HSJ Health Check

Many breathed a sigh of relief when the resident doctors accepted the latest government pay offer, putting an end to years of strikes. However, just a week later, consultants voted for industrial action. We discuss the demands of the British Medical Association’s consultants committee and how the government could avert another set of damaging strike action. We also talk more about the first compla...

This week Dave West and Henry Anderson are joined by health economist Anita Charlesworth, who is co-chairing a commission into NHS productivity for the Health Foundation. We discuss the workforce “boom and bust”, why the covid-19 pandemic cost the NHS £20bn in lost care and how the health service can recover at a time when public spending is under pressure.

NHS maternity services are again in the spotlight after an independent review revealed serious, systemic failings at Nottingham University Hospitals. The report by Donna Ockenden criticised NHS executives for refusing to speak to the review - leading the government to threaten prison time for staff who do not cooperate. Will this make a difference for future investigations? And, amid growing calls...

Sparks are flying over how the centre of the NHS will be run once NHS England is wound up next year. HSJ Health Check discusses the options, why they matter, as well as our exclusive interview with the minister leading the changes through Parliament. Karin Smyth argued government had sought to “minimise” the powers it is taking as a result of abolishing NHS England. She also spoke about the other...

We talk staff, racism, the funding squeeze, and trust groups, on the HSJ Health Check live from the NHS Confederation conference in Manchester. NHS Alliance CEO Ciarán Devane, who took up post two months ago, and University Hospital Tees CEO Stacey Hunter, join HSJ deputy editor Dave West. Guests discuss the challenges of growing racism against staff, including how it can mean some minority ethnic...

Hundreds of non-British NHS England staff face losing their jobs because their nationality prevents them working in the civil service. We discuss why this threat  – that seems to fly in the face of NHS values – has come about, and what it says about the wider restructure process.  Also this week - the first ‘advanced foundation trusts’ have been confirmed so we cover who made the cut and the benef...

On this week's podcast, with increasing examples of staff accessing patient records inappropriately, we ask how widespread this practice really is - and whether regulators need to do more.  And we dig into the NHS's elective recovery figures, which show a dramatic improvement in the final month of the year helped the service meet its headline government target by the narrowest of margins.

This week we talk more about the government’s plans for a new “single patient record” - the legislation for which was in last week’s Health Bill - and why primary care could be a stumbling block. It was hoped the Bill would provide clarity on how the new data sharing requirements would be achieved but there remain many unanswered questions.  On the subject of primary care, we cover why the latest...

We discuss Wes Streeting’s tumultuous 22 months in charge – and analyse the Health Bill he has left in his wake, which was published on Thursday. The bill will give ministers sweeping new powers, as well as abolishing NHS England, and make important changes affecting foundation trusts, integrated care boards, and councils.  The HSJ Health Check podcast welcomes Hugh Alderwick, Health Foundation di...

This week we talk in more detail about HSJ’s Top 50 CEOs – not only who topped our annual ranking of hospital leaders, but also interesting trends from this year and beyond, and a behind the scenes from the judging. We cover the surprising new entries, why a third of individual chief executives included in the rankings over the last 12 editions have appeared just once, and why London and ambulance...

Millions of people are turning to AI chatbots to manage their mental health, driven by a combination of long waiting lists and not meeting clinical thresholds for treatment. We cover how regulation is running to keep up with this surge in demand and why suppliers are not finding compliance straightforward.  Also this week, the NHS has a legal duty to reach net zero by 2040. We discuss how – and ho...

On this week’s podcast we talk about relationships between CEOs and chairs - and why the CEO of East Kent Hospitals has not been at work since mid-November. And with staff pride at a record low in the Care Quality Commission, according to its latest internal survey, we cover what will be in the in-tray of its new CEO and why the regulator wants to find someone with “clear political licence”.  (Upd...

HSJ Health Check discusses the latest squeeze on GP resources, and controversy over reform of referral processes. Analysis of new figures show the share of NHS spend going to general practice fell to its lowest point in 2024-25 - a decade on from NHS England vowing to shift the balance the other way. The share of doctors in the English NHS who are GPs also fell. Meanwhile, GP groups are among thos...

We discuss Sir Jim Mackey’s first year as NHS England chief executive, and his interview with HSJ in which he sets out plans for 2026-27. This year has seen the NHS land more or less on plan for its biggest recovery targets – and with declared financial deficits falling quicker than expected. Sir Jim told us the next 12 months will leave more room for thinking ahead, including about commissioning...

Tech is one of the most important parts of the government’s 10-Year Health Plan , but this week NHS England has warned a leadership void is hampering progress and investment.  We talk in more depth about this particularly public criticism and also discuss other key areas of tech that trusts are investing in, from electronic patient records to AI scribes. We also cover research that has revealed th...

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan interviews US physician Bob Wachter about his new book, A Giant Leap, on AI’s impact on healthcare. The conversation covers how clinical practice is already changing significantly, and explores the implications for NHS workforce planning.

NHS staff are becoming less likely to recommend their employer as a place to work, are less confident about raising concerns and increasingly say they would not want relatives to be treated at their trust.   HSJ digs into the annual NHS staff survey to find out what this year’s results mean for the future of the health service.   Henry Anderson is joined by HSJ’s Nick Kituno and Chris Graham, from...

Leading ICB and council CEOs join HSJ Health Check to talk about the earthquake shaking relationships between local government and the NHS. Tectonic plates are moving with major structural reorganisation in the NHS and local government. Funding and demand pressures, alongside national attempts to reform other public services, are also straining relationships and integration. Amid these tensions, R...

NHS maternity care continues to be under the spotlight, so on this week’s episode we unpick the web of different national reviews and how trusts could be asked to improve services. We cover Baroness Amos’ interim report from the government’s ‘rapid’ review, which has turned out to be less rapid than hoped, and some shocking findings highlighted by newly published national maternity data. Also, why...

Hospitals are being told by NHS England to focus on easy wins to hit this financial year’s A&E targets, so on this episode we unpick what trusts are being ask to do and whether this will get them over the line by the end of March. NHSE also finally published guidance on its “model emergency department”, which will see under-performing trusts required to open new treatment areas. But, as ever,...

This week we cover a mysterious update to the “model ICB” blueprint that hasn’t been formally published or endorsed by NHS England, but instead passed in whispers.  We also talk about the full timetable for merging NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care and one of the biggest stories this week: the unexpected resignation of Ming Tang, NHSE’s chief data and analytics officer.  We...

On this episode we’re joined by Lord Philip Hunt of King’s Heath - who was a minister in the Labour government until last year, and has played a huge role in Labour health policy and in NHS leadership over several decades. He was a health minister in the Blair government with Alan Milburn, has served in several Labour shadow health teams, worked as a senior NHS manager, and was the first chief exe...

On this episode we cover one of the most expensive employment tribunals in the NHS and why a trust must pay its former chief executive £1.4m in damages. Also this week, an update on the new hospitals programme from the government spending watchdog, which included surprise dates for when rebuilds were likely to reopen - some of which are still 20 years’ away. We also cover serious concerns raised a...

On this episode we’re talking about the tricky balancing act between cutting waiting lists and keeping finances under control, after Wes Streeting warned this week that some trusts have tried to cut deficits too sharply.    Also this week, two stories from Birmingham, including more on a damning external review into a major trust’s international training programme. 

It’s time for the  HSJ  team to take stock and make their predictions for what the New Year could bring for the NHS, from the survival of Healthwatch, to why the NHS App could be in for a tough year. Also, the biggest estates challenges facing trusts and why the ‘choice’ row is set to escalate.  Thanks for listening to the Health Check podcast this year and Merry Christmas from all at  HSJ .