This week we assess the damage after one of the toughest weeks of NHS strike action, with junior doctors and consultants both taking action.

We ask what impact this had on the recovery effort and look at some of the surprising trends to emerge from the strike data. With Annabelle Collins, Ben Clover and James Illman. 

A “shocking” volume of mental health patients are attending A&E accompanied by the police - but who’s fault is it? And what is the solution?

On this week’s episode we get into the debate sparked by comments made by a senior NHS director who called for an “absolute solution”. 

Also this week, the results are in on which integrated care systems are the most digitally mature. But did the NHS need to pay McKinsey £7m to tell them?

This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by colleagues to discuss some of the biggest stories ahead of the junior doctors’ strike.

Matt Discombe reveals the results of an inquiry into an ambulance trust found to’ve withheld key details of patient deaths from a coroner. The report is damning but some stakeholders have said it is more notable for what it doesn’t cover.

Recorded on Wednesday before the longest junior doctors’ strike yet, James Illman and Henry Anderson explain how NHS England’s finance director may have let the cat out of the bag about something ministers deny – that the huge round of cancellations caused by industrial action mean the service might miss the PM’s pledge to have waiting lists falling.

This week bureau chief Ben Clover is joined by colleagues Nick Kituno and Zoe Tidman.

The long-awaited NHS workforce plan finally arrived last week, missing lots of the detail that managers and professional associations were crying out for. What was in it, what was not in it and a few surprises are covered in this week’s podcast.

Also, what are the prospects for the NHS’s crumbling estate. Correspondent Zoe Tidman takes us through the latest in the convoluted quest to get some refurbished hospitals finished this side of 2030.

This week HSJ is joined by Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, and Richard Murray, chief executive of the King’s Fund, who are both nearing the end of long stints at the think tanks.

Two of the most influential voices on health policy and leadership, the pair reflect on what has gone right and wrong over the last three decades, and why history keeps repeating itself.

They spoke to Annabelle Collins and Lawrence Dunhill.

NHS England’s surprise decision to hand US tech giant Palantir a further £25m deal this week without a competitive process provoked a mixture of fury and confusion. We explain what the new contract means and why its so controversial.

Also this week, we review the latest government mandate for NHS England and its luke-warm response to the Hewitt review of integrated care systems.

We're joined by Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation chief and HSJ Health Check fan, to discuss Amanda Pritchard's speech and other developments on day one of the ConfedExpo conference.

We discuss data revealing the true scale of long A&E waits for mental health patients and what acute trusts are trying to do about it without any extra national funding.

Also: most GP practices are still using old-fashioned paper records, despite a commitment four years ago to get rid of them. We discuss whether it’s worth GPs’ time and money to make the switch. 

With Annabelle Collins, Joe Talora and Emily Townsend. 

Targets to reduce the number of outpatient appointments are not being met by trusts. On this epsiode we discuss why the number of outpatient appointments has remained stuck at £124m, despite pressure to cut them, and what is being done about it.

Also this week, an update on integrated care systems’ finances and what is worrying them at the moment, plus a preview from HSJ’s forthcoming interview with NHSE chief financial officer Julian Kelly. 

For more on outpatient appointment challenges, read James' Recovery Watch column: https://www.hsj.co.uk/expert-briefings/recovery-watch-new-data-lays-bare-outpatient-transformation-failings/7034898.article

After seemingly endless delays, the fate of the ‘40 new hospitals’ has finally been revealed by the government.