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 complaints made about clinicians’ use of AI, as revealed in HSJ this week, and how the national AI regulation review could change how it is used in the NHS.

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 for a public inquiry into the state of maternity care across the country, we ask what this would mean for the NHS. 

With Henry Anderson and Emily Townsend.

Send thoughts and ideas to annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk

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 big aim of the bill - paving the way for a single patient record.
With Annabelle Collins, Alastair McLellan and Dave West.
Linked articles:
⁠We have ‘minimised’ Health Bill power grab, says minister⁠
Trusts ‘should recruit more managers locally’

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 staff don't want to work in particular parts of the country.
We also cover wider pressure on staff, as funding is squeezed and services restructure to cut costs.
And we talk about the dilemmas of the wave of trusts sharing leaders, one of whom is Stacey as CEO of two Tees foundation trusts.