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.
ICB pauses referrals to service as expansion is ‘unaffordable’
A mental health trust has stopped accepting ADHD referrals for many adults, after integrated care board chiefs warned it was “unaffordable” to expand the service due to financial pressures, HSJ understands.
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.
Eleven ICSs warned of ‘significant concern’ about overspending
Around three quarters of England’s 42 integrated care systems have been unable to set balanced budgets for 2024-25, NHS England has revealed.
CFO departed trust after senior staff and ICB ‘lost confidence’
A trust’s chief financial officer left the role shortly after senior staff told the chief executive they had “lost confidence” in the CFO, in an apparent row over planned cuts to clinical staff, HSJ can reveal.
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.
Exclusive: NHSE begins to claw back funding from ICSs to pay off historic debts
Three-quarters of integrated care systems face funding cuts of up to £20m as a result of NHS England’s insistence they start paying back overspends from previous years, HSJ analysis has discovered.
CEO interview: Jane Halpin, chief executive, Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board
This is the latest in a series of interviews with chief executives, which are available exclusively to HSJ Insight subscribers.
GP takes over community trust as new chair
A GP has been named as the new chair of a community trust in the East of England.
£500m outsourcing deal finalised after confidential settlement
System leaders in Hertfordshire have settled a lawsuit brought by two companies part owned by an NHS trust in a neighbouring area, allowing a £500m pathology contract to be awarded to their preferred supplier.
The Integrator: Doing more to fix general practice
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.
‘Untenable stalemate’ is halting GP practice upgrades, say ICBs
An “untenable stalemate” in funding has virtually halted GP practice building work, despite national commitments to expand primary care, multiple NHS organisations are warning.
‘Inadequate’ action on cap-ex changes leading to ‘suboptimal’ decisions
Capital spending plans in some health systems are being adversely impacted by an accounting change that was not supposed to affect operational decisions.
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.
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.
ICB sued by trust over £500m deal
A company part-run by an NHS trust has launched a legal challenge against a neighbouring integrated care board over a £500m pathology contract.
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.
Trust boss: Minority staff ‘could be put off applying’ for teams which lack diversity
A trust chief executive has said people from minority ethnic backgrounds “could be put off applying” for roles in teams which lack diversity.
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.
ICB drops procurement legally challenged by supplier
An integrated care board has dropped its procurement of a digital system after a health technology supplier launched a legal challenge accusing the ICB of breaking purchasing rules.