CEO Blogs

For decades, agency healthcare professionals have been the NHS’s shock absorber, stepping in when rotas failed, filling hard to fill shifts, and keeping services running through seasonal peaks and the pandemic. During COVID, NHS Employers called agencies “an extended arm of the NHS family.” Today, that family is being told there’s no place at the…

The signal: NHS England is now tracking Discharge Ready Delay (DRD), the days between a patient being clinically fit for discharge and the day they actually leave hospital. July 2025 data confirm DRD is stubbornly above plan, with widening system variation.   Why this matters: DRD is a direct reflection of patient flow. A high…

  The NHS entered 2025/26 with a projected £6.6bn system deficit and an instruction to deliver the toughest efficiency programme in its history. Against that backdrop, government messaging has zeroed in on an agency-spend crackdown, presenting it as the main culprit and solution. This narrative is politically convenient, but financially dishonest. Even if the headline…

The signal: June 2025 data show 439 out-of-area placements (OAPs) in adult mental health, +105 year-on-year. 24.5% of adults had inpatient stays >60 days, and 40.5% of older adults delayed >90 days.   Why this matters: These aren’t just inefficiencies, they separate patients from families, erode continuity of care, and drive escalating system costs.  …

Executive Summary Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) is the frontline test of NHS resilience. For winter 2025/26, NHS England has set out a plan to stabilise UEC performance, reduce long waits, and improve patient flow. Yet translating this plan into operational reality within Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and Trusts is fraught with challenges: workforce fragility,…