All articles by James Illman
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NewsThreat to remove resident doctors after racist incidents
One of England’s most challenged trusts faces resident doctors being removed from two specialties due to racism from staff and patients, board papers have revealed.
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HSJ Local‘Lives destroyed for speaking up’ at top hospital, claim doctors
Nearly 200 doctors at a major teaching hospital have told a “listening exercise” prompted by a major care scandal that they feared raising patient safety concerns.
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NewsNHSE orders ‘stocktake’ of patient communications
Trusts will be assessed on how they communicate with their patients as part of a “national stocktake” designed to ensure the NHS delivers “five-star customer service”, NHS England has announced.
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NewsNHSE makes three appointments to top team
NHS England has made three senior appointments as it readies itself for absorption by the Department of Health and Social Care, HSJ can reveal.
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NewsLeague tables ‘obscuring’ trust performance
Government’s trust league tables are “actively obscuring” patients’ understanding of their local services and should be scrapped, a think tank has recommended.
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Expert BriefingRecovery Watch: This year’s validation trick
Elective recovery and returning the NHS to meeting the 18-week standard by 2029 is the government’s main performance priority. The Recovery Watch newsletter tracks prospects and progress against this goal. This week, by bureau chief James Illman.
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NewsEx-NHSE strategy director joins major PR firm
Former NHS England executive board member Chris Hopson has been appointed to a senior advisory role at a major communications consultancy.
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HSJ LocalBoss leaves troubled trust after six months
The managing director of one of England’s worst-performing trusts is leaving after just six months, in a move her boss acknowledged could raise “understandable questions”.
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NewsExclusive: NHSE pays three trusts £1m each to remove patients from waiting lists
Three trusts were paid more than £1m for removing patients from their waiting lists through “validation” exercises last year, HSJ can reveal.
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Expert BriefingRecovery Watch: How trusts drove near-record improvements
Elective recovery and returning the NHS to meeting the 18-week standard by 2029 is the government’s main performance priority. The Recovery Watch newsletter tracks prospects and progress against this goal. This week, by bureau chief James Illman.
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News21 trusts ‘delivered year’s elective recovery in single month’
Twenty-one trusts delivered their entire 2025-26 elective improvement in March alone, analysis shows, prompting concerns about the “fragility and sustainability” of the NHS’s waiting list recovery.
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NewsElective target hit after spike in ‘unreported removals’
NHS England has hit its 65 per cent waiting list for 2025-26, but experts said the “majority of the improvement” in March was driven by a “record” spike in “unreported removals”.
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HSJ LocalEx-civil servant made trust CEO
Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust has appointed Nicola Ayton as its new permanent chief executive, the provider has announced.
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NewsNHSE rows back on controversial target
NHS England has rowed back on what was widely understood to be a new target for the proportion of patients it wanted “diverted” away from waiting lists, after accusations it was rationing care.
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Expert BriefingMackey: ‘Contentious’ model can drive ‘hockey stick’ recovery
Elective recovery and returning the NHS to meeting the 18-week standard by 2029 is the government’s main performance priority. The Recovery Watch newsletter tracks prospects and progress against this goal. By bureau chief James Illman.
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NewsMackey: Iran war threatens ‘huge shock’ for NHS finances
The NHS will need extra funding from government if the Iran war drives large price increases, which could amount to a “huge shock”, Sir Jim Mackey has warned.
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NewsICBs accused of ‘nonsensical’ job matching in ‘rushed’ merger
Three integrated care boards have been accused of overseeing a “deeply flawed” merger programme, including a “nonsensical job-matching process”.
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NewsStreeting: Failing NHS bosses being ‘quietly moved on’
Under-performing NHS bosses are being “quietly moved on” rather than being “named and shamed”, Wes Streeting has said.
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HSJ LocalCEO: We have ‘hurt and let down’ our staff
A hospital group CEO says its leaders have “managed to let people down” and, in some cases, “disconnected” from their staff, in response to very poor NHS Staff Survey scores.
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NewsNHSE expects to declare victory on number one target
NHS England bosses are predicting they will get close enough to hitting 65 per cent against the 18-week standard by March to declare victory against their main performance objective for this year, HSJ has learned.