HSJ Health Check

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.