All articles by Steve Black – Page 2
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: Disdain for the ‘plumbers’ leaves the NHS knee deep in the brown stuff
Disdain for management is crippling the NHS — undermining productivity, policy delivery, and the essential ‘plumbing’ behind effective healthcare systems
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The five forgotten secrets of how to achieve change in the NHS
Tony Blair’s second term delivered historic improvements to the NHS, driven by the sharp focus and analytical rigour of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit. With today’s health service struggling under the weight of vague strategies and weak follow-through, the lessons of that era have never been more urgent, writes Steve ...
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The lessons govt must learn if it wants to revive FT freedoms
If the NHS is going to bring back foundation trust freedoms, it might need to bring back Monitor as well argues Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The underwhelming UEC plan
Promising ideas get buried in a confused, under-ambitious UEC plan that misdiagnoses the true nature of the emergency care crisis, writes Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The NHS can and should learn from Formula One
Steve Black explores how resistance to outside comparisons hides deep flaws in NHS systems, priorities, and data use
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: ‘Lean’ is not a dirty word
‘Lean thinking’ can benefit the NHS, but first the service has to understand it properly argues Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The public doesn’t know what’s best for the NHS
Steve Black highlights how the government’s 10-Year Health Plan risks prioritising popularity over practicality and ignoring system failures which need urgent attention
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: Effectively digitising the NHS means not spending money on more clinicians
NHS doesn’t need more money but it does need to learn how to manage it more efficiently
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: More face to face GP appointments won’t make patients happier
Steve Black questions key claims in a new report on general practice
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: What NHSE could learn from the Catholic Church
NHS England generated countless plans and strategies that made little significant impact on the NHS. Steve Black suggests the need for a degree of scepticism and dissent in the policy planning process.
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The abiding wisdom of the ‘Troubleshooter’
In the early 1980s, John Harvey-Jones transformed the industrial giant ICI from a struggling corporation into a highly profitable enterprise. His management principles, outlined in his book Making it Happen, offer valuable lessons for today’s NHS, writes Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: Propaganda won't drive improvement in the NHS
The government has hailed the FF20 elective recovery scheme as a major success — but a closer look at the data tells a different story. If the new NHS leadership is serious about real improvement, it must prioritise honest analysis over political spin, writes Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: Government has the wrong idea on data
The government’s focus on using NHS data to develop new drugs misses the bigger opportunity — to improve existing services and costs with data-driven decision-making. By Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: A management philosophy to help save the NHS
Steve Black explores how the NHS could benefit from adopting the military management philosophy of Mission Command, advocating for flexibility, decentralisation, and clarity of goals over rigid, detailed plans.
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The best way to replace NHS England
The government must decide between centralised or decentralised control of the NHS, with history showing the latter is the better option
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CommentThe mythbuster: Consensus-driven strategy will doom the 10-Year Plan to failure
To make the 10-Year Plan a success, the NHS will need to move from consensus-driven strategy to strategy-driven consensus, writes Steve Black
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: Building a better Department of Health
NHS England has been abolished. But will the service be better off without it?
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: I come to bury NHSE
Steve Black asserts that NHSE’s persistent failures in emergency care, driven by flawed policies and refusal to embrace evidence-based solutions, highlight the need for a major organisational overhaul
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: The false narrative that stops the NHS opening more beds
As the NHS grapples with a worsening A&E crisis, the service resists the call to increase the hospital bed base. Steve Black explores why such a move, despite clear benefits, remains a contentious issue
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Daily InsightThe mythbuster: Reviving the PFI is the only realistic option to boost capital funding
Steve Black suggests that accessing private capital financing may be necessary to boost investment in the NHS, especially given the inefficiencies and delays in the current process