This week we analyse the Spring Budget and what it means for the NHS, in particular the pensions tax overhaul. We cover why Jeremy Hunt has gone for such an expensive fix and what impact it will have on the health service and its ability to retain experienced doctors. Also this week, our insights into three days of junior doctors’ strikes and more on the ongoing BMA ‘rate card’ controversy ..read more

This year’s NHS staff survey results have landed, so on this episode, we bring you the need-to-know findings and insights into how the NHS workforce are feeling. Our team is joined by Chris Graham, the chief executive of the Picker Institute –  the charity that organises the survey – and we discuss everything from the worrying drop in staff feeling safe to report clinical errors, to the shocking results once again reported by ambulance trusts. Also with Annabelle Collins, Alison Moore and Emily Townsend ..read more

Could foundation trusts be hindering the success of integrated care systems? Chair of Bolton FT Donna Hall thinks so, and argues its time to scrap them. We discuss the merits of this and also whether integrated care systems’ strategies are too much “motherhood and apple pie” and not enough substance. Also this week, an update on ICS finances, after its revealed 14 systems are now in the red ..read more

Fresh from starting work as NHS Providers' new chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley joins HSJ Health Check to talk about collaboration, strikes, reform and more. We ask the former Leeds Hospitals chief why he moved to a national role, and what building a successful provider collaborative looks like in practice. He also discusses the long haul of improvement facing the service, arguments for fundamental reform, and why we need NHS Providers. With HSJ's Annabelle Collins, Dave West and Ben Clover ..read more

The debate over single patient rooms has raged for many years, but emerging news from Liverpool’s new hospital suggests it could be a game-changer for cutting patients’ length of stay. We discuss the impact of the much-maligned city trust’s new hospital on patient flow. Also this week – we hear about the growing frustration in Manchester over the delay to the New Hospitals Programme, and we analyse our exclusive interview with the CEO of scandal-hit Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. Featuring Lawrence Dunhill, Nicholas Carding, Zoe Tidman and Emily Townsend ..read more

An HSJ Investigation has revealed trusts are denying staff employed by their wholly owned subsidiary companies the pay and conditions offered to other staff. We discuss more about how and why this forgotten group of the workforce are missing out. Also this week – the trust that sacked a whistleblower who warned them about potential patient harm has been told to pay out more than £200,000. We talk in more detail about this case and the questions it raises about whistleblowing in the NHS ..read more

Bids are open for NHS England’s new £480m national data platform – will it make the NHS better connected and more efficient, or is it a national vanity project? We also discuss who the successful bidders might be. And in recent weeks the NHS has been given its marching orders for the next financial year, in the form of the planning guidance and integrated care systems’ financial allocations. We discuss what this tells us about ministerial ambitions for the health service and how the guidance connects with the ongoing Hewitt Review. Featuring Nick Carding, Dave West and Annabelle Collins ..read more

NHS trusts have been given 20 days by NHS England to book in all patients who have been waiting longer than 78 weeks for their elective appointment. We discuss the thinking behind this and how trusts might tackle this new challenge without any more money or resources. Also we unpack the latest performance data, which confirmed December was the worst on record for multiple key measures ..read more

The HSJ team make their predictions for what the New Year could bring for the health service, including a return to deficits, tough times for the hospital building programme and a big year for mental health reform. Thanks for listening to the Health Check podcast this year and Happy Holidays from all at HSJ.What 2023 has in store for the NHS ..read more

On this episode our team brings you the very latest news and analysis of the strike action hitting the NHS this week. We cover how we got to this point, what NHS leaders are doing to mitigate patient harm and why some are even more worried about next week’s ambulance strike. Send views, questions, and confidential tips about the strikes to our journalists via annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk ..read more