Emergency prescribing and ‘shared care’ withdrawn by GPs
Emergency prescribing and monitoring of patients with severe mental health conditions are among services being cancelled by GP practices as part of “collective action”.
Two ICBs to share the same chair
Two very different integrated care boards are to share the same chair.
Private firm wins ‘unsafe’ £300m children’s contract
A major contract for children’s community health services — which incumbents claimed was unsafely cutting costs — has been awarded to a private provider.
Trust in row with BMA over ‘regional rate card’
A large hospital trust’s attempt to reduce its medical rates for extra shifts to bring them in line with other trusts in the region has sparked a row with the British Medical Association
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.
The Download: Opening up the FDP
The fortnightly newsletter that unpacks system leaders’ priorities for digital technology and the impact they are having on delivering health services. This week written by correspondent Joe Talora. Contact HSJ in confidence here.
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.
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.
Trust seeks ‘dialogue’ to avert court row with ICB
Providers who are taking legal action against commissioners have called for a “dialogue” over the risks an underfunded tender would pose to local children and families.
NHSE acts as performance deteriorates in five systems
Five integrated care systems face escalations in central scrutiny and support following “deterioration” against key urgent and emergency care targets.
The Integrator: Revamping ICB ratings
Insider tales and must-read analysis on how integration is reshaping health and care systems, NHS providers, primary care, and commissioning. This week by deputy editor Dave West.
Revealed: The ICBs paying a third of care home bills late
Several commissioning boards have been routinely failing to pay the money they owe to care homes in a timely fashion.
Two more ICBs sued over procurement by NHS trusts
An NHS trust and two social enterprises are taking legal action over a £300m procurement for children’s community health services which they say raises ‘significant concerns about safety’.
Core bed numbers fall in seven systems, despite NHSE plan
The number of ‘core’ acute beds has fallen in seven health systems since the summer, according to official sitrep data.
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.
The Download: The case for proper population health management
The fortnightly newsletter that unpacks system leaders’ priorities for digital technology and the impact they are having on delivering health services. This week written by senior correspondent Nick Carding. Contact HSJ in confidence here.
Medicines optimisation: How should value be measured?
The panel at a recent HSJ webinar argued value in medicine goes far beyond a review of the price tag – and expressed optimism that the ICS landscape presents opportunities to develop that broader understanding
‘Cosy’ health and care relationships should be avoided, says NHSE director
Integrated care systems ‘where everybody’s getting on well’ tend to avoid tackling ‘uncomfortable’ – but critical – issues, according to NHS England’s national director of intermediate care and rehabilitation.
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.