All articles by James Illman
-
NewsClinicians’ concerns have held up outpatient reform, says Mackey
NHS England’s outpatients recovery efforts have been stymied by a lack of funding and because “we’ve struggled to get the clinical community uniformly behind it”, Sir Jim Mackey has told MPs.
-
NewsKey target hit for sixth straight month
Ambulance services have met a key target for the sixth month running, for the first time since the pandemic.
-
NewsICBs told to ‘urgently review unacceptable waiting times’
NHS England has warned integrated care boards it is “not acceptable” to set “minimum waiting times” of more than 18 weeks for elective care.
-
NewsBoards told to rate their own ‘capability’
Trust leaders have been told to rate their own boards’ “capability” under new rules that could influence which providers are put in a new special measures regime.
-
HSJ LocalTrusts told to appoint joint chair but keep separate CEOs
Two neighbouring trusts should appoint a joint chair but retain separate CEOs because “recent history” means sharing executives “could prove challenging”, a major review has concluded.
-
NewsExclusive: Ministers using ‘misleading indicator’ to champion waiting list reduction
The recent reduction in the waiting list repeatedly cited by ministers as evidence of the NHS’s recovery has given a “misleading” impression to the public about the service’s underlying performance, leading policy experts have warned.
-
News‘Extra appointments’ celebrated by govt deliver ‘modest impact’ on waiting lists
The “4.6 million extra NHS appointments” championed by the prime minister and health secretary have only had a “modest impact” on reducing waiting list clock stops, a vital part of cutting the NHS’s elective care backlog, according to new analysis shared exclusively with HSJ.
-
HSJ LocalICB CEO takes charge of hospital trust
Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board’s CEO has been appointed interim managing director of a local acute trust, as part of a new hospital group board.
-
NewsMajor provider joins NHSE’s most challenged group
University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust has joined four other trusts in NHS England’s most challenged category for all three of elective, diagnostic and cancer performance.
-
HSJ LocalFirst ICBs to share CEO and chair
The first integrated care boards have announced they will share the same CEO and chair, an arrangement likely to spread to many others as part of a major restructure.
-
HSJ LocalCEO tells staff ‘silence is complicity’ after record sexual misconduct reports
An ambulance trust has dismissed “multiple staff” for sexual misconduct offences this year following its “highest year ever for reported sexual safety incidents” in 2024, HSJ has learned.
-
HSJ LocalHospital group appoints first CEO
The newly-formed Norfolk and Waveney Hospitals Group has appointed its first chief executive.
-
NewsICBs to impose ‘minimum waiting times’ for services
NHS England has proposed introducing “minimum waiting times” for certain elective specialties as system leaders grapple with how to balance clinical needs and a real terms funding cut for local services.
-
NewsTarget date for NHSE abolition revealed
National leaders are targeting October 2026 for the abolition of NHS England and consolidation of its functions into the Department of Health and Social Care, HSJ understands.
-
Expert BriefingRecovery Watch: Out of the frying pan and under the microscope
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.
-
NewsProvider’s board clearout sparks ‘real shock’
One of the NHS’s largest private hospital providers has cleared out its board, with its CEO, finance chief and other key figures all leaving the business in recent weeks.
-
NewsCap on elective care funding to be scrapped
NHS England is scrapping plans to cap how much trusts can earn from elective work in 2025-26.
-
News‘Brutal’ cuts to ICBs and NHSE slammed by ex-health secretary
Dame Patricia Hewitt has raised “deep concerns” about the major restructure of the NHS’s central bodies – and criticised the “appalling” treatment of staff and the “absolutely brutal” manner in which the cuts are being managed.
-
NewsCancer tests and virtual wards targeted for new cuts
Recently-opened cancer testing centres and virtual wards will be among the services cut back as the NHS seeks to eliminate a £6.6bn forecast deficit, senior leaders have told HSJ.
-
NewsNew elective contract ‘unworkable’, say providers
New national payment rules for private providers of elective care are “unworkable” and will undermine patient choice, the sector is warning.