Weekly editorial for 27th March 2026

We are delighted to welcome Peter Wyman CBE DL, Chair of NHS Blood & Transplant, for a special HealthChat interview with IHSCM CEO Jon Wilks

Peter is one of the most experienced and respected leaders in public life, with a career spanning senior roles across the NHS, government, regulation, finance and the charitable sector. His executive career includes more than four decades at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he served as a senior partner, a member of the UK Firm Board, and a member of the PwC Global Executive. His leadership has shaped national thinking on regulation, public trust, professional standards and system accountability.

His current portfolio includes:

• Chair, NHS Blood and Transplant
• Board Chair, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
• Chair, Sir Richard Sutton Limited
• Former Chair, Care Quality Commission
• Senior roles with Companies House, Yeovil District Hospital, Pay.UK, and multiple national reviews and advisory boards

Across his career, Peter has been at the centre of major shifts in public policy, regulatory reform and organisational leadership. His stewardship of NHSBT comes at a pivotal moment for the service, with innovation, workforce pressures, public confidence and system collaboration all under intense national focus.

In this conversation, Jon will explore:

• Peter’s leadership journey across public, private and voluntary sectors
• The evolving role and future direction of NHS Blood and Transplant
• What high‑quality governance looks like in complex systems
• Lessons from chairing national bodies through challenge and change
• How leaders build trust, accountability and resilience
• The future of regulation, professional standards and public service leadership

Have older people got it too easy? In their latest ‘In the Loop’ podcast, Niall and Roy have a fascinating exchange with Paul Farmer CBE, the leader of Age UK, Britian’s largest charity campaigning and providing services for older people.

Little more than a generation ago, pensioners were seen as among the poorest and most vulnerable groups; today the vast majority have never had it so good. Yet Paul argues that is a dangerous narrative which ignores the two million or so older people who either experience poor health, financial insecurity or loneliness. And he rejects the idea that this is just about deprivation, suggesting we have not faced up to the enormous challenge of living in an ageing society.  When challenged on the cost of the triple lock for pensioners, Paul says he  welcomes the debate about the future of the state pension, including the possibility of means testing. But he warns that successive governments’ record on means testing has been extremely poor.  

On social care another warning - because of chronic and persistent underfunding he suggests something terribly bad could easily happen and that solutions offered in the past will need to be revised given the parlous state of services today. Paul argues not only that social care needs significant extra funding but also a long-term view; the question is who is going to play for these reforms?    

As for the NHS, he points to fact that in the last year more than fifty thousand patients in their 80s ended up hospital corridors, and that we need to start looking at the health service through the lens of older people. He is challenged on how much of Age UK’s income actually goes to local branches that provide direct services, as opposed to lobbying and other national activities. Paul responds by saying they have begun to give more to local branches and have plans to do more.  Listen too to Niall and Roy’s reflections on this absorbing exchange with one of the most influential leaders advocating for older people in the UK.