North by North West: Trusts prepare for fight over maternity
Essential insight into NHS matters in the North West of England. Contact me in confidence here.
Trust reviews leadership options as CEO leaves for scandal-hit neighbour
A scandal-hit acute trust has appointed the long-serving leader of a specialist provider as its substantive chief executive.
Letby inquiry to seek rapid change to NHS services and culture despite legal delays
The public inquiry into the Lucy Letby murders will seek changes to NHS services and culture next year despite the fact that formal hearings are likely to be delayed until the autumn.
Public inquiry will probe ‘NHS management and governance’
The inquiry into how concerns over Lucy Letby were handled will examine wider questions about NHS culture.
Recovery Watch: The trusts slipping the most on PM’s pledge
Recovering services from the covid crisis is the big task for NHS leaders for the foreseeable future. The Recovery Watch newsletter tracks prospects and progress. This week by HSJ bureau chief and performance lead James Illman.
Police investigate trust for corporate manslaughter
Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust is being investigated for corporate manslaughter following Lucy Letby’s conviction for murdering babies while working on its neonatal unit.
As a doctor I don’t believe regulation of managers should be a priority
David Oliver expresses his five big doubts on the statutory regulation that is in place for NHS managers and examines the complex realities of accountability and performance in healthcare leadership
The lesson from Letby is to listen
Now that the inquiry into Lucy Letby’s case has been given legal powers, it must explore how the NHS can tackle the culture of defensiveness, denial and secrecy that often lies at the heart of tragic scandals. Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, argues that the NHS has some ...
Labour commits to regulating NHS managers
Labour has said it would introduce a tougher system of regulating NHS management, and is consulting the sector on how to approach it, in the wake of Lucy Letby’s murders.
North by North West: ‘We are being watched’
Essential insight into NHS matters in the North West of England. Contact me in confidence here.
Teaching trust reviewing decisions made under Letby CEO
A trust which hired the former chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital as an interim CEO has launched a review of decisions about safety and whistleblowing taken under his leadership.
North by North West: Letby trust execs need a fair hearing
Essential insight into NHS matters in the North West of England. Contact me in confidence here.
HSJ Podcast: What the Letby fallout means for the NHS
Last Friday, neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of 14 counts of murder and attempted murder.
The emptiness of the ‘managers bad, clinicians good’ narrative
Looking at recent reports into maternity unit scandals at various trusts, David Oliver points out how managers with clinical qualifications or clinicians with management roles are equally responsible in leading and controlling safety values
The Ward Round: Regulation of managers is the easy answer
Staffing is the issue keeping NHS leaders awake at night – and which consumes two-thirds of trusts’ spending. The fortnightly The Ward Round newsletter, by HSJ workforce correspondent Annabelle Collins, ensures you are tuned in to the daily pressures on staff, and the wider trends and policies shaping the workforce.
Nursing director suspended over Letby concerns
The former chief nurse of Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust has been suspended by her current employer, after the conviction of Lucy Letby for murdering babies while working in Chester.
NHSE reminds trusts not to appoint unfit directors, in wake of Letby conviction
NHS England has asked local leaders to ‘ensure’ processes are in place to properly protect whistleblowers, and to block directors who have been deemed unfit, following Lucy Letby’s conviction for murdering seven babies despite attempts to raise concerns.
Ministers order inquiry into Letby murders
The government has ordered an independent inquiry into the wider circumstances around Lucy Letby’s murdering of multiple babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
CQC under scrutiny for praising trust during Letby murder spree
The Care Quality Commission has come under scrutiny for its praise of Countess of Chester Hospital during the period when neonatal nurse Lucy Letby has been found to have murdered several babies.
Revealed: How trust execs resisted concerns over Letby
Trust bosses questioned the integrity of doctors who first raised concerns about a nurse who has now been convicted of murdering seven babies, and forced the medics to apologise to her, an HSJ investigation has established.