Appointing trust leaders as ICB chiefs ‘essential’ to region’s success
The large size of integrated care systems in the North East and Yorkshire region — and the ex-trust CEO leaders they attracted — has underpinned their relatively strong performance, a new report suggests.
One of NHS’s top chairs to stand down
One of the NHS’s most influential chairs is standing down after over a decade in post at a large teaching hospital trust.
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.
Cutting hospital staff won’t help productivity, says ICB chief
The leader of an integrated care board has dismissed a “narrative” that the NHS can become more productive by cutting hospital staff numbers.
Dispute between trust directors triggers NHSE enforcement action
NHS England has taken formal enforcement action against a trust after expressing “significant concerns” over a “deterioration” in how its board operates.
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.
Hospitals could see 10% hike in referrals under GP action
Some areas could receive at least 10 per cent more referrals — “crippling” their attempts at elective recovery — if all GP practices stopped diverting some patients with “specialist advice and guidance”, HSJ analysis shows.
NHS needs ‘financial reset’, says leading CEO
A leading system CEO has called for a “financial reset” for the NHS and a move away from using 2019-20 as the baseline against which elective recovery is measured.
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.
Following the Money: Bringing back capital punishment
HSJ’s expert briefing on NHS finances, savings and efforts to get back in the black. By finance correspondent Henry Anderson.
ICS drops alternative payment system in favour of ‘payment by results’
A health system that trialled an innovative funding mechanism that deviated significantly from “payment by results” has dropped the scheme after just one year.
Trust is waging ‘witch hunt’ against own director, alleges MP
An MP has accused the leadership of her local trust of orchestrating a “witch hunt” against one of its own directors and manipulating a recruitment process to ensure the CEO’s “preferred” candidate was shortlisted for an executive position.
Two more directors accuse trust leaders of ‘Islamophobia’
Two more non-executive directors have criticised the leaders of Bradford Teaching Hospitals, accusing them of using “Islamophobic tropes” and retaliating against “dissenting opinion”.
Trust’s treatment of Muslims heavily criticised by board director
A board director has publicly criticised his trust for its treatment of Muslim staff and patients.
Revealed: The ICBs most reliant on private hospitals
Up to 20 per cent of NHS elective patients are now being treated by private hospitals in some areas, analysis by HSJ suggests.
ICS says government must act on ‘crisis’ in children’s services
An integrated care system has called on government to provide adequate funding to deal with a “crisis” in children’s services.
London gets well over ‘fair share’ of specialised services while rural areas miss out
People in some more rural areas are missing out on specialist treatments they should be getting, while Londoners are receiving a lot more than their “fair share”, new NHS England figures suggest.
Leeds launches innovative remote monitoring trial for elderly care
A remote monitoring trial in Leeds will help gain insights on how best to support older people living at home with long-term conditions
Trust admits errors over dispute with chair
A hospital trust whose chair quit after publicly raising serious concerns about the chief executive has admitted shortcomings in how it handled the situation.