Workforce and Training

Two NHS trusts spent a third of the year on highest ‘Opel 4’ pressure alert

12.12.18: Two NHS trusts spent more than a third of the year under extreme pressure and on the highest level of alert. An investigation by the BBC found that 14 trusts in England spent 20 days or more on ‘Opel 4’ alert, with two trusts fr...

Financially struggling NHS trust appoints fifth chief executive in just five years

12.12.18: The financially troubled West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has appointed Christen Allen as its newest chief executive – marking its fifth leader in the last five years. Allen is currently the chief executive of James Paget Univer...

Creating a volunteer 'passport'

12.12.18: By utilising the health service’s volunteers, we can deliver better care for everyone, argues Kay Fawcett OBE, clinical project lead at HelpForce. Volunteers take on a range of vital roles in the NHS to improve the lives of staff, pat...

Right people, right place, right now

12.12.18: Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, raises concerns around the mental health workforce and shares some best practice from Cornwall. A broad approach will be necessary to tackle the workforce crisis engulfing the menta...

An attack on them is an attack on us all

12.12.18: Chris Bryant MP discusses the new law he championed that came into effect in September, which doubles jail time for anyone who assaults emergency workers. Every job has its ‘moments,’ doesn’t it? Those things that ruin an...

NHSE and NHSI appoint leaders for its seven integrated region teams

11.12.18: Seven integrated regional teams that will “play a major leadership role” in the new joint structure between NHS Improvement (NHSI) and NHS England (NHSE) have been named. The joint directors of the new regional teams have been c...

New joint leadership team unveiled by NHS England and NHS Improvement

11.12.18: NHS England (NHSE) and NHS Improvement (NHSI) have revealed the first appointments to the NHS Executive Group, a new joint senior leadership team announced as part of “closer working arrangements” between the two bodies. The new...

CEO who left Barking in midst of financial chaos joins troubled special-measures trust

11.12.18: A West Midlands trust placed in quality special measures has appointed Matthew Hopkins as its new chief executive months after he left another struggling trust in London amid financial difficulties. When he takes over Worcestershire Ac...

‘Archaic’ and ‘absurd’ fax machines banned across the NHS

10.12.18: The NHS has been banned from buying fax machines by the health secretary who has ordered a complete phase-out of the outdated machines by April 2020. Taking effect from January 2019, NHS trusts will instead be required to invest in new tech...

New wave of technologies puts surgery ‘on verge of transformative change’

07.12.18: A new wave of technologies will transform surgery across the NHS with advances in digital technology and human biology improving the treatment of millions of patients, according to an independent commission. The Commission on the Future of...

Inspectors find feuding surgeons’ ‘tribalism’ and culture of hostility at cardiac unit contributed to higher death rate

06.12.18: Inspectors have reported weak leadership, a culture of bullying, and “tribalism” between feuding heart surgeons after a review of a troubled cardiac unit in London. Hostilities between surgeons at St George’s Hospital beca...

AI diagnosis and national study included in new early disease detection £1.3bn deal

05.12.18: A £1.3bn investment from the government and the industry has been announced in a bid to drive early disease technology as part of the new Life Sciences Sector Deal. The second ever Life Sciences Sector Deal, announced by Matt Hancock...

Doctors could quit NHS in ‘unprecedented numbers’ as staff pressures puts patient safety at risk

05.12.18: Doctors driven to the “brink of breaking point” and forced into adopting “risky and unsustainable compromises” to maintain care are putting patient safety at risk, the GMC has warned. The medical regulator found that...

NHS’s longest-serving trust CEO to step down ahead of major merger

04.12.18: The longest-serving chief executive in any hospital trust in the UK has announced he is stepping down after 19 years in the role ahead of a proposed merger of his organisation. Tony Spotswood, the CEO of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchur...

Volunteers help ‘reduce pressure’ on NHS frontline, but clarity needed over role boundaries

04.12.18: Frontline NHS staff have praised the “invaluable contribution” volunteers play in the hospitals and reducing mounting pressures, but a lack of clarity around role boundaries is the biggest danger facing voluntary work. An estima...