All Government/DH policy articles – Page 3
-
CommentThe NHS’s digital accountability gap
NHS England’s digital drive risks hollowing accountability: outsourcing and AI can expand assurance capacity, but cannot absorb clinical risk, reputational exposure or the state’s ultimate responsibility
-
NewsExclusive: £120m ‘sprint’ will drive last-ditch attempt to hit elective target
NHS England plans to spend around £120m on a “sprint” exercise in a bid to hit its main elective target for this year by March, HSJ can reveal.
-
CommentNHS care should be more personal as well as personalised
The NHS has long promised person-centred care, but the latest evidence suggests delivery still falls short of intent
-
CommentRespiratory care is on life support
The impact of this year’s winter pressures on the health system’s overburdened urgent and emergency care services again highlights the urgent need to improve NHS respiratory care
-
Expert BriefingThe Integrator: Has the left shift been left behind?
Insider tales and must-read analysis on how integration is reshaping health and care systems, NHS providers, primary care, and commissioning. This week by primary care correspondent Caitlin Tilley.
-
CommentWhen safety does not sell
Despite decades of inquiries and warnings, the NHS continues to tolerate predictable medication harm, revealing a system better at analysing failure than preventing it
-
NewsAfC pay award above ‘affordability’ level fails to satisfy unions
The government’s 2026-27 pay award for Agenda for Change staff will cost the NHS an extra £1.2bn and has been described as “insulting” by the service’s largest unions.
-
CommentThe risks that plans for an NHS Online hospital are ignoring
The proposed NHS Online hospital risks confusing speed with safety, embedding remote-first care in areas where clinical adequacy depends on physical examination, and losing clear accountability
-
NewsLong A&E waits worst on record
Long A&E waits last month hit their highest level since public records began, as NHS England warns it’s battling its “busiest winter on record”.
-
Expert BriefingImPatient: From having a voice to being put on mute
Patient (Lived Experience) Leadership is about those affected by life-changing illness, injury or disability who want to influence change through being equal partners in decision making. In this monthly expert briefing, patient leadership champion David Gilbert picks out the most significant developments in a field of increasing relevance to the ...
-
NewsNo neighbourhood provider contracts for another year
None of the neighbourhood contracts proposed in the 10-Year Health Plan will go live until at least April 2027, HSJ understands.
-
NewsNot only doctors who need new ‘deal’ from NHS, says Mackey
The NHS needs a “reset” of its “deal” with all of its staff – improving working conditions in return for performance and productivity – its CEO has said.
-
CommentCan health policy really be evidence-based?
Research evidence is indispensable in NHS decision-making, but it was never designed to answer the kinds of contextual, system-level choices boards and policymakers must make
-
CommentWe risk creating a two-tier precision health service
Precision health can shift the NHS towards prediction and prevention, but success depends on investment, data, skills and fair access
-
Expert BriefingThe Download: War and peace
The weekly newsletter that unpacks system leaders’ priorities for digital technology and the impact they are having on delivering health services. This week, written by Joe Talora. Contact HSJ in confidence here.
-
CommentSlow NHS decision-making makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks
When time-critical risks escalate, NHS governance that treats delay as neutral can unintentionally amplify harm and undermine patient safety
-
NewsA&Es to open dedicated areas for ‘extended stay’ patients
“Extended emergency medicine” areas will be opened in hospitals for A&E patients whose care can’t be turned around within the four-hour target, according to new national guidance.
-
NewsNHSE to revive 2000s-style improvement collaboratives
NHS England plans to revive compulsory “structured improvement collaboratives” for outpatients, urgent and emergency care, and frailty services – in an echo of the Modernisation Agency approach of the 2000s.
-
CommentBlaming individuals for care failures is sometimes the right response
The Great Ormond Street scandal exposes a growing imbalance in NHS patient safety policy. In moving away from blame, the system has also lost sight of individual competence, leadership responsibility, and the non-negotiables needed to prevent serious harm
-
Expert BriefingPatient Safety Watch: Jeremy Hunt’s sobering realisation about bureaucracy and box ticking
HSJ hosts the Patient Safety Watch newsletter, written by Patient Safety Watch chair Jeremy Hunt