Trust fined £1.7m for maternity care failures
An acute trust has been fined £1.7m – one of the largest penalties to date – after multiple failings in connection with the deaths of three babies under its care.
New push to stop sending patients ‘out of area’ after homicides
NHS England has told trust, system and regional leaders to push ahead with plans to eliminate out-of-area placements within three years, in response to an independent review into the care of a man who killed three people while being treated by a Nottinghamshire mental health trust.
ICBs missing checks on vulnerable children
Integrated care boards are warning they are failing to carry out health checks for vulnerable children in care because of a lack of paediatricians and rising demand, HSJ has found.
Review uncovers ‘chaos’ at trust caring for man who killed three
A wide range of corporate failings contributed towards the climate in which a mental health patient killed three people in Nottingham in 2023, a review commissioned by NHS England has concluded.
Emergency prescribing and ‘shared care’ withdrawn by GPs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”.
Staff at care scandal trust have ‘little left to give’ as spending controls bite
Staff at a scandal-hit trust feel “undervalued and without any autonomy” due to newly imposed financial controls, according to internal emails.
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
Nineteen hospitals targeted for ‘urgent support’ before winter
NHS England has revealed the hospitals it is targeting for “urgent support” to avoid deterioration in emergency care performance ahead of winter.
‘Conflict of interest’ concerns over consultants hired to fix NHS finances
Concerns have been raised that consultants advising systems on savings plans could be “marking their own homework”, with many of the firms having already done similar exercises for the same organisations.
Providers ordered to review care models after killing of three people by patient
NHS England has ordered providers to review their care models for patients with serious mental illnesses following an investigation into the killing of three people by a patient in Nottingham last June.
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.
ICS admits ‘doubts’ it can fix decade-old deficit by 2026
A health system says its decade-old financial deficit is “hampering” its ability to tackle inequalities, after NHS England ordered it to sign legal “undertakings” to improve.
Consultants sent in to tackle overspending at nine ICSs
NHS England has ordered nine integrated care systems to bring in management consultants to find ways to immediately bring down spending because of concerns over their finances, 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.
Leak reveals systems planning to cut permanent staff
NHS organisations across two integrated care systems are planning a cut to their total substantive workforce this year, as part of plans to save money.
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.
ICSs where staffing has grown by a quarter revealed
The NHS increased its substantive workforce by around 18 per cent over the past four years, which was almost double the rate of increase over the previous period.
Seven more avoidable sepsis deaths spark coroner warnings
Preventable deaths of seven people from sepsis – including four children – have prompted coroners to flag major concerns about NHS services’ management of the condition.