CEO Blogs

Behind the headlines of NHS efficiency targets and financial recovery lies a deeper human impact: a significant reshaping of the workforce. As part of the 2025/26 financial plan, NHS England has mandated: A 2% reduction in total workforce headcount (substantive, bank, and agency). A 40% reduction in agency spend by March 2026. For the clinicians,…

As the NHS intensifies its drive for efficiency amid historic financial pressures, one principle is gaining significant prominence: cost savings must not compromise care quality. Central to safeguarding this balance is the Quality Impact Assessment (QIA), now mandated for all material financial decisions and service changes across the NHS.   This blog offers a tactical…

The NHS enters 2025/26 under the most demanding financial expectations in over a decade. To achieve a balanced plan, local systems must deliver a record 7.1% efficiency gain and reduce workforce headcount by 2%. Yet this is not simply a numbers game. Amid ongoing recovery demands, rising care complexity, and long-standing workforce pressures, the risk…

COVID-19 exposed critical vulnerabilities across the health and care system, from supply chains to surge capacity, from data visibility to public communication. Five years on, NHS England is taking pandemic preparedness back to first principles. This autumn, Exercise Pegasus, the UK’s first Tier 1 pandemic simulation since COVID – will pressure-test the system’s capability to…

Winter is the NHS’s perennial test, but 2025/26 is different. This year, NHS England has redefined system accountability, placing the onus of winter preparedness directly on Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Trust Boards. In parallel, NHSE is rolling out Exercise Aegis, a nationwide stress-testing programme designed to challenge and validate the resilience of winter plans…

The NHS has faced few issues as persistently challenging, or as emotionally charged as maternity safety. Despite countless inquiries, national ambitions, and dedicated professionals, preventable harm continues. The Ockenden review, alongside earlier investigations like Morecambe Bay and Shrewsbury & Telford, revealed a recurring pattern: inadequate staffing, poor escalation, disjointed team working, and a failure to…