All Comment articles – Page 2
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CommentWhy pharmacy is still excluded from neighbourhood care
Community pharmacy is one of the NHS’s most accessible assets, yet it remains largely excluded from new integrated care models.
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CommentCapacity, not complacency, is the biggest risk to NHS cyber security
One of the most dangerous assumptions in NHS cyber governance is the belief that once compliance has been demonstrated, maintaining that formally assured position is enough. In today’s operating conditions, this is neither prudent nor responsible
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CommentNeighbourhood health services must not ignore severe mental illness
Integrated neighbourhood health services must prioritise severe mental illness, or risk deepening one of the UK’s most profound and preventable health inequalities
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CommentThe NHS risks going backwards on patient safety
NHS organisations are beginning to shift from blame-focused incident management to systems-based learning. But with old cultures still deeply embedded and operational pressures mounting, leaders and regulators must actively resist a return to defensive, compliance-driven thinking
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CommentCan the NHS help end homelessness?
Alex Bax assesses how a new cross-government strategy on homelessness will impact the NHS
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Comment'Frontline' staff who are not clinicians need better support
Non-clinical frontline staff in mental health services face distressed patients every day with minimal training or support. Recognising and investing in these roles is essential for patient safety and service quality
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CommentA third of NHS managers should be working on transformation
NHS staff have ideas and ambition, but change rarely happens. A senior clinician explains why – and how delivery could finally improve
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CommentNew service models must meet the mental health needs of older people
An ageing NHS must prioritise psychological wellbeing, adapting services to later life realities to improve outcomes, inclusion, and system sustainability
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CommentNHS must use or lose apprenticeship funding
Labour’s post-16 skills reforms promise greater flexibility in apprenticeship funding, but with health largely absent, NHS organisations will need to engage actively to shape implementation and protect their £250m-plus annual contribution, says John Rogers
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CommentThe 10 best HSJ comment pieces of 2025
HSJ published more than 150 comment pieces from external contributors this year. These are chosen – and occasionally commissioned – by me
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CommentA brighter future is possible in 2026
Pressures from industrial action, morale and maternity safety concerns are colliding with once-in-a-generation transformation – meaning 2026 will be a defining year, says Daniel Elkeles
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CommentThe growing influence of mayors could help fight health inequalities
The King’s Fund and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies have been looking at how to ensure that English devolution fulfils its potential for reducing health inequalities. There are three key areas that need to be addressed if the emerging relationship between ICSs, ICBs and strategic authorities is to help ...
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CommentWhy the NHS chooses to downplay cyber attacks
Improving NHS cyber resilience requires governance systems that acknowledge how people actually communicate and decide under pressure, writes Vsevolod Shabad
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CommentThe toxic overdiagnosis narrative is a distraction from the mental health crisis
Rising mental distress demands evidence, compassion and reform, not culture wars, denial or barriers to support for young people, writes Sarah Hughes
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CommentMedical students can provide unique insight into hospital effectiveness
As the NHS faces a workforce crisis, excluding medical students risks ignoring insights crucial to training reform, retention, and future policy decisions
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CommentWe need shared accountability for neurology care
The publication of NHS England’s neurology service specification represents a pivotal opportunity to transform care for millions, but success depends on sustained local leadership and implementation beyond organisational boundaries
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CommentHow further education can relieve pressure on the NHS
Further education colleges across England are already delivering successful preventive health initiatives but remain underutilised and underfunded, according to a new report that calls for better partnership working to ease NHS pressures
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CommentChristmas means cyber attacks
The NHS’s annual December stress test reveals a fundamental flaw in cyber governance: when competing pressures from security teams, IT departments, clinical services and boards collide, critical vulnerabilities are identified but cannot be addressed, creating a predictable pattern of unresolved risk
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CommentLeaders must be realistic as well as compassionate
More than a decade of training leaders in compassionate behaviours is failing under NHS pressures. A new ‘realistic leadership’ model offers clarity, presence and resilience as the internal foundation that compassion needs to survive
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CommentWaiting list starts growing again
The trajectory towards 18 weeks recovery is getting steeper, says Rob Findlay