Health inequalities are widening. Life expectancy is falling. Has the government's 10 Year Health Plan gone far enough when it comes to tackling these issues and preventing ill health?  

Now the dust has settled after the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan, Andrew McCracken, Danielle Jefferies and Sarah Arnold discuss what’s happened since, the progress that’s been made so far and the pressure the plan is already under, as well as how staff and leaders in the system are feeling right now.

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This episode was edited by Bespoken Media. 

After months of waiting, the government’s 10 Year Health Plan is finally here. But with a health and care system at breaking point, does the government’s plan offer hope to staff, patients, and the public that things will get better? In this first episode in a new podcast series from The King's Fund, Siva Anandaciva, Charlotte Wickens and Sarah Arnold discuss what's in the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, what it hopes to achieve and what we can expect to see in the coming weeks and months.

•  Truly fit for the future? The 10 Year Health Plan Explained (long read)

• 10 Year Health Plan - what bold choices and actions are needed to deliver transformational change? (event)

•  The King's Fund's response to the 10 Year Health Plan (press statement)

This episode was edited by Bespoken Media. 

How connected are the health and faith sectors? And is there untapped potential in the faith sector to support people’s health and wellbeing?

Back in January, Siva Anandaciva sat down with the Bishop of London, the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, to explore her career journey from Chief Nursing Officer to Bishop, how her faith has informed her work, and the role that faith groups can play in tackling health inequalities.

• Tackling inequalities: mission possible? (in-person conference, 6 May 2025)

• Tackling health inequalities: seven priorities for the NHS (long read)

• What are health inequalities? (long read)

From corridor care to staff morale, winter is never an easy time for the NHS. But what is it like for staff working in urgent and emergency care during this time of year, and has it always been this way?

Ruth Robertson is joined by Kelly Ameneshoa, Emergency Medicine Doctor, and Charlotte Wickens, Policy Advisor, to find out. They discuss how winter impacts patient care, what could make this winter different to others and what the first few months of a Labour Government might tell us about its approach moving forward.

• The number of hospital beds (nutshell)
• Public satisfaction with A&E at an all-time low: reflections of an A&E doctor (blog)
• What does the Autumn Budget 2024 mean for health and care? (long read)
• The government's 10-year plan for health and care (project)

What impact has the first 100 days of the new Labour government had on health and care? Join Andrew McCracken, Charlotte Wickens and Siva Anandaciva as they explore what's happened, what's surprised them and what might be next.

Related content

• Government will have to make tough choices at upcoming budget (press release)
• The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, delivered his first health and care speech since taking office at The King’s Fund annual conference this morning
• The Darzi review of NHS performance signals why radical change is needed (blog)

What is co-production? What does it mean to have a health and care system that prioritises equity, inclusion and the voices of service users?

In our new podcast episode, Jo Vigor is joined by Clenton Farquharson CBE, who shares his leadership journey and reflects on how his personal experience of navigating life as a wheelchair user has led him to a career advocating for marginalised voices and campaigning for meaningful change. He also explores why the new government should consider this moment as an opportunity to reimagine the health and care system.

• Listening to people and communities – the change we need (event)
• The Darzi review of NHS performance signals why radical change is needed (blog)
• Making patient experience a priority (blog)

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Jason Leitch became a familiar name for many across Scotland seeking to make sense of the global health crisis and what that meant for their lives.

Siva Anandaciva is joined by the former National Clinical Director for the Scottish Government who shares what it was like navigating Covid-19 during a time of high pressure and uncertainty, the challenges of being a public figure and why leadership in a crisis can sometimes be a ‘lonely role’. 

Related content:

• Free online leadership courses
• The King's Fund content related to public health
• Leading through Covid (project)

We're back to our usual programming after our election mini-series and this episode is all about social prescribing.

So what is social prescribing? How does it fit with other health and care services and what does it aim to achieve?

This episode explores the relationship between community and wellbeing, and how social prescribing can step in when traditional treatment isn't the answer.

In this episode host Siva Anandaciva sits down with Heather Henry, Queen's Nurse, writer and managing director of BreathChamps CIC and Edward Rosen, Project Director Lambeth GP Food Co-op to learn more.

Related content:

• What is social prescribing? (long read)
• How can social prescribing better support migrant women's health and wellbeing? (blog)
• Link workers for population health (blog)

In this episode Andrew McCracken and Siva Anandaciva are joined by our CEO Sarah Woolnough to discuss what the election result means for health and care, and what we might expect from the new government and new Health and Care Secretary.

This is our final episode of our election mini-series. We hope you've enjoyed reviewing the campaign activities with us, please share any feedback you might have to our X account @TheKingsFund or email us: [email protected].

Related resources:

• Is the NHS broken and what does that mean? (blog)
• The minister, the GP surgery and the signal of change (blog)
• General election 2024 (project)

A week before the election, Sally Warren, Siva Anandaciva and Dan Wellings sit down to talk about what the public want from the next government, how industrial action might disrupt plans to improve health care and the recent Dispatches episode, which revealed the harrowing human consequences of A&E performance pressures. 

Plus, they answer a listener question on ways to approach delivering NHS improvement at a national and local level.

Related resources

• General election 2024 
• What do the public want politicians to do about the NHS? 
• Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2023
• The King’s Fund comments on ongoing industrial action 
• Making patient experience a priority