Good question from Blake Stephenson and one that had been annoying me Looks like ICBs will be reorganised *again* when (or if) the government goes ahead with creating mayoral strategic authorities across the entire country

The health sec says league tables help patients choose where to get treatment. But some of the best for patient care have been marked down due to deficits. Does the government really want patients to be diverted away from these hospitals? www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

This is a national scandal caused by Wes Streeting. Months of anxiety for ICB staff, and we still have no idea who will have a job if / when this process can actually start. Our ICB's leadership team has been exceptional despite the mass uncertainty caused by this government.

Hopefully an initial serialisation of @davewwest.bsky.social's 20-volume magnum opus: The decline and fall of NHS England www.hsj.co.uk/comment/how-...

Exclusive: This summer's round of resident doctor strike action cost the NHS £300m, internal docs show. Health service has effectively been told to find the money from existing budgets and is introducing spending freeze w @kituno.bsky.social www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/ex...

Good to be quoted in this piece. Reform's "DOGE" has been a complete bust, high on rhetoric and low on meaningful change Reform's councillors have worked out that their councils' finances are not going to be fixed by cancelling a few "DEI" programmes www.ft.com/content/fd85...

Earlier this year NHS England celebrated staff turnover falling to record low as evidence of improved retention efforts. But NHS insiders say the reason fewer staff are leaving is that there are no jobs to go to.

For more than 16 years, Disability News Service has broken important stories about the discrimination disabled people face every day across the UK. Now DNS is looking for new subscribers to help fund its work. www.disabilitynewsservice.com/disability-n...

In March NHS England's new boss ordered boards to cut staff costs in half by December. But now integrated care boards are delaying redundancy processes because the Treasury has refused to fund lay-offs. www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/ic...

Yet another retrospective triumph for Cameron and Osborne.

More than £100m has been raided from NHS budgets earmarked for primary care, community services and prevention www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

Streeting adviser Tom Kibasi, who helped draft the NHS 10-Year plan, is being seconded to Number 10 www.hsj.co.uk/people-moves...

Fascinating piece on how Denmark and Ireland approached their reforms to shift care into the community. Denmark invested heavily in "super hospitals" ahead of transition, has capped increases in hospital budgets and provided extra funding for community. www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/mo...

An NHS acute trust boss has moved to a GP-led community provider seen as a frontrunner to deliver the government's vision of teams of neighbourhood health care professionals www.hsj.co.uk/people-moves...

Gov adviser and former health sec Alan Milburn has said the government should not "direct or run" the NHS. - Says "command and control" model has failed - Claims "change is not pain-free" - Says health is "ecosystem" of public and private orgs www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-r...

An early draft of the 10-Year Health Plan said the Treasury had agreed to underwrite capital spending by the new wave of Foundation Trusts. Yet that commitment was dropped from the final document. Where does that leave the promise of a new world of liberated FTs? www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

The annual cost of NHS diabetes care could fall by £300m after the Supreme Court refused to consider blocking the introduction of a generic alternatives to a widely used drug , reports @henryanderson1.bsky.social www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

NEW: The Supreme Court has refused to hear a last-ditch bid by AstraZeneca to stop cheaper alternatives of a major diabetes drug coming onto market. AZ had previously warned entry of other suppliers would see price of drug "collapse" from £36 to £2 a pack www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

AstraZeneca warns of "extremely serious" commercial impact if it loses court case over £300m NHS drug. Board has approved an "emergency contingency plan" if the case goes against the firm www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

NHS trust financial planning latest

Row with private sector hospitals as NHS cuts price paid for cataract ops. NHS officials have been concerned about massive growth in outsourcing - but one industry source says it sends a "terrible message" www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals has brought in an independent team to review culture amid concerns over bullying and harassment www.hsj.co.uk/doncaster-an...

The long-awaited 10 year NHS plan says that trusts could have their budgets legally capped like local councils if the service cannot fix its “addiction” to deficits. Our reporting on HSJ is free to access until 11am tomorrow www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-r...

Despite the rhetoric about ending deficits coming from Wes Streeting, NHS England leaders have warned large numbers of local financial plans are high risk - with around half of planned efficiency savings unlikely to be delivered. www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

Nearly 400 jobs to go at NHS South Yorkshire integrated care board

Excl: Patients will be able to decide if a hospital gets paid for their treatment under the 10-year health plan Plan also likely to say NHS is "addicted" to deficits and will expect every trust to deliver surpluses by end of decade www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

The final boss of NHS management graphics

Newly-elected Reform mayor comes out against integrated care board merger plans www.hsj.co.uk/lincolnshire...

And a man who fancies himself a god feels a very human chill crawl up his spine escapecollective.com/pogacar-foun...

Long-serving NHS leader announces retirement after six months away from work. HSJ understands there have been concerns about culture at the organisation - which is on its third CEO in less than six months www.hsj.co.uk/humber-and-n...

Central Dept of Health budgets - which include social care, public health and admin costs - are to be squeezed to fund an increase in day to day NHS spending. No word from Treasury on the status of the public health grant www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

NEW: Long-serving NHS boss retires after six months off work. Understood there have been concerns about culture at the organisation www.hsj.co.uk/humber-and-n...

Big questions also for Derby and Derbyshire and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICBs, which had previously rebranded as D2N2 but are now joining with Lincolnshire. D2N2L1?

Step forward CPBLMKH ICB www.hsj.co.uk/integrated-c...

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves boasted of "fixing the foundations" of the NHS. But new analysis reveals the service's finances are in a parlous state ahead of the spending review and 10-year plan. My latest newsletter: www.hsj.co.uk/expert-brief...

Researchers found that Labour’s £4.8bn welfare cuts were likely to damage the health of vulnerable people more than any measures since George Osborne’s £12bn of savings in 2015, at the height of austerity. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Medical staff at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals have been invited to a "speaking up" session to ensure a "healthy organisational culture". Message to staff says this follows "recent feedback...from some of our medical colleagues"

NHS trust finances in a nutshell: 1) big injection of cash halfway through the year to bring deficit down 2) trust quickly falls back into deficit 3) even bigger last-minute bung in February (not planned for) 4) trust reports it has achieved its financial plan

Excl: Dedicated NHS funding pots for maternity, autism and prevention will no longer be protected - and could be cut www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

In December last yr the NHS finance boss said trusts needed to accept "the money is the money" Yet in recent months 100s of millions in last-minute bailouts has been used to make the year-end position look better. www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

Exclusive: NHS trust CEO off work after clash with chair www.hsj.co.uk/trust-ceo-of...

Excl: Row as NHS commissioners refuse to pay for weightloss drugs that a company is "intensively" marketing to patients. (£) High cost and large numbers of eligible patients mean issue is a "ticking timebomb" for NHS, says one boss www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

In a rare move an NHS trust chief executive has criticised govt policy. Peter Reading - who is a polio survivor - attacked benefits cuts and said disabled people are being accused of "collectively being liars or frauds" via @journo_kituno www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/tr...

£7bn NHS deficit "scared the living daylights" out of government, NHS England CEO Jim Mackey is understood to have told colleagues. Sir Jim has told trusts to outsource cleaning staff and cut back-office costs. Difficult to see how that will fill the gap www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

As NHS England’s chiefs sit down with local trust chairs and chief execs to discuss a “financial re-set”, a quick reminder of how difficult the financial situation is in the NHS right now. A short thread >>

“We have lost any meaningful link between efficiency and financial performance" That's the verdict of one experienced NHS leader. New NHS CEO Jim Mackey has a big hill to climb. My column here: www.hsj.co.uk/expert-brief...

Excl: Julian Kelly, the NHS's finance chief, is standing down amid a wider overhaul of NHS England's leadership team www.hsj.co.uk/leadership/e...

Excl: NHS considers brutal cuts to bring down £7bn deficit. One trust CEO said: “If you were doing this sort of cuts programme in a private organisation you would shut stuff, half sick pay [&] reduce holiday pay.” www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

Excl: First-cut NHS financial plans warn of a £7bn gap in the coming financial year. Pressure will now be on trusts to find further savings... www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...

Investigation reveals serious questions about the realism of NHS efficiency targets. - one in six trusts routinely miss - 20 have delivered just 30% of their full year-target in seven months - More than half on track to miss this year's target www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-...