HSJ Health Check

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:

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:

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.