All articles by James Illman
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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.
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NewsNHS has ‘hollowed out’ community care, says government adviser
The NHS has “hollowed out” community and primary care and become a “national hospital service”, according to the influential lead of a government review of social care.
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NewsNHSE bid to divert referrals falling well short of target
NHS England is set to fall “well short” of a key target to ramp up GPs’ use of “advice and guidance” from specialists – and the model is “unlikely to be the silver bullet ministers hoped for” to help cut waiting lists, experts have warned.
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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.
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NewsMinisters overclaimed impact of ‘crack’ elective teams
Elective activity has “barely increased” at the hospitals targeted with “crack teams” to cut waiting lists – contrary to ministers’ claims that the work has “turbocharged activity” – analysis reveals.
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NewsNHSE launches ‘sprint’ in bid to hit waiting list target
NHS England has told trusts to begin a “sprint” exercise in a bid to hit its politically critical waiting list target by March.