On this episode we’re joined by Lord Philip Hunt of King’s Heath - who was a minister in the Labour government until last year, and has played a huge role in Labour health policy and in NHS leadership over several decades.

He was a health minister in the Blair government with Alan Milburn, has served in several Labour shadow health teams, worked as a senior NHS manager, and was the first chief executive of the NHS Confederation. 

Lord Hunt is an active Parliamentarian and will shape the health bill when it hits the upper house. He tells us about its likely (tight) timings, and where the big clashes and U-turns may come.

On this episode we cover one of the most expensive employment tribunals in the NHS and why a trust must pay its former chief executive £1.4m in damages.

Also this week, an update on the new hospitals programme from the government spending watchdog, which included surprise dates for when rebuilds were likely to reopen - some of which are still 20 years’ away.

We also cover serious concerns raised about the quality of a trust’s medical training and more on the new chief executive of the merging NHS Providers/Confederation. 

On this episode we’re talking about the tricky balancing act between cutting waiting lists and keeping finances under control, after Wes Streeting warned this week that some trusts have tried to cut deficits too sharply. 

Also this week, two stories from Birmingham, including more on a damning external review into a major trust’s international training programme. 

It’s time for the HSJ team to take stock and make their predictions for what the New Year could bring for the NHS, from the survival of Healthwatch, to why the NHS App could be in for a tough year.

Also, the biggest estates challenges facing trusts and why the ‘choice’ row is set to escalate. 

Thanks for listening to the Health Check podcast this year and Merry Christmas from all at HSJ.

This week we bring you the latest in our series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill.

On this episode Dave and Annabelle are joined by Mark Dayan and Sarah Reed from the Nuffield Trust and we focus on the abolition of NHS England, drawing on research the think tank has just published.

We cover how this could be an opportunity to reset how the NHS operates within government, why the dramatic reduction in headcount could do more harm than good, and how officials could learn from historic NHS reforms.

The government made bringing down elective waits its key target for the NHS, and ministers often celebrate how much the list has fallen since Labour came to power.

However, we reveal the part that waiting list clean-ups have played in cutting the list this year – alongside growing some types of activity, and other reforms – and why some experts are raising concerns about patients being wrongfully removed.

Also this week more on the deal that will see the NHS pay more for new medicines.

https://www.hsj.co.uk/quality-and-performance/exclusive-nhse-ramps-up-waiting-list-cleaning-drive/7040427.article

Sir Jim Mackey is expected to end his tenure as ‘transition CEO’ of NHS England next year, so we ask what sort of candidate could be up for the “impossible” job of running the health service. 

Also, we dig into what the budget means for the NHS, including how much the pot will be reduced by to pay for the massive redundancy programme.

Sir Jim Mackey is expected to end his tenure as ‘transition CEO’ of NHS England next year, so we ask what sort of candidate could be up for the “impossible” job of running the health service. 

Also, we dig into what the budget means for the NHS, including how much the pot will be reduced by to pay for the massive redundancy programme.

This week Ben Clover fills in for Annabelle Collins and is joined by Ella Deverux and Zoe Tidman.

The team discuss Ella's exclusive on the NHS App breaking cancer diagnosis news to patients ahead of a human, plus Zoe takes us through where the service is on finance, including a trust down to one day's operating costs.

NHS England has finally launched its much-delayed voluntary redundancy scheme so on this episode we cover everything we know so far and the questions that remain.

Health secretary Wes Streeting also acknowledged this week in a speech to NHS leaders he has not resolved the redundancies quickly enough and that things had been particularly hard for integrated care boards.

In the same speech, Mr Streeting revealed the eight trusts that are in line to become ‘advanced foundation trusts’ and “front runners to a more autonomous and integrated NHS”.