All Comment articles
View all stories of the same content type.
-
CommentWe need shared accountability for neurology care
The publication of NHS England’s neurology service specification represents a pivotal opportunity to transform care for millions, but success depends on sustained local leadership and implementation beyond organisational boundaries
-
CommentHow further education can relieve pressure on the NHS
Further education colleges across England are already delivering successful preventive health initiatives but remain underutilised and underfunded, according to a new report that calls for better partnership working to ease NHS pressures
-
CommentChristmas means cyber attacks
The NHS’s annual December stress test reveals a fundamental flaw in cyber governance: when competing pressures from security teams, IT departments, clinical services and boards collide, critical vulnerabilities are identified but cannot be addressed, creating a predictable pattern of unresolved risk
-
CommentLeaders must be realistic as well as compassionate
More than a decade of training leaders in compassionate behaviours is failing under NHS pressures. A new ‘realistic leadership’ model offers clarity, presence and resilience as the internal foundation that compassion needs to survive
-
CommentWaiting list starts growing again
The trajectory towards 18 weeks recovery is getting steeper, says Rob Findlay
-
CommentThe Friends and Family Test must be reformed
Chris Graham makes the case for reforming the NHS Friends and Family Test to support the delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan and its aspirations to amplify the patient voice
-
CommentIn search of clarity about integrated health organisations
Integrated health organisations represent a fundamentally different way of commissioning care, but NHS oversight metrics and league tables are pulling in the opposite direction of the collaboration they require to succeed, analysis suggests
-
CommentMSK drives England’s biggest health inequality gap
Analysis shows musculoskeletal conditions create England’s largest health inequality gap, with community physiotherapy offering the best route to tackling preventable ill health in deprived areas
-
CommentDoes the NHS need to make digital integration so hard?
The integration of NHS login with the Digital Health Passport platform will help transform medication adherence and self-management for young people with conditions such as asthma and epilepsy, writes Matt Bourne
-
CommentAccountability for NHS reform is missing at a local level
The accountability framework outlined by Patricia Hewitt in her 2023 report is complex and poorly understood by ICSs. To deliver the 10-YHP’s ambition, local accountability should be strengthened, writes Barbara Harpham
-
CommentHow to turn the tide on out of area placements
Hundreds of mental health patients are still sent far from home despite national targets. NHS trusts show that reducing out-of-area placements hinges on data, partnerships and patient voice
-
CommentThe NHS must stop worshipping false idols if it wishes to improve
The NHS has clung to false hopes that interventions, prevention programmes and AI will unlock spare cash, but real change requires decommissioning services and moving money, not just reducing activity
-
CommentThe cyber security risk you are (probably) overlooking
The new assessment framework strengthens NHS cyber security, but increased recognition of the impact of staff behaviour is vital if the service is to be properly protected
-
CommentImproving performance means investing in managers
A new report argues that professionalising NHS management is essential for delivering the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, as public satisfaction hits record lows and workforce strain intensifies across the service
-
CommentEffective remote monitoring requires much more than choosing the right tech
A major evaluation of remote blood pressure monitoring reveals 10 key lessons for the NHS, highlighting that effective implementation requires more than just deploying technology – it needs systems that patients and staff trust, understand and value
-
CommentThe NHS must be more willing to accept financial gifts
The network of NHS charities donates £1.5m every day to healthcare, but could raise billions more annually if trusts changed their approach, argues NHS Charities Together CEO Ellie Orton
-
CommentI’m no longer an NHSE director but I’ve not finished trying to improve care
Thrombectomy transforms stroke recovery, yet limited access and regional gaps mean many UK patients still miss this vital, disability-preventing treatment, writes Professor Sir Steve Powis
-
CommentEffective neighbourhood care relies on connecting community IT
Technology should make work easier for frontline clinicians and care staff, enabling better coordination between GPs, community nurses, social care workers and voluntary sector partners in neighbourhood settings, argues Dr Harpreet Sood
-
CommentChildren’s services are the stress test for the government’s plans
Children’s services reveal whether the 10-Year Health Plan is real, exposing the gaps in funding, coordination and data that families face
-
CommentA clinically trained health secretary would end industrial unrest in the NHS
Amid escalating NHS strikes, a clinician-led health department could reshape negotiations, restore trust, and shift government understanding of frontline realities