HSJ Health Check

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 inflation costs 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.