Matt Mathers
Matt joined HSJ in 2024. He covers cancer care, private care, and diagnostics. He also covers the North East and West Yorkshire.
Contact info
- Email:
- matt.mathers@hsj.co.uk
NewsTrust faces decade-long review after hundreds of harm cases discovered
More than 300 cases of patient harm have been identified at a North East trust reviewing major care and governance failings in its breast cancer service.
NewsMinisters hire economist to scrutinise cancer performance
Health economist Anita Charlesworth will independently co-chair a “reformed” National Cancer Board, seven months after the government’s cancer plan promised a body “accountable for delivery” of its commitments.
NewsJudge to examine trust’s care failings
Government has named a chair for its public inquiry into care and governance failings at a mental health trust – nine months after the probe was promised.
NewsUK’s largest private hospital group sold in £1bn deal
One of the NHS’s largest private providers, Spire Healthcare Group, has agreed to a £1bn takeover by a group of investment firms.
NewsRecognise negative impact mutual aid can have on performance, pleads trust CEO
The chief executive of a trust that has fallen 34 places in NHS England’s provider performance league table has complained that the ranking fails to take into account its efforts to help neighbours.
NewsPM should remember ‘the North isn’t just Manchester’, says trust CEO
Andy Burnham should recognise that areas in the North of England other than Greater Manchester require more investment, the chief executive of a Tyneside trust has told HSJ.
NewsPioneer CEO: ‘IHOs won’t fix all ills’
The CEO of a leading trust that is set to begin a “phased” launch of an integrated health organisation has warned the model should not be expected to “fix the ills of everything”.
NewsIn-house EPRs can avoid ‘phenomenal’ costs, says top CEO
A leading hospital chief executive has championed in-house NHS technology that costs “a fraction” of major commercial systems – and said she does not use the federated data platform.
NewsNearly 100 staff left ‘in limbo by shitshow procurement’
Nearly 100 staff at a Lancashire trust have been left in “limbo” for more than two years due to a troubled NHS England procurement process, which HSJ has learned is set to be run for a third time.
NewsCEO to take on third trust
A CEO who leads two South Yorkshire trusts has been appointed to run a third on an interim basis.
NewsRevealed: Biggest climbers and fallers on diagnostic waits
Eleven trusts recorded swings of more than 20 percentage points on the headline waiting target for diagnostic tests over the past year.
NewsTen ICBs accused of blocking access to private care
Private providers have accused 10 integrated care boards of blocking access to eye care, which they argue is redirecting tens of thousands of patients to A&E and GPs.
News‘Failure to deliver reforms has cost NHS billions’, claims ex-DHSC adviser
NHS England’s failure to deliver recommended reforms to pathology services has cost the service billions of pounds in lost savings over the last decade, a senior peer who previously reviewed the sector has claimed.
NewsRevealed: Cancer doctor hiring freezes rise in nearly every region
Cancer centres in nearly every region of England reported significant rises in recruitment freezes to oncology posts over the past year, according to new figures shared with HSJ.
NewsNew ‘simpler’ NHSE performance regime for acutes has 50% more metrics
The number of metrics used to measure the performance of acute trusts by NHS England has been increased from 23 to 35.
NewsBiggest climbers and fallers in trust league table
Sharply divergent performance in the last quarter of 2025-26 saw dramatic movement within NHS England’s league table for acute trusts, with six providers moving up or down rankings by 30 places or more.
NewsInfluential DHSC panel leader resigns
The chair of a panel responsible for advising ministers on contested NHS service changes has resigned after six years in the job.
NewsTrust confirms doctor as CEO
An acute trust has made its interim chief executive permanent, in the latest of a string of senior appointments in the North East.
NewsSenior churn stifling hospital group, warns leading CEO
A trust “alliance” that includes England’s top-rated general acute provider has been stifled by leadership churn and a shift in national policy, but will now develop an ambitious joint clinical strategy, it has revealed.
NewsLeaked review warns CDCs a ‘burden’ on trusts
Community diagnostic centres could become a financial “burden” on providers without extra funding and changes to how tests are paid for, the programme’s architect has warned in an internal review obtained by HSJ.