HSJ Health Check

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.