What’s in store for the NHS in 2026?

It’s time for the HSJ team to take stock and make their predictions for what the New Year could bring for the NHS, from the survival of Healthwatch, to why the NHS App could be in for a tough year.Also, the biggest estates challenges facing trusts and why the ‘choice’ row is set to escalate. Thanks for listening to the Health Check podcast this year and Merry Christmas from all at HSJ.

This week we bring you the latest in our series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill.On this episode Dave and Annabelle are joined by Mark Dayan and Sarah Reed from the Nuffield Trust and we focus on the abolition of NHS England, drawing on research the think tank has just published.We cover how this could be an opportunity to reset how the NHS operates within government, why the dramatic reduction in headcount could do more harm than good, and how officials could learn from historic NHS reforms.

The government made bringing down elective waits its key target for the NHS, and ministers often celebrate how much the list has fallen since Labour came to power.However, we reveal the part that waiting list clean-ups have played in cutting the list this year – alongside growing some types of activity, and other reforms – and why some experts are raising concerns about patients being wrongfully removed.Also this week more on the deal that will see the NHS pay more for new medicines.https://www.hsj.co.uk/quality-and-performance/exclusive-nhse-ramps-up-waiting-list-cleaning-drive/7040427.article

Sir Jim Mackey is expected to end his tenure as ‘transition CEO’ of NHS England next year, so we ask what sort of candidate could be up for the “impossible” job of running the health service.  Also, we dig into what the budget means for the NHS, including how much the pot will be reduced by to pay for the massive redundancy programme.

Sir Jim Mackey is expected to end his tenure as ‘transition CEO’ of NHS England next year, so we ask what sort of candidate could be up for the “impossible” job of running the health service.  Also, we dig into what the budget means for the NHS, including how much the pot will be reduced by to pay for the massive redundancy programme.

This week Ben Clover fills in for Annabelle Collins and is joined by Ella Deverux and Zoe Tidman.The team discuss Ella's exclusive on the NHS App breaking cancer diagnosis news to patients ahead of a human, plus Zoe takes us through where the service is on finance, including a trust down to one day's operating costs.

NHS England has finally launched its much-delayed voluntary redundancy scheme so on this episode we cover everything we know so far and the questions that remain.Health secretary Wes Streeting also acknowledged this week in a speech to NHS leaders he has not resolved the redundancies quickly enough and that things had been particularly hard for integrated care boards.In the same speech, Mr Streeting revealed the eight trusts that are in line to become ‘advanced foundation trusts’ and “front runners to a more autonomous and integrated NHS”. 

This week the team look at what happens when the 2nd most stressful thing that can happen to a trust coincides with winter pressures. Plus NHS England's big ask from ICBs. This week's podcast is hosted by tech editor Ben Clover, standing in for Annabelle Collins, and he is joined by Joe Talora and Mimi Launder

NHS England has published its planning guidance - now rechristened the “Medium Term Planning Framework” - so this week we cover what it will mean for the service, with guest Daniel Elkeles, CEO of NHS Providers.We dig into promises to end what NHSE claims is “an operating model that had become overly bureaucratic”, the challenging performance targets and what ‘integrated health organisations’ could look like in reality.Also an update on the NHS Provider/Confederation merger, which was finalised this week.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, one of the biggest acute providers in Europe, was seen as an example of how a trust can turn things around, despite its size and complexity. However, over recent months it has come under intense scrutiny, with a major maternity scandal unfolding and serious concerns about governance and leadership.Its former CEO Sir Julian Hartley also stepped down from his role leading the Care Quality Commission this week, describing it as being “incompatible” with concerns raised about care provided at the trust, some of which while he was in charge.  We cover the latest developments, its quality improvement journey and when things started to go wrong. Also this week we discuss a legal challenge to a big EPR procurement in the north west and the ripple effect this could have.