‘Safety concerns’ over provider with £500m new contracts
A patient transport company which is taking over contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds is grappling with concerns about service performance and risk to patients.
Three ICSs responsible for a quarter of very long diagnostic waits
Just three integrated care systems were responsible for nearly one in four 13-week waits for key diagnostic tests in recent months, HSJ analysis of official data has found.
First joint finance director sought by ICBs
Two integrated care boards have announced plans to recruit a shared chief finance officer, in what would be the first such move since ICBs were set up in 2022
Revealed: Three-fold variation in emergency response time by ICS
A threefold variation in ambulance response for serious, urgent conditions has been revealed in new figures.
Threefold ICS variation in GP phone access revealed
Patients trying to reach their GP are almost three times as likely to fail to get through in the worst-performing integrated care systems than the best, according to analysis of new annual figures.
Rise in ICSs missing financial plans despite NHSE claim more would deliver
The number of health systems that failed to meet their main financial commitment increased substantially last year, despite NHS England’s chief finance officer previously saying many more areas would “definitely” deliver on their plans.
‘Keep the faith in ICBs’, urges national leader
Policymakers must “keep the faith” in integrated care boards, and should not seek to “carve up” their role by removing responsibility for overseeing provider trusts, a national leader has said.
CIO appointed as trust’s chief for two years
A community trust has appointed its chief information and transformation officer as chief executive in a fixed two-year interim capacity, it has announced.
Six ICBs require staff to work from office at least one day per week
Six integrated care boards have policies which require hybrid working staff to be in the office either one or two days per week.
‘Outstanding’ trust CEO leaving after 13 years
The chief executive of an “outstanding” rated community trust is to step down after 13 years in the role.
Nearly a third of ICSs admit finance plans will be missed
At least 13 integrated care systems have now admitted they will miss the financial plans they signed up for at the start of the year.
Former national director to chair two ICBs
A long-serving hospital leader and former NHS Improvement director will become the first to chair two neighbouring integrated care boards.
Warning notice issued to trust which gave ‘assurances’ care was improving
An acute trust in the East Midlands has been issued with a warning notice and seen its maternity services downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission after ‘assurances’ that improvements had been made proved misleading.
Two trusts to miss deadline for eliminating ‘distressing’ wards
At least two trusts are set to fall short on a high-profile pledge to eradicate ‘dormitory’ style wards in mental health facilities, with delays caused by cost pressures and shortage of materials and labour.
Exclusive: Government and NHS in talks over £1bn funding gap
Government is in talks with national NHS leaders over how to fill an urgent funding gap of at least £1bn this financial year, HSJ has learned, as new analysis shows all 42 local integrated care systems were behind their own plans less than halfway through 2023-24.
Revealed: First ICS digital maturity ratings
HSJ can reveal the first ratings given to every integrated care system for the ‘digital maturity’ of its NHS providers.
Revealed: the tenfold regional difference in access to GP records
Fewer than one in 10 GP practices offers patients access to their records in several areas of England, with significant variation across England, six months ahead of a new deadline.
More than half of ICSs lack ‘crucial’ health management systems
More than half of integrated care systems do not have a fully developed population health management system, despite this being a ‘core aim’, HSJ can reveal.
New chair will ‘reset group model’ across three trusts
Three Midlands hospital trusts with a combined turnover of more than £2bn are moving to share a single chair, who wants to drive further collaboration and partnership between them, HSJ can reveal.
Exclusive: NHSE halts ‘pioneer’ health centres due to lack of capital
A national plan to build new ‘super’ primary care hubs in six areas has been halted with immediate effect by NHS England because of a lack of capital funding.