HSJ Podcast: Return of the control totals
NHS England has announced incentives and penalties in a bid to improve the health system’s financial plans, so this week we discuss what the new regime involves and if it will make any difference to the national £3bn deficit.
New hospital set to open with £40m running cost gap
A new hospital which has taken over a decade to deliver will open without all the funding needed to run it, the trust’s chief executive has warned.
‘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.
Trusts’ performance on key recovery target revealed
Ten trusts have just 1 per cent or fewer of their outpatients on “patient initiated follow-up” pathways, against a target of 5 per cent, official data suggests.
Revealed: Trusts most reliant on oil for their energy
Oil consumption across the NHS estate has seen its largest annual increase in a decade, as trusts turn to the fuel for emergencies and surges in demand.
More trusts discover their buildings have faulty concrete
Thirteen more NHS hospitals have identified a potentially unsafe form of concrete in their buildings, causing closures and disruption to wards.
Thirty trusts report more 12-hour waits, despite national improvement
Long A&E waits have got worse at more than one in five acute trusts, despite an improving trend nationally.
Leak reveals trust omitting two-year waits from reported figures
A hospital trust has been breaching national guidance by excluding some long waiters from its reported waiting list figures, in a move experts warned could put patient safety at serious risk.
Five trust CEOs were paid more than £300,000 last year
Several trust chief executives were paid more than £300,000 in 2022-23, including adjustments for previous underpayments, pay in lieu of pension contributions, and redundancy packages.
Revealed: Trusts underperforming on infant mortality
The number of trusts outperforming their peers on infant mortality has fallen, according to a national audit.
Former NHSE chief named chair of two more trusts
A former NHS chief executive is taking the helm at two more acute trusts in the West Midlands, it has been announced.
‘Overheating’ incidents nearly double across NHS estates
The number of overheating incidents in clinical areas reported by NHS trusts has almost doubled over the last five years, with directors saying ageing estates make them vulnerable to extreme weather events.
‘Landmark’ integrated trust faces axe
Health leaders in the Midlands are considering winding down or merging an NHS trust that was supposed to hold a ‘landmark’ integrated care contract worth £360m, according to trust papers.
NHS leaders fear ambulance strike ‘calm’ will not last
The first NHS ambulance strike for 32 years appears not to have had any major impact so far.
NHS leaders ‘filled with dread’ ahead of ambulance strike
National, system and trust leaders have told HSJ they fear for the safety of patients and the wellbeing of staff as the NHS experiences its first ambulance strike for 32 years.
Ex-hospital chief takes over new trust
A former acute boss is returning to NHS management to lead a mental health and community services trust.
Big rise in trusts ‘red rated’ for infant mortality
Nearly a fifth of trusts providing maternity care have been red rated for their infant mortality rates in a national audit.
Former NHSE chief made chair of two trusts
Two acute trusts in the Black Country are to share a former NHS England chief executive as their joint chair.
Former NHSE chief executive steps down as trust chair
A former CEO of NHS England is stepping down from his position as chair of an acute hospital trust.