The state of maternity services

The 10-Year Health Plan has been published, so this week Alastair McLellan and Dave West cover what really matters in the 150-page document, and why it's such a disappointment. Also, what happened to the last chapter on delivery? 

This week we cover concerns about the safety of certain AI technology used in the NHS, as NHS England tries to exert order over a chaotic market. We also discuss the health secretary’s announcement of a “national maternity investigation” and the unanswered questions surrounding this unusual decision. And finally, we talk more about HSJ revelations this week that a patient died as a result of the cyber attack on a south east London pathology system last year.

This episode explores the evolving concept of neighbourhood health, the question marks over who will take the lead in each area and why ICBs still have an important role to play. We’re joined by Andrew Bland, chief executive of South East London ICB and London’s neighbourhood lead, and Ruth Rankine, director of the NHS Confederation’s primary care network, to discuss the cultural and financial challenges of scaling this local approach into a nationally viable model — one the government has placed significant hopes on.Also with Mimi Launder and Annabelle Collins. 

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan sits down with NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor during this year’s ConfedExpo conference, which has been happening at the same time as the Chancellor’s spending review.They cover whether Labour may have hoped for more money for the health service, NHS reform (and the personalities involved), the cultural acceptance of the status quo in the NHS, and how Mr Taylor would advise Wes Streeting on avoiding further resident doctor strikes.

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.The series will explore what ministers and officials have in store as their vision for the NHS emerges, as well as the ups and downs of the process and politics of delivering legislation. This week, Dave West and Annabelle Collins are joined by Siva Anandaciva, director of policy, events and partnerships at the King’s Fund and Barts Health associate non-executive director, and Helen Buckingham, former director of strategy at the Nuffield Trust, following 20 years experience at board level in local and national NHS organisations. We discuss what’s been going on behind the scenes since the last episode and our experts’ take on what should be in the Bill… both serious and not.

Earlier this month the government announced a “carrot and stick” approach to senior manager pay, so this week we go into the detail about what this will mean in practice and how it could affect recruitment to a workforce already facing a lot of churn. Also, more on another way financial incentives will be used in the new NHS, and what the health service might get in the upcoming spending review.

This week the team look at two long-running issues in the NHS. Bureau chief Ben Clover, standing in for Annabelle Collins, is joined by Alison Moore to discuss whether scandal-ridden maternity services are going to get another national review, and whether that would be a good thing. Plus a look at some of the fundamentals in the sector.Then Ben is joined by estates correspondent Zoe Tidman to look at whether the NHS needs a Robin Hood to redistribute some of the capital money from the richer trusts to the needier ones

In many areas the NHS is still in the foothills when it comes to using artificial intelligence, with most of the innovation found in diagnostics and speech dictation.Trusts and tech companies talk of untapped opportunity, so we discuss some of the barriers, from poor clarity over how products are approved, to a lack of money and time to make the investment.Also this week, why KPMG has been awarded millions to help the last hospitals launch their first electronic patient record.

NHS England has revealed its new “model ICB blueprint”, which will see more than a dozen functions transferring out of integrated care boards and requirements to cut the number of board members.We cover what the new slimmed-down ICBs will look like and what these changes will mean for providers.Also - HSJ revealed last week NHSE and the government are slashing ring-fenced funding for services such as maternity and mental health. We discuss the impact this could have on patient care and safety.

The first in an occasional series of HSJ Health Check podcasts tracking the development of the government’s planned Health Bill, which is due to bring about the biggest change in the central running of the NHS for more than a decade.The government’s plans raise huge questions about how the NHS will be run in coming years. The series will explore what ministers and officials have in store as their vision emerges, as well as the ups and downs of the process and politics of delivering legislation. This week Dave West and Annabelle Collins are joined by Bill Morgan, who as a seasoned political adviser in 10 Downing Street and the Department of Health has a hand in the several major pieces of health legislation, and Sharon Brennan, who as director of policy at National Voices has already given evidence to MPs on the latest plans.