HSJ Health Check HSJ

NHS England has announced incentives and penalties in a bid to improve the health system’s financial plans, so this week we discuss what the new regime involves and if it will make any difference to the national £3bn deficit.

 

Also this week we focus on two stories from Birmingham – more bullying concerns at University Hospitals Birmingham and an update on the long-delayed Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, which HSJ revealed is due to open without the funding needed to run it. 

We also take a look at the latest pledges for the NHS by the political parties as the general election draws nearer. 

With Nick Carding, Henry Anderson and Emily Townsend. 

Rishi Sunak has called a surprise election, so we cover what could be in store for the NHS over the next six weeks and the different scenarios it could face if there is a change is government.

Plus, we consider NHS England’s intervention in the ongoing debate about productivity (and how that might affect the service’s ask for extra capital investment) and also the aftermath of NHSE’s massive restructure. 

With Henry Anderson, Annabelle Collins and Dave West. 

Greater Manchester ICS is under huge pressure to reduce its deficit after suffering a recent financial collapse.

And now the ICS must navigate this without its substantive chief financial officer, who has been seconded to a post within NHS England. We discuss if there is a way out of the red and what this will mean for local care quality. 

Also this week, a leaked NHSE review that concluded the NHS has a severe shortage of nurses with digital skills.

The tables have turned for the Care Quality Commission. This week HSJ revealed the government is launching a review of it’s new inspection regime and whether its ratings are properly incentivising care improvements.

We discuss what prompted this review, which senior NHS figure is leading it and what it could mean for the regulator. 

Also this week, a fifth of all of England’s GP premises pre-date 1948 and we discuss how this ageing estate risks hampering the workforce plan. 

We delve into the detail of HSJ's comprehensive survey of integrated care board leaders, as well as new interventions on the future of ICBs from NHS England and Wes Streeting. 

 

From leaders’ biggest worries, and their achievements thus far, to their plans for the future, HSJ Health Check highlights some of the more surprising findings.

 

Also, more on the shadow health secretary's recent comments on tensions between ICBs and foundation trusts, and NHS England's new assessment framework.

 

With Annabelle Collins, Nick Kituno and Dave West. 

This year sets the NHS one of its toughest financial challenges as pandemic cash dries up and funding shortfalls deepen.

We hear how three integrated care systems are already warning of significant consequences from the current financial requirements, and explore how the NHS plans to break even in 2024-25.

With Henry Anderson, Lawrence Dunhill and Nicholas Carding.

Send views and questions to annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk.

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