The Scalpel's Blog

The good, the bad, and the potential of social media

05.12.18: Vicki Nash, head of policy and campaigns at Mind, assesses the impact of social media on the nation’s wellbeing. Few days go by without a story in the press about the negative effect of social media on mental health. It seems obvious:...

New framework addresses the importance of digital transformation for the public sector

04.12.18: Ryan Reed, head of public sector sales at Swiss Post Solution (SPS), reveals the new ESPO 390 framework, which can help address the need for digital transformation across the NHS.  The administrative and financial burden...

We’ll pay in the years to come if we fail to improve circulatory health today

30.11.18: The upcoming NHS long-term plan will provide a once-in-a-decade opportunity to improve our approach to heart and circulatory health – but only if we act now, writes Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation (BHF). ...

Prof Sir Malcolm Grant: Globally exporting the NHS

28.11.18: The NHS must export its services and expertise to protect its lead as the global healthcare market explodes, argues Professor Sir Malcolm Grant CBE, outgoing chair of NHS England. We’re at a turning point in history as global healthca...

Turning the tide on antimicrobial resistance

28.11.18: Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, provides her view of the institute’s newly published impact report on antimicrobial resistance. Around 700,000 deaths occur every year worl...

More men please!

14.11.18: Kirstie Stott, director of the Inspiring Leaders Network, flips the gender balance debate on its head and asks: why aren’t there more male nurses? As an advocate for gender equality, I was recently struck by the NHS Provider Board rep...

The need for cyber resilience in healthcare

12.11.18: Dirk Schrader, VP security at Greenbone Networks and certified information security manager, discusses the need for sustainable cyber resilience and how healthcare organisations can achieve such a state for their own information processes and da...

The impact of digital technology on mental health

09.11.18: Jack Roberts, content marketing specialist, shares some best practice from down under regarding digital technology and mental health services. The impact of mental health is rapidly increasing, with data showing that nearly one in five adul...

Transforming the workforce: What if…?

06.11.18: Kirstie Stott, director of the Inspiring Leaders Network, looks ahead to the impending transformation of the NHS’s workforce, and looks at how we can futureproof it.   It seems a while now since NHS organisations were requir...

Why Mental Health Week is every week

31.10.18: Dean Royles, strategic workforce advisor at Skills for Health and co-author of ‘An Introduction to Human Resource Management’ published by Oxford University Press, argues that organisational culture can be one of the most significant...

Let’s speed up the transformation of NHS services

24.10.18: Keiron Salt, CIO Health at BT, makes the case for a more rapid digital transformation of the NHS. The NHS is arguably the UK’s greatest asset, but it’s facing major challenges. Patients are constantly demanding more of the servi...

A goal without a plan is just a wish

22.10.18: CIPFA’s health and social care policy manager, Dr Ellie Roy, makes the case for a long-term funding plan for social care, and welcomes the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) latest findings. The UK Government has committed to the...

Truly transformational leadership is about incremental change

22.10.18: Dean Royles, strategic workforce advisor at Skills for Health and co-author of ‘An Introduction to Human Resource Management,’ argues that truly transformational leaders must posses a certain quality: patience.   They say t...

On your bike!

17.10.18: Sathish Sethuraman, travel and transport plan co-ordinator at Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT, explains how efforts to promote cycling to work at the trust are resulting in more staff travelling on two wheels. At Northumbria Healthcare, we ar...

The right culture is key to antimicrobial stewardship

11.10.18: Prof. Dilip Nathwani is a speaker at the Infection Prevention Society’s Infection Prevention Conference 2018, consultant in infectious diseases and honorary professor of infection at the University of Dundee, and past president of the...