New hospitals’ design ‘unlikely’ to deliver patient benefits, says £1bn project
Government plans to standardise designs of new hospitals will be “unlikely” to deliver any benefits to patients at one of its biggest projects, according to the teaching trust overseeing the scheme.
‘Decomposing bodies’ discovered at multiple hospitals
Bodies are being left to deteriorate and in some cases decompose in hospital mortuaries, often because of a lack of freezer space, HSJ has found.
Trusts with ‘distressing’ mixed-sex ward breaches blame poor estates
The trusts with the worst breach rates of mixed-sex ward rules in hospitals are revealed today by HSJ analysis after national levels hit a record high in 2023-24.
Exclusive: Maternity delays spark thousands of safety alerts each year
Maternity departments are raising thousands of safety reports every year about delayed inductions of labour, HSJ can reveal.
Bid to speed up selected ‘new hospitals’
Some of the schemes within the “40 new hospitals” programme could be allowed to abandon the requirement for standard design and centralised procurement, in a bid to speed the projects up.
As a trust chair I'm optimistic, despite the tough times
Though the NHS is facing several challenges, a spate of new projects in West Yorkshire that can spark innovation drawing national and international investment gives a reason to be hopeful about the future, writes Dame Linda Pollard
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.
Sloman takes job with ex-minister’s firm
NHS England’s former chief operating officer Sir David Sloman has taken another private sector position, after stepping down in September.
Following the Money: ICS shuns ‘payment by results’ in favour of own model
HSJ’s expert briefing on NHS finances, savings and efforts to get back in the black. By finance correspondent Henry Anderson.
Trusts’ row over stroke services sparks ‘significant safety’ concerns
An ongoing row between a major trust and its smaller neighbour over the care of acute stroke patients is leading to ‘significant’ patient safety risks, it has been warned.
Revealed: Trusts underperforming on infant mortality
The number of trusts outperforming their peers on infant mortality has fallen, according to a national audit.
NHSE intervenes as ICS flags worsening financial deficit
An integrated care system deemed to be a relatively strong performer is now forecasting a £25m deficit, after signing up to a breakeven plan at the start of the year, its CEO has said.
Revealed: 60pc of trusts have a ‘first-time’ CEO
Nearly two-thirds of trusts have a ‘first-time’ chief executive, while one-third of the sector’s CEOs have been in their current post for 18 months or less, following a period of remarkable turnover since the covid crisis.
Too much emphasis placed on CEO ‘success or failure’ says new chief
A chief executive of a major acute trust has said much of the ‘emphasis’ placed on CEOs represents an ‘outdated model of leadership’.
Live bed state: reducing the strain on wards and staff at Leeds Teaching Hospitals
With current bed occupancy levels above 95 per cent, electronic bed and capacity management can help the NHS fix the problem, writes Stephen Bush
Radiographers warn next strike could hit 100 trusts
The Society of Radiographers is considering reballoting members in an effort to significantly increase the scope of its industrial action, the union’s director of industrial strategy has told HSJ.
Revealed: The trusts offering ‘BMA rates’ to doctors covering strikes
Around a quarter of acute trusts paid consultants premium rates to provide strike cover during the first two junior doctors’ walkouts, broadly matching the pay levels demanded by the British Medical Association’s ‘rate card’, HSJ research has found.
Trusts to award £500m pathology contract after legal challenge dropped
A pharma and diagnostics firm has dropped its bid to reverse a decision by three acute trusts to award a multimillion pound pathology contract to a competitor.
Three trusts taken to High Court in £475m contract row
A private provider has accused three acute trusts of breaking procurement rules over how they handled bids for a contract worth up to £475m to supply them with managed pathology services.