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley joins HSJ Health Check to talk about collaboration, strikes, reform and more.
We ask the former Leeds Hospitals chief why he moved to a national role, and what building a successful provider collaborative looks like in practice. He also discusses the long haul of improvement facing the service, arguments for fundamental reform, and why we need NHS Providers.
With HSJ's Annabelle Collins, Dave West and Ben Clover.
Many NHS technology programmes are facing an uncertain future following revelations NHS England’s tech budget is being drastically cut.
This week we discuss the impact these funding cuts could have on NHS trusts’ ambitions and whether the sector has the leadership to guide it through this tricky patch.
Also this week, a major pathology merger in Lancashire has effectively been scrapped following years of work and millions of pounds spent, after being left in limbo by those who encouraged the project in the first place.
This week bureau chief Ben Clover fills in for Annabelle Collins. Ben is joined by mental health correspondent Emily Townsend and HSJ's urgent care lead Matt Discombe to discuss new targets (and the lack of them), discharge and how involved the police should be in mental health services.
The debate over single patient rooms has raged for many years, but emerging news from Liverpool’s new hospital suggests it could be a game-changer for cutting patients’ length of stay. We discuss the impact of the much-maligned city trust’s new hospital on patient flow.
Also this week – we hear about the growing frustration in Manchester over the delay to the New Hospitals Programme, and we analyse our exclusive interview with the CEO of scandal-hit Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.
Featuring Lawrence Dunhill, Nicholas Carding, Zoe Tidman and Emily Townsend.
An HSJ Investigation has revealed trusts are denying staff employed by their wholly owned subsidiary companies the pay and conditions offered to other staff. We discuss more about how and why this forgotten group of the workforce are missing out.
Also this week – the trust that sacked a whistleblower who warned them about potential patient harm has been told to pay out more than £200,000. We talk in more detail about this case and the questions it raises about whistleblowing in the NHS.
Bids are open for NHS England’s new £480m national data platform – will it make the NHS better connected and more efficient, or is it a national vanity project? We also discuss who the successful bidders might be.
And in recent weeks the NHS has been given its marching orders for the next financial year, in the form of the planning guidance and integrated care systems’ financial allocations. We discuss what this tells us about ministerial ambitions for the health service and how the guidance connects with the ongoing Hewitt Review.
Featuring Nick Carding, Dave West and Annabelle Collins.
NHS trusts have been given 20 days by NHS England to book in all patients who have been waiting longer than 78 weeks for their elective appointment.
We discuss the thinking behind this and how trusts might tackle this new challenge without any more money or resources.
Also we unpack the latest performance data, which confirmed December was the worst on record for multiple key measures.
The HSJ team make their predictions for what the New Year could bring for the health service, including a return to deficits, tough times for the hospital building programme and a big year for mental health reform.
Thanks for listening to the Health Check podcast this year and Happy Holidays from all at HSJ.What 2023 has in store for the NHS
On this episode our team brings you the very latest news and analysis of the strike action hitting the NHS this week.
We cover how we got to this point, what NHS leaders are doing to mitigate patient harm and why some are even more worried about next week’s ambulance strike.
Send views, questions, and confidential tips about the strikes to our journalists via annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk.
This week we bring you the latest on the hospital building programme, including confirmation that all new buildings must have single patient rooms. We discuss the staffing and safety challenges this will bring for trusts.
Also this week, more on NHS England’s plans to cut £1bn from maternity, cancer and primary care funds, plus Steve Barclay’s latest “attack” on NHS managers in the form of organograms.
“Rubbish” communications have been blamed by senior NHS leaders for causing a flood of people going to A&E with Group Strep A concerns, with calls to NHS 111 hitting record levels so far this winter.
We discuss the impact this is having on access to treatment and medicines and what should have been done to stop it.
Also we talk more about the creation of an elective recovery taskforce and a bigger role for the private sector in taking NHS patients. Plus, the latest on nursing and ambulance staff strikes due to start next week.
Hosted by Annabelle Collins and featuring Ben Clover and Nick Kituno.
Got a question for our expert team? Let us know on Twitter @HSJAnnabelle and we’ll answer it next week.
NHS England’s protracted bid to scrap the four-hour A&E target has finally been shelved by ministers, as we exclusively revealed last week.
Now the dust has settled, we unpick what happened, why it matters and whether there is still hope for reform in the future.
Also - why ICSs will have to wait until 2024 to receive commissioning budgets worth billions of pounds, amid concerns about financial risk.
Former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt has been charged with reviewing the role of integrated care systems by Jeremy Hunt.
Alastair McLellan predicts what changes the Hewitt review could bring and why its so important.
Also this week, Jack Serle explains how the NHS supply chain is failing staff and patients, a problem that has escalated this week with a joint letter sent from procurement chiefs to NHS England.
This week we bring you our reaction to Steve Barclay’s first major speech since returning as health and social care secretary, during which HSJ questioned him about his view on NHS funding.
Mr Barclay struck a more conciliatory tone than in the past, but he dismissed the health unions’ pay asks as “not realistic”. We also discuss the difficult decisions some trusts leaders could face in the coming weeks if staff go on strike, and two important appointments for NHS England’s leadership team.
This week Annabelle and Dave are joined by Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, and we discuss what could be in store for the NHS in next week’s spending review.
We cover the huge financial and performance challenges facing leaders and politicians this winter and also how disinvestment in other public services is having a knock-on effect on the NHS.
Also - our thoughts on how Steve Barclay could - or should - approach his second stint as health secretary.
The fate of the “40 new hospitals” hangs in the balance with trusts hoping for a decision on funding by the end of the year.
This week we discuss the impact of the delays to the programme on the day-to-day running of NHS hospitals, and what chiefs must do to persuade the Treasury to allocate enough funding for all the planned projects.
We also take a closer look at the newly-built hospital in Liverpool and how its design is contributing to emergency care problems in the city.
New health secretary Steve Barclay is back, and he joins the NHS at a time when the health service faces its worst funding squeeze in many decades.
We discuss Mr Barclay’s initial priorities – which he revealed in his first stint as health secretary just two months ago – amid a worsening financial backdrop.
Also this week – a senior procurement chief claims life has never been this hard for his colleagues despite the pandemic having abated significantly. Is he right?
Featuring Nick Carding, Henry Anderson and Jack Serle.
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is now the most powerful person in the country. We discuss what some of his mini-budget reversals mean for the NHS and if the health service is safe in his hands.
Also this week – the NHS faces £7bn in additional inflationcosts and something has got to give. But what?
Featuring Alastair McLellan, Ben Clover and Annabelle Collins.
Two out of three integrated care systems are already reporting sizeable deficits in their first year of existence.
On this episode we discuss why so many systems are behind on their budget plans. We also cover other financial woes facing the NHS including tighter government controls on spending and the pressures of inflation.
Also this week we discuss revelations that patients face being removed from the NHS waiting list if they decline two dates offered to them for their treatment, with experts warning if used poorly it could see patients “banished to waiting list purgatory”.
On this week’s episode we bring you the highlights from the Tory party conference, where the NHS felt like a “sideshow”.
We discuss whether Therese Coffey can pull off being a part-time health secretary and whether there was any substance to the latest dose of manager-bashing.
Also this week, ambulance response times have deteriorated dramatically over the last week, with staff across the country sounding the alarm over the pressures. We talk about what this could mean for the winter ahead.
With warnings the public sector could be forced to bear the brunt of last week’s tax cuts, we discuss the dire impact this will have on the NHS’ finances, its ability to retain staff and deal with the covid backlog.
Also, an update from this year’s Labour Party Conference, during which shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged to fund “one of the largest NHS workforce expansions in history”.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Dave West and Lawrence Dunhill.
Amid four “inadequate” ratings and a new leadership inspection, is the writing on the wall for one of the NHS’ worst performing trusts over the last decade?
We discuss what the latest inspection of Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust means for the organisation’s future, and whether the trust will survive in its current guise with two local MPs now in charge of the government.
Also on this episode, we discuss the growing in-tray awaiting the new CEO of under pressure Tavistock and Portman FT and hear the curious tale of how one NHS provider earned a tenth of its income from Kuwait – and why it matters to the rest of the NHS.
NHS trusts have more than £18bn in covid cash reserves, but how helpful is this extra money?
We cover why cash levels are three times higher than before the pandemic, whether this money will help trusts cope with final pressures and the “technical accounting” measures being used to keep the bottom line healthy.
Also on this episode, just a few weeks before its move to a new, smaller building, Royal Liverpool Hospital declared it was at full capacity. We discuss staff concerns about the move and the inflexibility of NHS planning.
Annabelle is joined by Lawrence Dunhill and Henry Anderson.
In a week that saw Liz Truss replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, the HSJ team assess the challenges faced by her new health secretary Therese Coffey, plus the dire state of ambulance services.
Ms Coffey set ambulances as one of her four “ABCD” priorities, alongside the elective backlog, care and doctors and dentists.
Bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by Alison Moore and editor Alastair McLellan.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcast platforms.
Send feedback to annabelle.collins@wilmingtonhealthcare.com.
The NHS has been told by the government to cut management consultancy spend and completely freeze recruitment at a national level.
Is this Steve Barclay’s first - and maybe last - move to force the NHS be more efficient?
Also this week we discuss the dire impact midwife shortages are having on the quality of maternity services and how these shortages have threatened the roll-out of an NHS England-backed model of care.
Annabelle is joined by Lawrence Dunhill and Henry Anderson.
This week HSJ revealed the final trusts added to the ‘new hospital’ programme, which are also thought to have some of the most dangerous estates in the NHS.
We discuss why only now they are in line for an upgrade and also what the perfect ‘new’ hospital might look like.
Also this week - what do we know so far about the NHS winter plan? We ask whether it is radical enough to contend with the troubled winter ahead
Significant tensions between a mental health trust and an ICS have prompted the trust’s chief executive to resign.
We discuss how things escalated to become quite this bad and whether we could see more power struggles as ICBs find their feet.
Also this week, the government is investigating a surge in excess deaths in England and we ask what’s causing this rise, plus warnings from an A&E department in Wigan that deaths are becoming “increasingly common”.
The NHS needs “fewer layers of management” - this is according to Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss and is one of the first significant comments made about the NHS by either candidate this summer.
We talk more about the other pledges made about health and social care so far by both candidates and where they might look to make their mark.
Also £75m has been announced to create more mental health beds - will this ease pressures in this incredibly “hot” running system? This and more from our interview with NHS England mental health director Claire Murdoch.
Link to interview: https://www.hsj.co.uk/mental-health/exclusive-new-capital-fund-to-boost-beds-and-aande-capacity/7032952.article
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Jack Serle and Emily Townsend.
This week we revisit the thorny subject of A&E standards, following calls for a new six-hour target to be introduced.
This aligns with clinical evidence about patient harm but it is at odds with NHS England’s plans to replace the four-hour standard with ‘a basket’ of ten new metrics, which does not include a six-hour target.
Also this week - we discuss news that more trusts have started publishing data showing thousands of 12-hour waits in their emergency departments, representing a huge difference to the numbers published nationally, for which the clock starts from a later point in the patient’s journey.
Annabelle is joined by Matt Discombe and James Illman.
Hospital leaders have warned there is a lack of accountability in the NHS, warning this could undermine public and political trust in the service.
In a roundtable hosted by HSJ, the most well-respected chief executives have spoken candidly about the slow pace of reform, why talking about how tired the workforce is doesn’t always help and why command and control leadership has its place.
Also in 2019, £250m was awarded to the shiny new NHS AI-lab, but a government watchdog has recently given it a damning review. We ask, what went wrong?
The NHS must find the money to fund an extra £2bn of the staff pay bill, after the government decided to increase it beyond the 3% rise that was budgeted for.
We discuss the impact this is likely to have on services and also why a particular group of senior managers are particularly demoralised.
Also this week: An HSJ investigation has highlighted the horrendously long waits faced by mental health patients while waiting for an inpatient bed in A&E. We talk more about how the health service got to this point and what should be done about it.
Link to investigation: Exclusive: ‘Outrageous’ long A&E waits for mental health patients increase 150pc | News | Health Service Journal (hsj.co.uk)
On Monday night all ambulance services in England declared the highest level of alert.
We discuss why the NHS is under such terrible pressure in July and the dangerous impact this is having on patients, staff and services.
Also more discussion about major job cuts announced within NHS England - is this a necessary change or will it consume too much time at a crucial moment for the NHS?
Tough times are ahead for the NHS, with a “nightmare” new health and social care secretary appointed and performance spiralling. On this episode we discuss the shocking true extent of the cancer care backlog after leaked figures revealed there are now over 10,000 people waiting over 104 days following a cancer referral.
Also this week, disappointing elective activity has forced NHS England to look at watering down elective financial targets, while one trust starts using “social value judgements” to decide who gets treatment first.
The NHS is facing a major reorganisation this year, including within NHS England itself.
On this episode we discuss the challenges and power struggles that lie ahead and who has the toughest job of all; the newly appointed chief workforce officer.
Annabelle is joined by HSJ editor Alastair McLellan.
Race and racism in NHS leadership and workforce, and health inequalities, are the subject of this week’s HSJ Health Check podcast.
We look back to some of the debates on the issues at – and around – last week’s NHS ConfedExpo conference. We explore the prospects for progress, and important context including diversity in integrated care system leadership and NHS England’s leadership.
With HSJ equality, diversity and inclusion correspondent Nick Kituno, finance correspondent Henry Anderson, and deputy editor Dave West.
This week the news team bring you the podcast from the NHS Confed/Expo conference in Liverpool.
Annabelle Collins, Lawrence Dunhill and Dave West are joined by guest Charlotte Augst, chief executive of charity National Voices.
We cover the biggest talking points from this year’s conference, including Amanda Pritchard’s debut NHS Confed speech as NHSE CEO, the health secretary’s vision for ‘reform trusts’ and the continued uncertainty around ICS development.
The chief executives of Sandwell and West Birmingham, Countess of Chester, King's College and Croydon hospitals trusts - some of the worst affected through the covid pandemic - discuss what lessons can be learned, including more sharing of waiting lists and staff, developing critical care, addressing unequal resources, the resource gap, fast decision making and local leadership.
Part two of two.
See hsj.co.uk for analysis on the trusts hit hardest by covid.
The chief executives of Sandwell and West Birmingham, Countess of Chester, King's College and Croydon hospitals trusts - some of the worst affected through the covid pandemic - reflect on how they dealt with the fear and uncertainty of wave one, and the impact on staff then and now.
Part one of two.
See hsj.co.uk for analysis on the trusts hit hardest by covid.
This week our focus is on new ways of delivering care in the NHS.
We discuss why the NHS is not on trajectory to meet its virtual ward ambitions and what needs to be done to gain the confidence of clinicians.
Also an update on digital health service provider Babylon and why this major player is cautious about further NHS expansion. Plus our insight on virtual versus face-to-face GP appointment trends.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, James Illman and Shruti Trivedi.
“Our project is in jeopardy.” This is according to one trust working on long-needed major hospital redevelopments, which were promised by the government in the run-up to the 2019 general election.
HSJ revealed this week each project has only been given £1m to cover their planning costs – an amount which falls far below what is needed. We discuss why this could see the critical work delayed even further.
Also an update on the ongoing ambulance crisis in the NHS after it emerged a patient waited 24-hours in an ambulance while waiting to be handed over to A&E.
Link to video: https://twitter.com/HSJnews/status/1526447482661650432
On this week’s episode we discuss NHS England’s own staff survey results, which reveals the best and worst performing departments and regions and delivers a particularly worrying verdict on the People Directorate.
We also turn again to integrated care systems, and this time focus on why in some areas a power struggle could emerge between ‘place’ and the system-wide leadership.
Also, an update on two-year waiters in the NHS, a closer look at the trusts with the longest backlogs and why for some key performance targets will likely be missed.
Three further acute trusts are considering a move to joint leadership, HSJ has learned, and mental health hubs for NHS staff are being underused — we analyse both issues on this week’s HSJ Health Check podcast.
The trusts, in Norfolk, have fiercely protected their independence in the past, but could the national shift towards collaboration see things move forward? We also give an update on the country-wide picture.
And Emily Townsend discusses her finding that mental health hubs for NHS staff — set up to protect wellbeing during the covid pandemic — are being underused, despite evidence of growing MH-related absences.
Featuring Nicholas Carding, Emily Townsend, James Illman and Dave West.
Send feedback to nicholas.carding@wilmingtonhealthcare.com
A plethora of complex governance arrangements are being set up in and around ICSs - which are only just due to become statutory. We discuss why these complications might hinder successful service change.
We also hear about two senior NHS tech chiefs leaving their positions to join a controversial private company - at a time when NHS England is launching a major data project to drive digital transformation across the health service.
Link to the leader discussed in the podcast: www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-regulat…ed/7032335.article
The NHS has been told to scale back infection control measures, but what will this mean for staff and patients?
We talk about the risks healthcare leaders will have to balance over the coming weeks and the reaction from clinicians.
Also on the subject of cancer recovery, we discuss the good and the very bad news.
NHS England have asked systems to ensure their financial plans break even this year - but easier said than done when many face deficits of over £100m.
This week, we discuss why systems are pushing back and how this could play out.
Also, the latest race equality data has been published and we analyse what it says about leadership diversity in NHS trusts.
On this week’s episode we explore the pressure points hindering the NHS’s recovery this Spring.
We draw on an interview given last week by NHS elective recovery chief Sir Jim Mackey – he backed calls for infection control guidance to be relaxed and warned meeting cost efficiency targets may not be possible.
Also we discuss what trusts and systems are doing to ease the pressure, including digital outpatients and out-of-area elective treatments.
Featuring Nick Carding, Annabelle Collins and James Illman.
We pick out the main findings from the Ockendon Review into maternity failures at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust and discuss what the most important lessons are for the NHS going forward.
Also this week: The NHS Staff Survey has been published and there is more bad news than good news. We find out just how much staff attitudes have changed after two years of working in a pandemic, and what the key responses have been to the survey.
Featuring Nick Carding, Emily Townsend, and Nick Kituno.
NHS spending is being scrutinised more than ever, with trusts asked to double the amount of annual efficiency savings they make.
We discuss why more is being asked of the NHS when times are still tough and what this week’s Spring budget had in store for the health service.
Also this week: violence against NHS staff has rocketed to “dangerous levels”, according to NHS leaders who have published an open message to the public. Why have things got so bad?
Is it time to rethink how the NHS manages its elective waiting list? On this week’s episode we talk about the worryingly high number of people waiting over two years for their planned care - and the alarming number which do not even have a decision to admit.
Another factor which could impact on elective recovery is the recent spike in covid admissions. Considering how this could slow down recovery, why is the health secretary so relaxed about it?
And we ask listeners if you can help support out Ukraine appeal – this week we launched our campaign where you can bid for rewards with all money donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine appeal.
Link to donate: https://www.hsj.co.uk/health-inequalities/new-rewards-added-to-hsj-ukraine-fund/7032067.article
As war rages in Ukraine, we discuss the impact of the West’s response against the Kremlin on NHS trusts with supply chains linked to Russia.
We also analyse the heavily-anticipated speech on NHS reform by health secretary Sajid Javid this week, which left several important questions unanswered.
NHS England has introduced significant changes to the mechanism that is used to pay hospitals, with the era of covid “block-contracts” finally coming to an end.
This week we discuss what the new national payment system means for trusts and why there are concerns it could leave services underfunded.
Also an update on the progress of ‘virtual wards’ and more on why clinicians still aren’t too happy about them.
NHS trusts are getting better – that’s the view of the Care Quality Commission, at least, which now rates only a single organisation as “inadequate”, and two-thirds as “good” or “outstanding”, a big shift from five years ago.
But how does it square with the terrible state of elective and emergency care waiting times, along with pandemic pressures?
We focus on three trusts very recently taken out of special measures and discuss why the CQC wants to see the best leaders taking jobs at the most challenging trusts.
Also, this week we discuss the potential creation of £2bn group of Liverpool hospitals and the pros and cons this can bring for trusts and patients.
The man in charge of elective recovery in the NHS has said the health service faces more scrutiny from ministers, and from the public, than ever before. But is the NHS ready to respond?
We discuss the in-depth interview given by Sir Jim Mackey, following the publication of the elective recovery plan.
Also, following news that an NHS trust was forced to apologise to a patient after denying a sexual assault happened, we ask what is being done to support victims in the NHS.
After weeks of wrangling over the elective recovery plan a compromise has been reached and on this week’s episode we get stuck into the politics surrounding it and of course what is means for NHS leaders.
Also the latest on integrated care systems - have they become more complicated than ever?
Two very different trusts are under the spotlight after concerns were raised by whistleblowers about poor culture and behaviour.
We discuss the outcome of the separate external reviews, which looked into The Christie FT and Walsall Healthcare Trust and ask whether they might instigate positive change.
Also, more on the mandatory staff vaccine U-turn and how some chief executives are relieved, while others fear for permanently damaged staff relationships.
Three national NHS England directors have announced their departures over the last few days, so on this week’s episode we discuss why this is significant and the impact it could have on future policy making.
Also, cancer performance in England is said to be hitting “new lows” and we discuss which specialties are struggling the most and why hidden referrals could be even more of a worry over the coming months.
This week we discuss the politics around the elective recovery plan, following suggestions it could be announced imminently to distract from the goings on at Number 10.
We also cover the prospect of ‘academy-style’ trusts and ask whether comments briefed to The Times signal genuine intention or just a spot of kite-flying.
Plus an update on how staff mandatory vaccination is progressing, with just two weeks to go until the deadline. Featuring James Illman, Dave West and Annabelle Collins.
NHS trusts will soon be forced to redeploy or dismiss staff members who have not had their covid jab and this week we discuss what this could mean for the safe running of the health service.
We focus on a London trust, which has warned its maternity service could be threatened by the dismissal of unvaccinated midwives.
Also this week we discuss the latest NHS operational and performance data.
On this week’s HSJ podcast, we explain what the latest planning guidance from NHS England – published over Christmas – means for the service and its patients.
The planning guidance sets out how the NHS’s money will be used and what the service will be asked to provide in 2022-23.
HSJ’s Annabelle Collins, James Illman and Dave West translate the key themes on this week’s HSJ Health Check.
In the final episode of the year, we make our predictions for what 2022 could hold for the health service, including staff vaccination woes, spades in the ground for some ‘new hospitals’ and further delays for ICSs.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Nick Carding, Dave West and guest Rebecca Thomas from The Independent.
Record covid cases are being recorded and the NHS must decide how to prepare for another potential wave in late December or January.
We discuss what chief execs are doing right now to keep services afloat and as many staff working as safely possible.
Also notable points from recent government briefings and an update on the operational challenges facing the booster campaign.
This week we dig into the latest NHS performance data, including the first detailed snapshot into how the NHS is coping this winter.
The figures reveal performance has never been worse and we discuss the severe harm this is having on the public, with trusts warning its becoming unavoidable.
Featuring Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins, Matt Discombe and Alison Moore.
NHS staff are facing the prospect of another difficult winter. The Omicron variant, an accelerated booster campaign and expectations of elective recovery will be an immense challenge for a completely exhausted workforce. We discuss how staff and leaders will cope.
Also, an update on who will be leading the new integrated care systems and why some key systems have still failed to recruit.
This week the HSJ Health Check podcast hears how Number 10’s mission to integrate health and social care services has ramped up with some contentious thoughts, and discuss the NHS’ overall progress in its move towards integrated care systems.
Integrating health and social care is a famously difficult task. Now, it seems, Boris Johnson himself wants to clarify local accountability for this. We discuss the implications of this latest intervention.
We also consider what the terms of reference for the Messenger Review mean for the NHS leadership community, and we explore the strange story of a hospital charity which is not distributing much of the money it has raised.
Featuring Nick Carding, Dave West and Alison Moore.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and all the other popular podcast platforms.
Send feedback to nicholas.carding@wilmingtonhealthcare.com.
We hear what NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard and health secretary Sajid Javid had to say ahead of what everyone is describing as the NHS’ toughest winter, and discuss the implications of the news that Health Education England will be merged with NHS England.
Featuring Nick Carding, Jasmine Rapson and Lawrence Dunhill.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and all the other popular podcast platforms.
Send feedback to nicholas.carding@wilmingtonhealthcare.com.
We discuss the NHS’ performance against emergency, elective and cancer care targets with new figures this week showing performance is worsening despite efforts to reverse this. We also hear about national leaders’ concerns that long waiting times are creating a worrying shift in attitude from the public, and examine an unusual financial dispute between two NHS bodies which harks back to the days of the internal market.
Featuring Nick Carding, Ben Clover and James Illman.
This week we track the progress of the Health and Care Bill as the tricky April 2022 deadline closes in.
We discuss why the House of Lords could be the most challenging bit of its journey so far and delve into the power-struggle between strong provider trust collaboratives and fledging systems.
With Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
HSJ revealed NHS England has written to all trusts and integrated care systems this week telling them to stop ambulance handover delays “immediately” after serious patient safety concerns.
This is far easier said than done and we discuss the reaction to the letter and more on what is fuelling some of the worst ambulance pressures ever experienced by the health service.
Also the outcome of the spending review and which bits of the NHS have got lucky, and which have missed out.
The health service is clearly in a jam in the wake of covid - so why have Sajid Javid’s plans for ‘a year of reform’ antagonised some managers, GPs and other staff?’
We get into some of the challenges faced by the health secretary, how to balance ambition with NHS recovery and why the NHS doesn’t want to go back to how things were before covid hit.
This week Annabelle and Dave are joined by Helen Buckingham, director of strategy at the Nuffield Trust, Richard Sloggett, programme director of the Future Health Research Centre.
Health inequalities for those with a mental illness, learning disability or autism have existed for decades and the coronavirus pandemic has made them even worse.
We dedicate this episode to talk about why patients in this group have worse global health outcomes than the rest of the population, why “sticking-plaster solutions” don’t cut it anymore and if the move towards integrated care is a reason to feel positive.
Annabelle Collins and Rebecca Thomas are joined by Andy Bell, deputy chief executive of the charity ’Centre for Mental Health’.
We discuss Sajid Javid’s first Tory conference as health secretary and try and pin down the “fundamental and far-reaching reforms” he pledged to make.
Also – the biggest review of NHS leadership in 40 years has been announced by the government. We discuss why now, when healthcare leaders are under more pressure than ever, what it hopes to achieve and why managers are an easy target.
On the podcast this week we look ahead to winter and ask whether NHS England’s ten-point A&E action plan could prevent a crisis.
We also discuss important changes to infection control guidance and whether this could make a difference to the ever-growing elective backlog.
On this week’s podcast, we discuss the knock-on impact covid has had on staffing and services, after medical consultants at a major acute trust warned its leadership that specialist staff shortages are causing services to become unsafe.
Also, Greater Manchester’s coroner’s office has opened an unusually high number of inquests into patient deaths — higher than all the other coroners in Yorkshire, Humber and the North East combined.
Should this raise concerns that hundreds of other deaths around the region are not being properly investigated? We discuss the coronial system and the legacy of Harold Shipman in Greater Manchester and beyond.
The government has announced £15.6bn extra funding for the NHS — but NHS England is having to curb its ‘long-term plan’ ambitions and considering which of its budgets to shave. This week’s HSJ Health Check podcast explores why.
We also cover how NHS England’s commitment to publish core performance data broken down to identify health inequalities, among other “urgent actions” to tackle inequalities, is nearly a year overdue. Featuring Dave West, Nick Kituno and Rebecca Thomas.
You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and all the other popular podcast platforms.
Send feedback to annabelle.collins@wilmingtonhealthcare.com.
This week’s HSJ Health Check podcast discusses the warnings made by a Greater Manchester coroner over the risks of remote GP appointments, following the deaths of five people. Is it fair to blame general practice for the safety concerns?
We also talked about the government’s big health and care funding announcement and what it means for the NHS. Featuring Lawrence Dunhill, Jasmine Rapson and Rebecca Thomas.
This week’s HSJ Health Check podcast discusses the government comms “playbook” which, as revealed by HSJ, told trusts they should describe new wings, units and refurbishments as “new hospitals” — which they are not.
We also talk about NHS England’s framework contract for salary advance schemes for NHS staff, similar to the proposal from now-collapsed Earnd. Featuring Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
With seven months to go we discuss what ICSs have to do before they become statute on 1 April, amid brewing rows over who might sit on the board.
We also discuss mental health provider collaboratives, which will soon be taking on budgets and ask: what can ICSs learn from them?
And with yet more news of private providers being rated inadequate, we ask who is keeping a grip on care quality.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Rebecca Thomas and Annabelle Collins.
An HSJ investigation revealed this week that coroners have raised multiple concerns pandemic hospital visiting restrictions may have had a damaging effect on patient care.
We discuss how vulnerable patients have been adversely affected by these covid rules and how trusts are still having to balance patient visiting with reducing the spread of covid.
Also this episode- trust leaders have spoken of fears that specialised services could become fragmented under Health Bill reforms. We cover why new delegated budgets could result in ICS’ going their own way.
Featuring Hayley Kirton, Jack Serle and Annabelle Collins.
Waits in NHS accident and emergency departments have risen to an all-time high, according to the latest national data, while there has been a surge in the number of people calling ambulances for the most serious types of incidents.
We try and unpick why the health service is under such extreme pressure in the middle of summer.
Also the ongoing international blood collection tube shortage rumbles on and we discuss the impact this is having on patients and service providers.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Alison Moore and Jack Serle
This week’s NHS Health Check podcast is dedicated to all matters staffing. We discuss the implications of the pay review and where the NHS will find the money to fund it since the government said it must come from the NHS’s own budgets; who should be paid more, chief executives of trusts or integrated care systems; and why shielding NHS staff were not given risk assessments before they returned to work as initially promised by NHS England.
This week’s podcast is brought to you by Annabelle Collins, Nick Kituno and Sharon Brennan
In a leaked letter obtained by HSJ the government has told eight of the most advanced ‘40 new hospitals’ trusts to put together cheaper plans for their new buildings.
Trusts are scrambling to get their new plans in by Monday and we dissect what impact this could have on the future of these crucial rebuilding schemes.
We also discuss the recent announcement of 25 permanent chairs for the new integrated care boards, and of course, the appointment of new NHS CEO Amanda Pritchard.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Nick Carding and Annabelle Collins.
The sharp increase in shared NHS trust chairs and CEOs has been notable in recent months, with more key appointments made in London and the North West just this week.
We discuss why the appointment of joint chairs matters, how boards cope when overseeing more organisations and what this means for the integration agenda.
Also, this week NHS England has sent a striking letter to trusts in the Midlands warning them they may be entering the most difficult period of the pandemic for more than a year.
We ask why this region has specifically been warned, when many parts of the country are under pressure, and what the next few weeks holds for the NHS.
Featuring Lawrence Dunhill, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
Trusts received an unpleasant surprise last Friday when they were told they must do more elective procedures to receive money from the national £1bn ‘elective recovery fund’.
The demand for more activity comes with pressure on providers rising as covid levels soar. We discuss how local systems feel the move has left their elective recovery plans in tatters and the politics behind the row.
Also, trusts in the north east have told staff contacted by the covid app they do not need to self-isolate. Will this become a countrywide trend considering NHS staff shortages?
The NHS Health Bill has finally been published. We discuss the most eye-catching measures and the controversies surrounding what was supposed to be straight-forward legislation.
We also look into what it all means for integrated care systems and why a lot still needs to be thrashed out if the bill is to be enshrined in law by April 2022 as planned.
And we update listeners on what is proving to be a worryingly busy summer for the NHS.
With a new health secretary appointed days before the Health Bill was due to be published, we discuss what’s next for the legislation.
We analyse the impact on the NHS if Sajid Javid decides to delay, amend or go ahead with it as it is, and why so much about the new health secretary’s modus operandi is still unknown.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Alastair McLellan and Annabelle Collins.
Harnessing an opportunity to use the ‘full power of data’ to improve patient care, or a worrying ‘data grab’?
The government has published its draft data strategy and we discuss what this could mean for transparency, care quality and how it links to the ongoing GP record-sharing debacle.
Also, the latest and most significant integrated care system legislation updates, including more on the ICS design framework and how ongoing boundary disputes are limiting some systems’ progress.
Featuring Nick Carding, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
Monday marked the deadline for applicants wanting to be the next NHS England CEO to throw their hat in the ring. In this podcast HSJ editor Alastair McLellan talks to the former health secretary and current chair of Commons Health and Social Care committee about how the most powerful person in the NHS will be chosen.
Dr Waheed Arian escaped from Afghanistan and came to the UK as a child refugee in 1999. Since then, he has become an A&E doctor and founded global telemedicine charity ‘Arian Teleheal’.
In this episode Annabelle Collins is joined by Dr Arian, who discusses why simplicity was key when it came to launching a successful telemedicine charity, how his formative experiences in Afghanistan inspired its creation and why the NHS must do more to improve global health inequalities.
We also discuss the impact of the pandemic on the NHS workforce and why it is ill-equipped to deal with staff suffering from PTSD – a condition Dr Arian has personal experiences recovering from.
Dr Arian’s memoir ‘In the wars’ is published on June 17th.
Under the cover of Cummings’ headline-grabbing testimony last week, NHS England gave plans to scrap the landmark 4-hour A&E target the greenlight.
We discuss how the ‘ten metrics’ intended to replace it could work in practice. Will they result in safer patient care or be too unwieldy to work in reality?
Also this week – NHS chief executive Yvonne Ormston has written powerfully about her experience both as an NHS leader and a cancer patient during the pandemic; we compare her frontline view to that of a government insider, as set out by Dominic Cummings last week.
With Cumming’s setting the health select committee on fire, serious allegations were raised about Matt Hancock’s handling of the pandemic.
In this week’s podcast we investigate what the biggest allegations were, what new information was revealed and what it really means for the health secretary’s career.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Lawrence Dunhill and Nick Carding.
HSJ revealed in an investigation this week that serious concerns were raised by patients at a mental health hospital for children in the years before it was rated ‘inadequate’ by the national regulator in March 2021.
We ask why it took so long for action to be taken and whether there is an enduring problem with care quality at private mental health hospitals?
We also shine the spotlight on autism care in South West, where spiralling waiting lists hint at the scale of a national crisis which needs fixing.
Featuring Nick Carding, Rebecca Thomas and Annabelle Collins.
In this week’s podcast we discuss how the government’s health and social care legislation plans are changing — both in substance and in context.
That includes government concessions on some crucial legal details, ministers’ new priorities for the service, getting to grips with implementation, and what the change in NHS England’s chief executive might mean.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Dave West and Annabelle Collins.
Sir Simon Stevens will step down from running the NHS at the end of July, and so the countdown begins; 12 weeks to find a successor.
This week Alastair, Dave and Annabelle discuss the recruitment process, who’s involved and why we could end up with an interim instead.
We discuss the front-runners in more detail and whether someone with a narrower, more operational focus than Sir Simon might be the preference of government.
The NHS – and in indeed the World – has been watching the catastrophic covid surge in India, with almost 400,000 cases recorded in a single day.
This week we are joined by a member of our India office who describes the impact this has had on her family and how “disease and death has become so much a part of the everyday conversation”.
We hear how social media has become an important tool for families desperately searching for a hospital bed.
We also take the discussion closer to home and cover the creeping pressure on primary and secondary care, with some GPs shutting down patient self-referral systems for fear of becoming swamped over the weekend.
At the start of the pandemic, financial services company Greensill launched ‘Earnd’, an advanced payment system, for NHS staff. Some trusts signed up for it and it was given backing from senior figures in the health service.
A year later, both have gone bust, former PM David Cameron is implicated in a lobbying scandal involving Greensill and serious questions are being asked about what exactly happened to the payroll data of the staff who used the app.
We dig into this along with recent revelations that the health secretary omitted to declare his connection to Topwood, a company owned by his close family.
We ask how these governance shortcomings managed to slip through the net and whether public trust has been sorely damaged – or if the successful vaccination scheme is too good a shield for this government?
Featuring Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Alison Moore.
Eating disorder services in the NHS are at crisis point, with lockdown making an already pressurised situation even worse.
With both adults’ and children’s admissions rocketing, the number of specialist beds has not kept pace, leaving patients stranded without the care they need on general medical wards.
This week we are joined by two experts in this field who warn unless leaders and managers treat this area as a priority, lives will be at risk.
They argue for ringfenced funding, investment in workforce and proper targets for both adult and child services.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Rebecca Thomas, Dr Agnes Ayton and Dr Ashish Kumar from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
A tale of three regions – what happened next?
After the first covid wave we took a deep dive into three regions in England – now as the third wave ebbs away we have returned once more.
We ask, how did things pan out for them over the rest of last year? And what are the main challenges the health systems will be grappling with over the coming months?
Featuring Rebecca Thomas, Jack Serle, Lawrence Dunhill and Annabelle Collins.
Boris Johnson has appointed a new health adviser, well known to NHS health policy circles. Samantha Jones – former NHS England director and hospital chief – is to leave the private sector and move into the civil service.
We discuss what this could mean for the NHS and whether this is a precursor to an even bigger job.
Along with this we cover more significant people moves in the health service this week and an update on the government’s ‘40 new hospitals’ building plan; with two new builds accelerated we ask what this could mean for the original projects. Can we expect a bun fight for the money?
Featuring Nick Carding, Annabelle Collins, Alison Moore and Dave West.
The NHS has been given its planning guidance for the first half of this year 2020-21 – and it strikes a markedly different tone to previous years. But what else would you expect from 2021?
We break down why it is more about systems than trusts, why activity rather than output is king, and provide some more insight on what its means for the NHS’s finances and workforce.
We also discuss NHS England’s latest intriguing appointment – Timothy Ferris, a primary care physician who leads a non-for-profit medical group in the US. He will soon start in his new position as head of service innovation and transformation, but could an even bigger job be on the cards for him in the not-to-distant future?
Featuring Alastair McLellan, James Illman and Annabelle Collins.
For the first time ever the leader of a mental health trust has been named HSJ’s top chief executive for 2021, and in a surprising turn of events, three former top-table leaders have fallen out of the top 50 altogether. Why their fall from grace?
And was it an act of utter hubris or just plain posturing? We discuss the health secretary’s suggestion the new NHS bill would give him the power to veto senior NHS board appointments. It turns out, this was not quite the case.
We also touch on the swinging pendulum of power between the DHSC and the NHS and why the Chorley reconfiguration row is a red herring.
Also discussed: the ‘lumpy’ vaccine supply and Dominic Cummings turning on the DHSC.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Annabelle Collins, Alastair McLellan and Dave West.
This week has seen the publication of not one but two huge sets of data – the biggest workforce survey in the world and the latest NHS performance stats – and we’ve crunched them both.
We go beyond the headlines and discuss the mixed picture presented in the NHS staff survey data – it might come as a surprise that more staff are recommending their place of work despite being in the middle of a pandemic.
We also discuss the top – and bottom – NHS trusts and why the experience of minority ethnic staff continues to be concerning.
And we dig into the latest NHS performance stats, which revealed a huge rise in the number of patients waiting over a year.
Featuring James Illman, Dave West, Nick Kituno and Annabelle Collins.
In a last minute controversial intervention Matt Hancock has torpedoed plans in Lancashire to consolidate emergency services. This has frustrated local NHS leaders and could potentially stifle future planning and innovation. And raises the question, is he even allowed to do this in the first place?
Plans are also being worked up this spring to get the spiralling elective waiting list under control – we discuss the challenges health service leaders are grappling with right now when trying to get non-covid work back on track.
Featuring James Illman, Lawrence Dunhill and Annabelle Collins.
Reasonable or “unnecessarily hostile”? This week’s HSJ Health Check debates whether its right for a trust to threaten its staff with disciplinary or regulatory action if they try and have their second covid jab early.
University Hospitals Birmingham FT sent an email to its workforce doing just this. Could this have been communicated better?
We also discuss whether mandatory vaccination could be on the cards for health professionals and whether there is a role for the regulators here too.
And it may come as a surprise to some, but data has revealed patient good will towards the health service has dropped sharply since the autumn. A symptom of the continued impact on electives? Or could this change direction considering the success of the vaccine programme?
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Matt Discombe and Rebecca Thomas.
One of the pandemic’s apparent success stories has been the development and operation of an NHS covid-19 data store. Holding information on everything from ventilators to vaccinations, the data store has driven the NHS and government’s decision-making throughout.
However, privacy campaigners have raised concerns about the way in which sensitive NHS data could be used by the companies involved in the data store. And what does the future hold for the data store once the emergency rules on information-sharing can no longer be justified?
In this podcast, HSJ’s Nick Carding quizzes the UK head of Palantir – one of the main companies involved in the data store - about its work on one of the most important government data projects.
HSJ revealed this week NHSX – the tech agency set up by Matt Hancock not quite two-years ago – is set to merge with NHS England. We ask what this says about the government’s tech ambitions, who could be parachuted in to lead the new directorate and why a separate agency was created in the first place.
We also cover the surprising news almost 2 million people have been added to the shielding list and bumped up the vaccination priority groups. Why leave it so late in the pandemic to make such a significant decision?
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Nick Carding and Annabelle Collins.
This week the team analyses what government’s new health plan – the most significant reform of the NHS in nearly a decade – really means.
While giving integrated care systems a statutory footing and axing the NHS tender process, if passed the proposals would give the health secretary far-reaching powers over NHS England, other arm's length bodies and local reconfigurations.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Dave West.
This week the team discuss two major stories, unrelated, but both in the Midlands.
We discuss Rebecca Thomas’ investigation into “heartbreaking” patient safety incidents in University Hospitals Birmingham FT’s haematology services. This was prompted by more whistleblowers than ever before making contact with her.
We also cover University Hospitals of Leicester’s “unprecedented” financial breakdown, after further revelations about the trust's relationship with its external auditors.
And of course, an update on covid pressures too. Although admissions are slowly declining there has been little relief in ICU departments and for staff.
“Resilience requires buffer and buffer can look wasteful until the moment that it isn’t,” Simon Stevens told MPs at a committee hearing in parliament this week. We discuss how the pandemic made the NHS’ approach to running everything to optimum, just-in-time efficiency fall apart.
We also talk about NHS England’s decision to start collecting race and ethnicity date when giving the covid vacation seven weeks after the programme was launched and what impact this could have on health inequalities.
And of course, a vaccine roll-out update, did the NHS miss its care home vaccination target after all?
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Nick Kituno, Jasmine Rapson and Jack Serle
Operational pressures on the NHS because of covid are still high, and although admissions are starting to level off in some places, the usual winter challenge of patient discharge is more troubling than ever.
This week Sharon Brennan, Nick Carding, Annabelle Collins and Dave West reflect on the barriers to covid patient discharge, why funding from the Treasury is too little, too late and why domiciliary care is the real pinch-point.
We also delve into the logistics of vaccine delivery and why high-vaccinating areas of the country are seeing their vaccine supplies halved.
And, a gimmick or sensible worst case scenario planning? We reveal how much the Nightingale hospitals really cost.
Hospitals in the Midlands are being primed to take covid patients from London and the South East, but with the tidal wave of covid admissions sweeping north this seems like a very short term fix.
This week on the podcast the team track how admissions are changing throughout the country, with numbers starting to dip in London for the second day in a row. Things are looking less promising in other regions, with particular concern about the North once again.
We also discuss why the capital appears to be lagging behind on vaccines and why supply rather than manpower is a sticking point.
With Annabelle Collins, Lawrence Dunhill, Jasmine Rapson and Rebecca Thomas.
Amid the covid chaos and ever- climbing cases in England this week, the team try and dissect what’s going on. Our expert journalists discuss what is really means for the NHS to be “overwhelmed”, how the latest surge is affecting intensive care provision and the workforce and whether it’s time to return to the national emergency management approach to keeping the health service on its feet.
There is a silver lining we didn’t have in the spring – the vaccine – so we also discuss how the mass vaccination programme is progressing.
Featuring Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins, Matt Discombe and Dave West.
Four HSJ correspondents make their predictions for the NHS in 2021, from the vaccination programme and more reorganisation, through to change at the top, staffing and mental health.
Annabelle Collins, Dave West, Nick Carding and Rebecca Thomas also look back at how our 2020 forecasts panned out. Which was not too terrible, despite the cataclysmic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
This week has seen the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine administered in the UK, but the continuing covid pressures on the NHS remain, with concerns raised about the health service being overwhelmed in coming weeks and months.
We explore what impact this would have on care provided and what is being done to mitigate it.
The vaccine programme rumbles on and we discuss the roll out in primary care expected next week and some of the sticking points faced by GPs.
Featuring Alastair McLellan, Annabelle Collins and Jasmine Rapson.
The UK is the first country in the western World to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech covid vaccine and now the baton has been passed to the NHS to successfully deliver it.
This week on the podcast we unpick this huge piece of news and discuss the incredibly complicated logistics behind rolling out a vaccination programme this big, why its essential the government gets the communication spot on and how the NHS is approaching this challenge.
We also discuss the crucial role primary care could have in getting the country and economy back on track.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Jasmine Rapson, Jack Serle and Dave West.
This week has seen a flood of coronavirus related news so the podcast this week discusses two other important happenings, that might have been given more attention in normal times.
First up, we analyse what the Chancellor’s spending review means for the NHS and the day-to-day running of hospitals, the thorny issue of staff pay and an unfulfilled promise on social care.
We also discuss the latest development in the undoing of the 2012 Lansley Reforms and the timeframe for new NHS legislation.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Tom Norton and Dave West.
With delays to promised long-covid support clinics, warnings from the former health secretary and unions about protecting staff pay, and trusts accused of penalising staff during their recovery - we dig into why its crucial the NHS provides adequate support sooner rather than later for this debilitating condition.
We also discuss the enhanced role for the Care Quality Commission over hospital food inspection, following a review of nutrition in the NHS prompted by seven inpatients dying after eating sandwiches. We pick out other recommendations from the report including must-do’s for the board, the creation of “super-kitchens”, and CEOs and patients to eat the same food.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Nick Carding and Annabelle Collins.
On the podcast this week the team dig into how the NHS is already mobilising to deliver a covid vaccine and some of the hurdles it could face in this enormous task. The stakes are high for the health service and the nation: Eminent vaccine guru Sir John Bell this week said vaccines could get life back to normal by spring – provided the delivery is not “screwed up”.
We also ask if the Test and Trace can really find a firm footing during the lockdown “window”, check in on staff testing, and look at how covid hit the emergency care system in October.
Recorded in the middle of another dramatic week for the NHS, the latest HSJ Health Check takes stock of whether primary care really has seen long-lasting innovation during the pandemic, and debates if a mood-measuring watch for GPs is the answer to burn-out.
We also discuss progress towards the “40 new hospitals” (or thereabouts), and the long-running saga of Chorley emergency department which a local campaign group now wants closed after ten years of campaigning for the opposite.
Featuring Nick Carding, Annabelle Collins, Lawrence Dunhill and Jasmine Rapson.
“Acute trust boards did not always see mental health care as an integral part of patient care”, said the CQC in a new report on mental health that could have easily gone under the radar. We hear from senior correspondent Rebecca Thomas on why this report matters, if true integration between mental health and acute care are some way off, how the pandemic has further damaged this and whether leaving mental health out of the ’40 new hospitals’ capital announcement was significant.
We also share the very latest insights into the impact covid is having on the NHS according to new NHS England data. Also featuring Dave West and Annabelle Collins.
On the podcast this week we try to get to the bottom of the political furore and ensuing confusion engulfing the North West, including a lesson on just how long it takes to heat up Manchester’s Nightingale Hospital.
We also discuss what impact the continued rise in covid-19 admissions could have on non-covid NHS work, and look at new data which shows an unusually high number of excess deaths at home in the South East. Does this mean the NHS needs to fundamentally change the way it delivers palliative care? Featuring Sharon Brennan, Annabelle Collins, Lawrence Dunhill and Alison Moore.
As covid wave two crashes onto the NHS in the north of England, HSJ Health Check discusses the last minute scrambles to try to protect elective care, and mass-test staff.
While covid-19’s second wave appears a little less destructive than the first, it is bringing steeply rising admissions in the areas most affected --- and sparking a somewhat chaotic reaction as health systems try to prepare for it while keeping planned care on track.
With the focus in the summer on restoring elective care while the sun shone; government did not fund the NHS’s request for extra covid step-down are; and there’s now also a scramble to start routine testing of asymptomatic staff.
Featuring HSJ’s NorthWest and North East correspondents – Lawrence Dunhill and Matt Discombe – with deputy editor Dave West.
To mark one year of the Health Check podcast we’re joined by special guest Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, who shares his expert insight on the biggest operational, cultural and strategic changes the NHS has gone through during the pandemic. We discuss whether mutual aid and breaking down professional barriers are here to stay and how the growing cancer waiting lists could take the shine off the NHS for the public. Featuring Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and James Illman.
This week the team delves into an exclusive HSJ’s summit interview with NHS chief executive Simon Stevens and weighs up the trade-offs the health service might need to make as covid cases rise, why legislation is still expected next year and why no comment on NHS finances could be significant. We also discuss the latest scandal exposing the abuse of patients at another private hospital for people with learning difficulties and autism. Featuring Rebecca Thomas, Dave West and Annabelle Collins.
The pressure is rising again on the health service but keeping it running smoothly this winter will rely on its workforce. This week the HSJ Health Check focuses on some of the biggest issues facing NHS staff right now, covering ‘trade-offs’ after the spending review, staff testing chaos, and whether risk assessments are actually having an impact for vulnerable staff. Featuring Annabelle Collins, Nick Kituno, Alison Moore and Rebecca Thomas.
Payment by results is being swept away in favour of system funding and block payments, much to the irritation of some NHS hospital chief executives. And is government giving the NHS what it needs to get through covid? The HSJ Health Check team discuss.
This week on the podcast the HSJ team discuss government plans to invest a reported £100bn to expand covid testing, amid thousands of people being denied potentially life-saving cancer screening during the pandemic's peak - according to new statistics. We ask: Could the £100bn be better spent working through the cancer backlog? We also discuss confidential documents - accidentally published - which reveal one CCG's modelling for a second peak and the results of the latest ‘HSJ100’ power-list.
Autumn will bring pivotal funding decisions in the comprehensive spending review, while the NHS battles to "lock in" covid reforms, seek "near normal" capacity, and anticipate a surge in mental health demand. It must also brace itself for whatever coronavirus will bring next.
Five HSJ correspondents explain what the next four months hold across finance, mental health, performance, technology, and the containment or resurgence of coronavirus.
This week our expert team discuss if coronavirus has been the catalyst for permanent reform of the Care Quality Commission, following comments made about the new ‘streamlined’ inspections by its chief executive in an exclusive interview with HSJ.
We also discuss other aspects of the health service that may never revert to ‘normal’ and ask whether, in the face of major service reconfiguration, covid has threatened the social contract between patients and the NHS. Featuring James Illman, Annabelle Collins and Matt Discombe.
This week the team discuss the most tumultuous week in Public Health England’s history.
Editor Alastair McLellan and correspondents Sharon Brennan and Jack Serle discuss what happened to the embattled agency and where public health might land.
The new NHS People Plan accidentally implied that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer was a disability or long-term condition, sparking outcry. It has been corrected, and some have argued that criticism went too far, amounting to personal criticism of NHS England chief people office Prerana Issar, who has been working to change NHS culture and tackle discrimination. Meanwhile, NHS England has required new action on diversity and health inequalities from local NHS organisations, and a national lead says the NHS should hold its suppliers to account on leadership diversity, too.
With HSJ’s Alastair McLellan, Nick Kituno and Dave West.
Is the NHS and local government set on a collision course, due to changes around care assessments set out in new central guidance this week? This week the podcast tackles this question and digs into what the 'phase 3' letter really means for the running of the health service. Featuring Annabelle Collins, Sharon Brennan, James Illman and Ben Clover.
(This episode was re-uploaded on August 10)
Matt Hancock set out his post covid vision for health and care in a long, meandering speech this week – HSJ Health Check dissects key themes including staffing, emergency care, digital, system working and social care.
With HSJ’s Dave West, Annabelle Collins, James Illman and Tom Norton.
This week the team dig into what’s going on in East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust – an organisation which has seen well over its fair share of covid-related deaths since the start of June. We discuss the leadership challenges faced by the trust over many years, its ongoing maternity scandal, and how its persisting battle with coronavirus doesn’t fit with the new national narrative of recovery. Featuring Alison Moore, Annabelle Collins and Alastair Mclellan.
This week HSJ Health Check conducts a deep dive on the experience of three regions all affected by the virus in different ways and recovering at different rates. Our expert journalists explore the prospects in the West Midlands, the North West and London over the next six months and what the sticking points might be. Featuring Annabelle Collins, Rebecca Thomas, Ben Clover and Lawrence Dunhill.
A government-commissioned review this week reported on intense suffering by hundreds of women which was “entirely avoidable, caused and compounded by failings in the health system itself”. This week’s HSJ Health Check looks at how and why these findings by Baroness Julia Cumberlege are being buried by the government and the NHS.
With HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, quality and safety correspondent Matt Discombe, and deputy editor Dave West.
Send feedback to dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.com
Finance became a dirty word in the NHS as it went into covid crisis mode. Reality is slowly returning – but the world of NHS finances has been turned on its head. This week’s HSJ Health Check contemplates what’s changed, and the landscape for the coming months.
With HSJ’s Annabelle Collins, Katherine Hignett, and Dave West.
With pubs reopening, why are many NHS services still closed or restricted? Why aren’t all staff being tested to prevent outbreaks?
This week’s HSJ Health Check explores the latest dilemmas for those running and working in the NHS as they try to operate health services while controlling covid infections, amid the ongoing pandemic.
With HSJ’s Dave West, Annabelle Collins, Nick Carding, and Matt Discombe.
This HSJ Podcast explores the changing relationship between the life sciences industry and the NHS. Forged by the covid crisis, protocols have been set aside and companies have worked with regulatory bodies to accelerate clinical trials and deliver equipment to the NHS front line. The panel reflects on events of the past few months and looks towards the future and with hope of a new style of working together.
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan talks to Hugo Breda, UK & Ireland Managing Director of Johnson & Johnson, Dr Rav Seeruthun, Medical Director, Roche UK, and Chris Hopson, Chief Executive at NHS Providers, about the accelerated pace of change across industry and the NHS. They’ll share insights on:
· how previously transactional relationships are evolving into value-based partnerships, based on greater levels of openness and transparency
· the potential to continue the speed and adoption of innovation
· working together to support the reduction in the backlog of elective waiting lists
· where they see the real opportunities for the future
The week’s podcast explores whether system integration will become central to how the NHS recovers and resets after covid. It explores plans to create system waiting lists, new legislative proposals and asks where staffing and social care fits into these agendas. It is brought to you by senior correspondents, Sharon Brennan and Annabelle Collins and bureau chief Lawrence Dunhill.
The NHS has gone through an enormous reconfiguration in response to the covid-19 pandemic, but as the health service moves into ‘phase three’, what happens next? HSJ’s editor Alastair Mclellan and senior correspondents Annabelle Collins and Nick Carding discuss.
What became of major chunks of the national review into why people with a BAME background have seen a greater death rate from covid-19 – which were written, then disappeared? Plus, June’s new look target for coronavirus testing, and what NHS capacity will be left with arduous infection control in place?
This week with HSJ’s Dave West, Ben Clover, Nick Carding and Alison Moore.
Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comwith feedback.
With the focus fixed firmly on coronavirus, there are important and urgent issues in healthcare going under the radar. This week four of HSJ’s expert journalists share the vital developments they think are going unnoticed – from the financial situation in mental health trusts, to problems still being caused by tax changes on medical consultants’ pensions.
With Dave West, Annabelle Collins, Rebecca Thomas and Matt Discombe.
This week our tech reporting team Jasmine Rapson and Nick Carding, along with Dave West and Annabelle Collins, discuss leaked NHSX emails that revealed concerns the Department of Health and Social Care’s tech division is damaging its reputation with “non-compliant” tech. We consider how the covid-19 pandemic has seen some hasty technology procurements, and whether the way patients access healthcare is changing for good.
We also discuss how the pandemic has affected international recruitment & whether critical care capacity is still under strain.
This week HSJ Health Check digs into the latest NHS performance data, revealing how coronavirus affected normal services – taking the weight off emergency departments, but adding millions to the waiting list.
We also discuss the need for scrutiny of how covid-19 is affecting people with mental health, learning disabilities and autism, the covid testing “black hole”, and why pressure is staying higher in the north of England.
Featuring Dave West, Ben Clover, Annabelle Collins and Rebecca Thomas
On this week’s HSJ Health Check podcast we discuss where England’s covid-19 response on three key fronts.
With the government poised to announce some relaxation of lockdown measures bureau chief Ben Clover and three HSJ colleagues look at the testing drive, the new contact tracing app and trends in mortality.
After the government achieved its testing target by fiddling the rules, Nicholas Carding takes us through where the service stands on testing now and what to expect this month.
As the Isle of Wight becomes the laboratory for testing the new contact tracing programme on mobile phones, which the government will soon be encouraging everyone to use, technology reporter Jasmine Rapson brings us up to date with the controversies and use of the app.
Jack Serle has been tracking trends in mortality since the government started producing data on covid-19 deaths. On this podcast he discusses the trends and highlights the settings and regions that may not yet have peaked.
On this week’s HSJ Health Check podcast we discuss warnings over a possible covid-linked condition in children, and Sir Simon Steven’s new guidance on the next phase of the response for the NHS.
Children’s intensive care doctors have observed a small but growing number of cases, and issued warnings to try to ensure cases are not dismissed. Matt Hancock has ordered further investigation of the issue and said he is “very worried”.
We also discuss the latest guidance from the NHS England chief executive on how the health service will try to return more normal services in the next six weeks – yet having to continue dealing with the outbreak; and how the protective equipment shortage will limit what can be done.
Featuring Annabelle Collins, Katherine Hignett, James Illman and Dave West.
For much of the country, coronavirus has peaked. It came quicker than expected, but the virus is not going away anytime soon – and NHS leaders will have to rebuild their services around it in a new reality.
This week’s HSJ Health Check podcast considers the dilemmas of the next few weeks and months, such as how to resume elective care, use of the new Nightingale hospitals, and addressing the damage for those who have missed out on emergency care and support.
Featuring Sharon Brennan, Nicholas Carding, Rebecca Thomas, and Dave West.
Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comwith feedback.
This HSJ Health Check podcast special explores the legal rules and risks for the NHS as it tackles coronavirus.
HSJ senior correspondent Sharon Brennan speaks to lawyers Francesca Burfield and Max Duddles — who work for legal training and information specialists Bond Solon —– about the major implications of the covid-19 response in the health and care system; and the government’s sweeping legal changes.
They predict there will be widespread legal challenges to NHS providers and commissioners over their actions during the crisis, and recommend recording details of decisions which are taken.
Our newest episode covers the latest in the NHS’ response to the coronavirus pandemic, including spare beds, controversial death statistics, and what’s happening to ‘normal’ care.
Coronavirus continues to dominate the lives of healthcare leaders and policymakers, and this week’s HSJ Health Check examines the outlook for pressure on the NHS, the tech response, and the health toll of covid-19’s collateral damage.
Deputy editor Dave West is joined by bureau chief James Illman and correspondents Jasmine Rapson and Jack Serle.
Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comwith feedback or queries.
As dealing with coronavirus grips the NHS, we discuss three of the central challenges: kit – including PPE and ventilation equipment; staffing – including PPE and conflicting advice; and the impact on patients who do not have covid-19.
With HSJ’s Annabelle Collins, Sharon Brennan, Dave West and Ben Clover.
Warning: Please forgive some sound drop-outs due to technical problems with remote recording.
The HSJ news team breaks down this week’s essential coronavirus coverage, including warnings from leaders that ICU beds will run out in four days, the transformation of the excel centre into a new hospital and how ICU staffing ratios are being diluted to deal with the surge in patient numbers. We also delve deeper into our chief executive survey.
Featuring James Illman, Lawrencce Dunhill, Annabelle Collins and Rebecca Thomas.
With a coronavirus pandemic declared by WHO and Boris Johnson describing this as the biggest public health challenge in a generation, the HSJ Health Check podcast gets under the skin of the issue. We ask, what does the reconfiguration suggested by the chief medical issue involve and what does this mean for the NHS and patients? Annabelle Collins, Dave West, James Illman and Tom Norton also discuss the outcome of Wednesday’s budget.
With the national targets review drawing to a close, what is going to happen to the totemic four-hour A&E waiting target? This week’s HSJ Health Check considers the latest developments and next steps in the high-stakes process of reform.
On coronavirus covid-19, we consider the latest evidence about the impact on the NHS – including the knock-on effect for major policy decisions, and the fallout for NHS finances.
On the finances, we also discuss our recent exclusive interview with the new head of the National Audit Office, in which he painted a damning picture of recent years’ financial management; and look at the current picture of NHS financial health.
With bureau chiefs James Illman and Lawrence Dunhill, and senior correspondent Sharon Brennan.
Got feedback? Contact @davewwest on Twitter or dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.com
This week HSJ Health Check examines the latest developments on the government’s “40 new hospitals” election promise, particularly the brand new £20bn construction framework through which this ambitious target would be taken forward. We also turn our attention to another of this government’s declared health priorities – prevention – including Sir Michael Marmot’s latest findings; and deputy editor Dave West’s dossier on how evidence that life expectancy and mortality rates are faltering go back eight years. Also featuring Annabelle Collins, Nick Carding and Jack Serle.
The annual staff survey has been published and this week our expert team of journalists Sharon Brennan, Rebecca Thomas, Annabelle Collins and Nick Carding dig into some of the troubling findings on rising violence and discrimination in the NHS. We also discuss the health secretary’s new proposals to bar care to abusive patients also how the ‘Rooney rule’ could play a part in health policy.
Also: Nick Carding takes us through his latest exclusive tech story, this time about how the NHS could soon breach patient data sharing rules.
The government is looking to curb NHS England’s powers but on HSJ.co.uk this week deputy editor Dave West has warned against giving more power to ministers. Here we discuss possible solutions to this very complex reorganisation.
Also – we dissect the hard-fought new GP contract and why primary care cuts in Birmingham could adversely affect minority ethnic patients. Featuring senior correspondent Annabelle Collins, deputy editor Dave West and correspondents Jack Serle and Katie Hignett.
The links between hospitals and social care have got worse not better, poor health services are still being protected and preserved, and quality improvement has been cut. These are among the hard-hitting messages from the outgoing national clinical director for stroke services, Tony Rudd.
In this HSJ Health Check special, Professor Rudd – who previously oversaw the move to hyper-acute stroke services in London, where he was a long-serving consultant – shares six hard-hitting reflections and suggestions from his time at the centre of service reform.
His observations include:
- There’s no evidence of improvement in the link between hospitals and care services;
- The NHS has failed to shift spending – and research – away from acute care;
- Community hospitals should be closed to invest elsewhere;
- Businesses would fail if they copied the NHS's cuts to quality improvement and clinical data; and
- The NHS has too much local decision making.
The inquiry on rogue surgeon Ian Paterson, West Suffolk Hospital dropping two ratings; and staff trouble at the Care Quality Commission. We discuss care quality dilemmas past and present on this week's HSJ Health Check podcast.
Plus - the commissioning landscape from April, now final merger plans are in.
This week HSJ deputy editor Dave West is joined by editor Alastair McLellan, and senior correspondents Sharon Brennan and Annabelle Collins.
The NHS’s marching orders for 2020-21 have been published, including some big changes to funding rules, and confirming the top priorities from Skipton House.
In this HSJ Health Check our expert journalists give a laserlike analysis of the new operational planning guidance, covering: Finance rules, targets and performance, learning disabilities, workforce, integration and system working.
Featuring deputy editor Dave West, bureau chief Lawrence Dunhill, senior correspondent for workforce Annabelle Collins, and senior correspondent for mental health Rebecca Thomas.
Comments and suggestions to dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.com
Integrated care systems, digital health and growing the workforce – all are covered in this week’s HSJ Health Check.
There’s been a big shift in integrated care system leadership – HSJ integrationcorrespondent Sharon Brennan reveals the top line findings exclusively for the podcast.
Jasmine Rapson, our digital services correspondent, discusses Babylon Health’s new deal with an NHS trust to build “digital-first integrated care”, including the chance to meet your “digital twin”.
And workforce correspondent Annabelle Collins on the next steps for international recruitment and the outlook for funding the NHS People Plan.
Hosted by HSJ deputy editor Dave West.
Got feedback or something you would like us to discuss on HSJ Health Check? Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comor @davewwest
This week we talk waiting. The health secretary and NHS England run into problems with their moves to scrap the four-hour emergency department target – what are the concerns, and what’s the point of ditching it?
On the planned care waiting list – NHSE confirmed it has spent millions sending some patients to private providers this winter; and major long-term harm has been revealed from delays to ophthalmology follow-up checks.
How will the new government approach these major performance problems in hospital services?
Got feedback or something you would like us to discuss on HSJ Health Check? Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comor @davewwest.
HSJ bureau chief Ben Clover talks to correspondents, Rebecca Thomas, Jack Serle and James Illman.
The team cover exclusive figures on the prevalence of sexual assault in mental health settings, the A&E crisis and what is happening with PCNs – part of the big plan for overhauling primary care.
In a podcast exclusive, HSJ editor Alastair McLellan reveals the 10 things which were most important to NHS policy and leadership in the 2010s.
And why can health service leaders look forward to the next few years with a bit more hope?
We explore this – and the big issues facing the NHS in 2020 – in this new year’s HSJ Health Check. Including the NHS People Plan, new NHS legislation, capital funding, and Simon Stevens staying a little longer.
Got feedback or something you would like us to discuss? Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comor @davewwest.
HSJ Health Check this week gazes into the crystal ball for predictions for 2020, focusing on three of the biggest issues in 2019: Tech, mental health, and staffing.
Featuring Dave West, Rebecca Thomas, Annabelle Collins and Nick Carding.
The general election results are in, and on this week’s HSJ Health Check the team gives our early analysis of what the Conservative majority government could mean for health and care policy and funding. Plus – the immediate issues on the NHS’s plate now the voting is out the way – including winter, Brexit, the NHS People Plan, and preparing for 2020-21.
Featuring HSJ deputy editor Dave West, senior correspondent James Illman, and correspondent Annabelle Collins.
Listen to the HSJ Health Check podcast — this week we cover the national workforce modelling as revealed by HSJ, norovirus and the flu turn up early, and a Midlands trust lands an “outstanding” rating.
The latest episode features HSJ deputy editor Dave West, bureau chief for performance and efficiency Ben Clover, senior correspondent for performance and Brexit James Illman, and workforce correspondent Annabelle Collins.
We discuss:
- What do we learn from the leaked national nursing workforce modelling revealed this week by Annabelle?
- How’s winter shaping up for the NHS, and vice versa?
- What’s unusual about South Warwickshire Foundation Trust’s new “outstanding” rating?
Got feedback or something you would like us to discuss? Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.comor @davewwest.
This week’s HSJ Health Check is brought to you from the HSJ Mental Health Summit with special guests Sean Duggan, of the NHS Confederation, and Matthew Trainer – Oxleas Foundation Trust chief – joining HSJ correspondents Annabelle Collins and Rebecca Thomas. We discuss whether the politicians still care about mental health, given its low profile in the election campaign so far, and other top issues in the sector at the moment including whether more beds are really the answer.
The political parties’ election manifestos are out, with lots to say about what they would do for health and social care. In this HSJ Health Check manifesto special, the HSJ team examines proposals from the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats – looking across the big themes of funding, workforce and reform. Taking part are HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, integration correspondent Sharon Brennan, and bureau chief for efficiency and performance Ben Clover.
Whatever has happened to the trailed solution to the NHS pensions crisis? And what are the long-term consequences of doctors now discovering a work-life balance?
In other news, we discuss the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity care scandal, and the curious departure of an ex-private sector finance director from a long-strained London hospital trust.
Featuring HSJ deputy editor Dave West, workforce correspondent Annabelle Collins, bureau chief for finance and policy Lawrence Dunhill, and mental health correspondent Rebecca Thomas.
This week’s HSJ Health Check discusses Labour’s big NHS announcements – and what they say about how it would manage the service. Plus the decision of Greater Manchester’s “devo” health and care chief to quit. With HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, deputy editor Dave West, correspondent Annabelle Collins, and bureau chief Lawrence Dunhill.
This week’s HSJ Health Check takes in the letter sent to the provider sector telling trusts to take urgent steps to counteract the pensions crisis and its disastrous impact on services. Plus, where we are on dropping the A&E target and an analysis of the politics of workfore shortages
The latest episode features HSJ bureau chief Ben Clover, editor Alastair McLellan, senior correspondent James Illman, and correspondent Sharon Brennan.
We discuss what we know and don’t know about how the forthcoming general election - called this week by Parliament - will affect the NHS.
This podcast is available every Friday morning here and across the major platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.
Got feedback or something you would like us to discuss? Contact dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.com or @davewwest.
What would the prime minister's proposed Brexit deal mean for the NHS?
And are the service and its patients beginning to feel the benefit of the start of the government's £20.5bn extra funding?
We explain in the HSJ Health Check podcast, episode 2.
This week we feature HSJ deputy editor Dave West, bureau chief for performance and efficiency Ben Clover, senior correspondent for performance and Brexit James Illman, and workforce correspondent Annabelle Collins.
Each week HSJ Health Check will gather a cast from our team of expert journalists, to explain and debate the most important news issues right now in NHS policy and leadership. The podcast will be available on Friday mornings on the HSJ.co.uk website, and across the major platforms including Spotify, iTunes, and Android applications.
Listen to the first HSJHealth Check podcast – in which we debate care quality in mental health and learning disability hospitals, what defines success for NHS chief executives, and NHS legislation proposals.
This pilot episode features HSJ deputy editor Dave West, bureau chief for performance and efficiency Ben Clover, and mental health correspondent Rebecca Thomas.
Each week HSJ Health Check will gather a cast from our team of expert journalists, to explain and debate the most important news issues right now in NHS policy and leadership.
The podcast will be available on Friday mornings on the HSJ.co.uk website, and across the major platforms including Spotify, iTunes, and Android applications. We are expecting this first episode will take a few extra days to reach those podcast apps.
Feedback to @davewwest or dave.west@wilmingtonhealthcare.com