All Performance articles – Page 8
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CommentUnder-pressure boards abandon curiosity for grip at their peril
When under strain, boards signal what truly matters, and those signals decide whether learning thrives, stalls, or disappears when needed most
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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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CommentNHS care should be more personal as well as personalised
The NHS has long promised person-centred care, but the latest evidence suggests delivery still falls short of intent
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News£40m contract review sparked by ‘integrity’ concerns
An integrated care board is re-examining its award of a £40m patient transport contract after the procurement regulator ruled it had failed to “act fairly”.
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CommentWhy improvement programmes fade away
Improvement endures only when boards protect learning, and do not treat it as optional
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NewsDelays repairing ageing ambulances hitting response times
Some ambulance trusts report that up to two-fifths of their ambulances are unavailable, with ageing vehicles sidelined for repairs and replacements.
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NewsNHSE warns against ‘resistance’ to huge expansion of private tests
NHS England is planning to significantly increase the use of the private sector for diagnostic services, which a senior figure warned was likely to be met with “resistance” from some in the NHS, HSJ has learned.
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CommentWaiting list recovery stalls as admissions fall
England’s RTT waiting list returned to long-term growth in December
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NewsHospital group to enter failure regime
A hospital group with major finance and governance problems is about to be put into the new national failure regime for trusts.
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HSJ PartnersFrom data to delivery: Why investing in personalised care is critical for system efficiency and health equity
For senior NHS leaders, addressing health inequalities is no longer just a moral imperative; it is a clinical and financial necessity
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NewsLong A&E waits worst on record
Long A&E waits last month hit their highest level since public records began, as NHS England warns it’s battling its “busiest winter on record”.
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NewsNo neighbourhood provider contracts for another year
None of the neighbourhood contracts proposed in the 10-Year Health Plan will go live until at least April 2027, HSJ understands.
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CommentCan health policy really be evidence-based?
Research evidence is indispensable in NHS decision-making, but it was never designed to answer the kinds of contextual, system-level choices boards and policymakers must make
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News‘Inappropriate behaviours’ persist despite ‘substantial progress’ on trust’s board
Cultural issues persist at a large teaching trust, despite “substantial progress” at board level, according to an external review it commissioned.
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CommentSlow NHS decision-making makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks
When time-critical risks escalate, NHS governance that treats delay as neutral can unintentionally amplify harm and undermine patient safety
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CommentBeware: Reassurance is not assurance
When confidence in NHS service models wobbles, senior oversight can reassure – but without explicit governance, it may fall short of providing real assurance
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NewsA&Es to open dedicated areas for ‘extended stay’ patients
“Extended emergency medicine” areas will be opened in hospitals for A&E patients whose care can’t be turned around within the four-hour target, according to new national guidance.
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NewsNHSE to revive 2000s-style improvement collaboratives
NHS England plans to revive compulsory “structured improvement collaboratives” for outpatients, urgent and emergency care, and frailty services – in an echo of the Modernisation Agency approach of the 2000s.
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CommentBlaming individuals for care failures is sometimes the right response
The Great Ormond Street scandal exposes a growing imbalance in NHS patient safety policy. In moving away from blame, the system has also lost sight of individual competence, leadership responsibility, and the non-negotiables needed to prevent serious harm
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Expert BriefingPatient Safety Watch: Jeremy Hunt’s sobering realisation about bureaucracy and box ticking
HSJ hosts the Patient Safety Watch newsletter, written by Patient Safety Watch chair Jeremy Hunt












