All Comment articles – Page 4
-
CommentThe 10 best HSJ comment pieces of 2025
HSJ published more than 150 comment pieces from external contributors this year. These are chosen – and occasionally commissioned – by me
-
CommentA brighter future is possible in 2026
Pressures from industrial action, morale and maternity safety concerns are colliding with once-in-a-generation transformation – meaning 2026 will be a defining year, says Daniel Elkeles
-
CommentThe growing influence of mayors could help fight health inequalities
The King’s Fund and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies have been looking at how to ensure that English devolution fulfils its potential for reducing health inequalities. There are three key areas that need to be addressed if the emerging relationship between ICSs, ICBs and strategic authorities is to help ...
-
CommentWhy the NHS chooses to downplay cyber attacks
Improving NHS cyber resilience requires governance systems that acknowledge how people actually communicate and decide under pressure, writes Vsevolod Shabad
-
CommentThe toxic overdiagnosis narrative is a distraction from the mental health crisis
Rising mental distress demands evidence, compassion and reform, not culture wars, denial or barriers to support for young people, writes Sarah Hughes
-
CommentMedical students can provide unique insight into hospital effectiveness
As the NHS faces a workforce crisis, excluding medical students risks ignoring insights crucial to training reform, retention, and future policy decisions
-
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