HSJ Health Check

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.