HSJ Health Check Podcast
HSJ Health Check: Weekly analysis of the biggest issues in health policy and leadership, from HSJ’s expert journalists. The go to place for an independent, informed and immediate take on health and care news.
You can listen on the web app above, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and other popular podcast platforms.
Latest Episodes
HSJ Podcast: Trust us, we’re the ICB
This week we talk about why an integrated care board in the North West is risking the wrath of GPs after cutting back its digital offering, in a move that has also raised concerns about its procurement practices.
HSJ Podcast: Where the Thirlwall inquiry went wrong
This week we discuss the final conclusions of the Thirlwall Inquiry, which examined the failings surrounding the murder and attempted murder of babies by Lucy Letby.
HSJ Podcast: AI’s new rulebook
On this episode the tech bureau joins Annabelle to discuss the final report from the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare – which had promised to deliver a “new regulatory rulebook”.
HSJ Podcast: Decisions that must be made this autumn
This week we talk about some of the big decisions that need to be made this autumn, at a time when the NHS is slipping down the government’s list of priorities.
HSJ Podcast: Putting advice and guidance on ice
This week the national safety watchdog effectively called for a pause in NHS England’s “advice and guidance” rollout after linking it to two deaths.
HSJ Podcast: The true cost of the FDP
HSJ Health Check covers two significant tech stories – the latest on the federated data platform, and safety concerns over AI – and the threat to rural maternity units.
HSJ Podcast: ‘Blindsided’ NHS England intervenes over record snooping
“I had no idea this happened. Were we informed? I am very concerned about duty of candour here… Why weren’t the victims informed immediately?”
HSJ Podcast: Burnham’s plan to save billions for the NHS
This week, we’re talking about the latest on neighbourhood health, and what prime minister Andy Burnham’s push for social care reform means for the NHS.
HSJ Podcast: The ICB redundancy row
This week we discuss why a £300,000 exit payment to a former ICB CEO has proved so controversial, and how NHS England has tried to justify it.
HSJ Podcast: The doctor who’s fought maternity scandals for a decade
Now the dust has settled on two major maternity reviews, HSJ Health Check is joined by Bill Kirkup to discuss what happens next.
HSJ Podcast: The new strike threat
Many breathed a sigh of relief when the resident doctors accepted the latest government pay offer, putting an end to years of strikes. However, just a week later, consultants voted for industrial action.
HSJ Podcast: Solving the £20bn productivity puzzle
This week, Dave West and Henry Anderson are joined by health economist Anita Charlesworth, who is co-chairing a commission into NHS productivity for the Health Foundation.
HSJ Podcast: What next after Nottingham
NHS maternity services are again in the spotlight after an independent review revealed serious, systemic failings at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.
HSJ Podcast: Who runs the NHS?
Sparks are flying over how the centre of the NHS will be run once NHS England is wound up next year. HSJ Health Check discusses the options and why they matter, as well as our exclusive interview with the minister leading the changes through Parliament.
HSJ Podcast: How racism hurts NHS services
We talk staff, racism, the funding squeeze and trust groups on this week’s HSJ Health Check, live from NHS ConfedExpo in Manchester.
HSJ Podcast: The NHS staff who can’t be civil servants
Hundreds of non-British NHS England staff face losing their jobs because their nationality prevents them working in the civil service.
HSJ Podcast: Inside the Southport victims’ privacy breach
On this week’s podcast, with increasing examples of staff accessing patient records inappropriately, we ask how widespread this practice really is - and whether regulators need to do more.
HSJ Podcast: Who controls patients’ data?
This week, we talk more about the government’s plans for a new “single patient record” - the legislation for which was in last week’s Health Bill - and why primary care could be a stumbling block.
HSJ Podcast: Wes publishes his Health Bill and quits – where does it leave the NHS?
We discuss Wes Streeting’s tumultuous 22 months in charge – and analyse the Health Bill he has left in his wake, which was published on Thursday.
HSJ Podcast: The story behind HSJ’s Top 50 CEOs
This week we discuss HSJ’s Top 50 CEOs list – who topped the annual ranking of trust bosses, as well as notable trends and a behind the scenes peek at the judging process.
HSJ Podcast: Chatbot turned therapist
Millions of people are turning to AI chatbots to manage their mental health, driven by a combination of long waiting lists and not meeting clinical thresholds for treatment.
HSJ Podcast: What happens when the chair/CEO relationship breaks down
On this week’s podcast, we talk about relationships between CEOs and chairs - and why the CEO of East Kent Hospitals has not been at work since mid-November.
HSJ Podcast: GPs feel the squeeze
HSJ Health Check discusses the latest squeeze on GP resources, and controversy over reform of referral processes.
HSJ Podcast: Mackey’s first year
We discuss Sir Jim Mackey’s first year as NHS England chief executive, and his interview with HSJ in which he sets out plans for 2026-27.
HSJ Podcast: NHSE’s tough message on tech
Tech is one of the most important parts of the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, but this week NHS England has warned a leadership void is hampering progress and investment.
HSJ Podcast: Bob Wachter on healthcare's AI revolution
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan interviews US physician Bob Wachter about his new book, A Giant Leap, on AI’s impact on healthcare.
HSJ Podcast: Why staff morale is falling
NHS staff are less likely to recommend their employer as a place to work, not as confident about raising concerns and increasingly say they would not want relatives to be treated at their trust.
HSJ Podcast: The remaking – or breaking – of the ‘local state’
Leading ICB and council CEOs join HSJ Health Check to talk about the earthquake that is shaking relationships between local government and the NHS.
HSJ Podcast: Has Baroness Amos been set up to fail?
NHS maternity care continues to be under the spotlight, so on this week’s episode, we unpick the web of different national reviews and how trusts could be asked to improve services.
HSJ Podcast: A&Es brace for ‘mad March’
Hospitals are being told by NHS England to focus on easy wins to hit this financial year’s A&E targets, so on this episode we unpick what trusts are being asked to do and whether this will get them over the line by the end of March.
HSJ Podcast: The secret plan for ICBs, and other restructure woes
This week, we cover a mysterious update to the “model ICB” blueprint that hasn’t been formally published or endorsed by NHS England, but instead passed in whispers.
HSJ Podcast: Lord Hunt on the Health Bill clashes to come
On this episode we’re joined by Lord Philip Hunt of King’s Heath, a minister in the Labour government until last year, and someone who has played a huge role in NHS leadership.
HSJ Podcast: The trust CEO who became a very expensive whistleblower
On this episode, we cover one of the most expensive employment tribunals in the NHS and why a trust must pay its former chief executive £1.4m in damages.
HSJ Podcast: Wes’ waiting list wobble
On this episode, we’re talking about the tricky balancing act between cutting waiting lists and keeping finances under control, after Wes Streeting warned this week that some trusts have tried to cut deficits too sharply.
HSJ Podcast: What’s in store for the NHS in 2026?
It’s time for the HSJ team to take stock and make their predictions for what the new year could bring for the NHS, from the survival of Healthwatch, to why the NHS App could be in for a tough year.
HSJ Podcast: How to abolish NHS England
This week we bring you the latest in our series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill.
HSJ Podcast: The big waiting list clean-up
The government made bringing down elective waits its key target for the NHS, and ministers often celebrate how much the list has fallen since Labour came to power.
HSJ Podcast: The recipe for a new NHS CEO
Sir Jim Mackey is expected to end his tenure as “transition CEO” of NHS England next year, so we discuss what sort of candidate might be up for the “impossible” job of running the health service.
HSJ Podcast: Money troubles
This week Ben Clover fills in for Annabelle Collins and is joined by Ella Devereux and Zoe Tidman.
HSJ Podcast: Wes almost says sorry
NHS England has finally launched its long-delayed voluntary redundancy scheme. In this episode, we break down everything we know so far – and the key questions that remain.
HSJ Podcast: Critical incident
This week the team look at what happens when the second most stressful thing that can happen to a trust coincides with winter pressures.
HSJ Podcast: Planning guidance explained – with NHS Providers’ CEO
Now that NHS England has published its planning guidance – rechristened the “medium-term planning framework” – we look at what it will mean for the service, with guest Daniel Elkeles, CEO of NHS Providers.
HSJ Podcast: How the Leeds Way went wrong
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, one of the biggest acute providers in Europe, was seen as an example of how a trust can turn things around, despite its size and complexity.
HSJ Podcast: Can patients save the NHS?
This week, the HSJ Health Check podcast explores how Labour hopes a fundamental change in the relationship between patients and services can turn the NHS around.
HSJ Podcast: The NHS’s ugly baby
This week we take a look at two of the hottest topics in the NHS – productivity and technology.
HSJ Podcast: What Ian Dodge learned about legislation
The HSJ Health Check podcast is tracking development of the government’s planned Health Bill. This week, we talk to Ian Dodge, who shaped several major pieces of NHS legislation as long-serving policy lead at NHS England and the Department of Health.
HSJ Podcast: Why the NHS is going private for cancer checks
This week we discuss an exclusive story about a major expansion of cancer testing centres that will see the private sector take on a bigger role delivering NHS services.
HSJ Podcast: ICB chiefs jump ship
Two more integrated care board chief executives have resigned this week, the latest in a string of departures as their role undergoes major change.
HSJ Podcast: How to win the (NHS) league
The HSJ Health Check podcast returns this week, just as NHS England unveils new performance rankings for every trust in England.
HSJ Podcast: Deficits are cancelled
This week, we cover what is happening with the more than £2bn that NHS England wants to take off overspending trusts.
HSJ Podcast: Mackey vs the BMA
This week the HSJ team looks at the upcoming resident doctors’ strike, plus how satisfied the public is with primary care.
HSJ Podcast: Spending too much on safety
This week Penny Dash’s long-awaited review into safety and quality put cost-effectiveness at the heart of implementing future recommendations from reviews and inquiries.
HSJ Podcast: A profound disappointment
In the wake of yesterday’s 10-Year Health Plan, Alastair McLellan and Dave West cover what really matters in the 150-page document – and HSJ’s editor argues it disappoints on key tests.
HSJ Podcast: NHS England’s hard line on AI
This week, we cover concerns about the safety of certain AI technology used in the NHS, as NHS England tries to exert order over a chaotic market.
HSJ Podcast: Who’s really in charge of neighbourhood health?
The HSJ Health Check podcast explores the evolving concept of neighbourhood health, the question marks over who will lead in each area, and why integrated care boards still have an important role to play.
HSJ Podcast: How the government should deal with another doctors’ strike
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan sits down with NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor during this year’s ConfedExpo conference, which has been happening at the same time as the chancellor’s spending review.
HSJ Podcast: The making of a Health Bill – your dream legislation
This week we bring you the latest in our series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill.
HSJ Podcast: Why some NHS staff are facing a pay cut
Earlier this month, the government announced a “carrot and stick” approach to senior manager pay, so this week we go into the detail about what this will mean in practice and how it could affect recruitment to a workforce already facing a lot of churn.
HSJ Podcast: The state of maternity services
This week, the team look at two long-running and contentious issues in the NHS.
HSJ Podcast: Why AI isn’t taking off in the NHS
In many areas the NHS is still in the foothills when it comes to using artificial intelligence, with most of the innovation found in diagnostics and speech dictation.
HSJ Podcast: ICBs get their marching orders
NHS England has revealed its new “model ICB blueprint”, which will see more than a dozen functions transferring out of integrated care boards and includes requirements to cut the number of board members.
HSJ Podcast: The making of a Health Bill – part 1
The first in an occasional series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill, which is due to bring about the biggest change in the central running of the NHS for more than a decade.
HSJ Podcast: What to do about the NHS’s capital drought
HSJ revealed last week at least £150m has been wasted planning for “new hospitals” that might never materialise.
HSJ Podcast: The future of ICBs and NHSE
This week the team look at the continuing fallout from the ICB cuts and pending abolition of NHS England, following the first interview with new boss Sir Jim Mackey.
HSJ Podcast: The never-ending care scandal
After another damning coroner’s report following the preventable death of a baby at a Lancashire hospital, we take a closer look at why the NHS is beset with so many maternity scandals.
HSJ Podcast: The week that changed everything
As the dust begins to settle, we unpick one of the busiest weeks ever for NHS news.
HSJ Podcast: The ups and downs of the NHS Staff Survey
This week we take a closer look at the trends in this year’s NHS Staff Survey, published yesterday.
HSJ Podcast: The big patient choice row
This week, we discuss why private providers are threatening to refuse to treat NHS patients, and why hospital bosses are equally vexed.
HSJ Podcast: The decline and fall of NHS England
Amanda Pritchard is stepping down as NHS England’s CEO at the end of next month, while Wes Streeting embarks on a massive reorganisation of the centre.
HSJ Podcast: Why this year's planning round is going to be bloody
This week, the HSJ team look at money and what is coming for what is expected to be the toughest financial year for the NHS in a generation.
HSJ Podcast: Tough talk on deficits
This week we take a closer look at Wes Streeting’s tough talk on NHS deficits – the health and social care secretary has told the NHS there can be no overspending without consequences.
HSJ Podcast: Unpacking the planning guidance
NHS England published the 2025-26 planning guidance last week, so HSJ Health Check breaks down what it means for the service.
HSJ Podcast: Penny Dash and David Nicholson on the 10-year plan
HSJ Health Check is joined by two of the most influential and experienced NHS leaders to talk about lessons for the government’s 10-year plan from their systems, and from the past.
HSJ Podcast: Delay and disappointment for the ‘new hospitals’
This week government finally revealed its new - and mostly delayed - target dates for the building of the promised “new hospitals”.
HSJ Podcast: The fall of an NHS giant
On this episode, we unpick the ongoing tensions between leaders and senior doctors at one of the biggest trusts in England.
HSJ Podcast: The plan for electives
The HSJ Health Check team looks at the new elective recovery plan launched this month.
HSJ Podcast: What’s coming in 2025 for the NHS
The HSJ Health Check team reveals our predictions for the big issues – and unexpected developments – in 2025, on this week’s Christmas podcast.
HSJ Podcast: Break even or pay freeze
This week’s podcast looks at pay and who is going to get what next year, and on what conditions.
HSJ Podcast: Targets and terror and tech
This week’s podcast looks at whose job it is to oversee England’s over-mighty provider sector, plus the new world coming into view on technology.
HSJ Podcast: Directors on the stand over Letby’s murders
This week, the podcast looks at accountability in the NHS and the Thirlwall Inquiry.
HSJ Podcast: Named and shamed
This week, the podcast looks at the fallout from a lively NHS Providers conference.
HSJ Podcast: What we want from the 10-year plan
A leading trust CEO, ICS leader and policy guru join the HSJ podcast to tell us what’s needed from the government’s 10-year health plan.
HSJ Podcast: What the ‘left shift’ means for hospitals
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover is joined by the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers to talk money, quality and the CQC
HSJ Podcast: Winter ‘panic buying’
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover and colleagues look at what no money for winter means for the NHS, and how real a bold new integration scheme is.
HSJ Podcast: The magic administrator
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover and colleagues look at whether the NHS’s whole safety, safe-staffing and quality system is getting overhauled, plus was it one simple trick that slashed waiting times at a trust?
HSJ Podcast: The ticking timebomb
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover and colleagues discuss whether the NHS can cut into the elective waiting list this winter. Plus the latest on the state of the service’s estate.
HSJ Podcast: Watching the watchmen
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover and colleagues discuss the future of the Care Quality Commission after a tumultuous period for the inspectorate.
HSJ Podcast: The ‘NHS is broken’ blowback
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover and colleagues discuss the Labour Party conference plus some alarming developments in IT.
HSJ Podcast: Streeting ‘reads the Riot Act’
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast, guest host Ben Clover and colleagues discuss the big Streeting meeting plus a new player in primary care.
HSJ Podcast: Inquiries – who are they for?
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast guest host Ben Clover and colleagues discuss three major NHS inquiries that started hearing evidence this week.
HSJ Podcast: Getting what you pay for
This week on the HSJ Health Check podcast guest host Ben Clover and colleagues talk winter, money and “collective action” from GPs.
HSJ Podcast: Chairs in the hot seat
This week’s HSJ podcast looks at the results of the Care Quality Commission’s inpatient survey, plus a contentious story on chairs and non-executive directors.
HSJ Podcast: Carrying the can for corridor care
This week’s HSJ podcast looks at the latest development in Shropshire’s troubled health system and hospitals, and NHS England’s move to ramp up the rollout of the federated data platform.
HSJ Podcast: Rachel Reeves’ blueprint for the NHS
The new chancellor this week made her first big intervention on public spending and the NHS — backing above-inflation pay rises for NHS staff, effectively pausing the new hospitals programme, and calling for tech-powered productivity reforms.
HSJ Podcast: It’s crunch time for general practice
On this episode we unpick the fast moving situation surrounding the GP ballot for “collective action” and the crucial pay negotiations between the BMA and the new government.
HSJ Podcast: 48,000 hours stuck in an ambulance
This week we discuss the ongoing harm done by long ambulance handover delays and what the new government must do to address this problem.
HSJ Podcast: When HSJ met Wes
While the rest of the country was watching the football, HSJ met shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting in a café in Ilford for a wide-ranging interview.
HSJ Podcast: What’s missing from the manifestos
This week we’re joined by Sally Gainsbury and Leonora Merry from the Nuffield Trust think tank, who help us join the dots on the key issues for the NHS in the election campaign.
HSJ Podcast: Taking A&E back to the 90s
As the election campaign moves into its final weeks, the shadow health secretary has confirmed a huge policy commitment that wasn’t in the manifesto.