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HSJ Health Check

HSJ
NHS
NHS England
Wes Streeting
Integrated Care Boards
Department Of Health and Social Care
Public Health
Health Bill
Care Quality Commission
Labour Party
Artificial Intelligence
Neighborhood Health
Primary Care
Health Policy
Maternity Services
London
Waiting Times
University Hospitals Birmingham
Nuffield Trust
Healthcare Funding
Elective Recovery Fund

HSJ Health Check: Weekly analysis of the biggest issues in health policy and leadership, from HSJ's expert journalists. The go to place for an independent, informed and immediate take on health and care news.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes332Founded7 years ago
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Artwork for HSJ Health Check

Latest Episodes

This week we discuss why a £300,000 exit payment to a former ICB CEO has proved so controversial, and how NHS England has tried to justify the move.

We also look at what the row reveals about the wider pressure ICBs are under, as they face deep cuts... more

Now the dust has settled on two major maternity reviews, HSJ Health Check is joined by Dr Bill Kirkup to discuss what happens next.

Dr Kirkup has been investigating maternity scandals for over a decade, including Morecambe Bay and East Kent.

We di... more

Many breathed a sigh of relief when the resident doctors accepted the latest government pay offer, putting an end to years of strikes. However, just a week later, consultants voted for industrial action.

We discuss the demands of the British Medical... more

This week Dave West and Henry Anderson are joined by health economist Anita Charlesworth, who is co-chairing a commission into NHS productivity for the Health Foundation.

We discuss the workforce “boom and bust”, why the covid-19 pandemic cost the NH... more

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Recent Guests

Emily Townsend
HSJ's patient safety correspondent
HSJ
Episode: The doctor who's fought maternity scandals for a decade
Bill Kirkup
Independent investigations expert, National Maternity Review expert adviser
Independent investigations / National Maternity Review
Episode: The doctor who's fought maternity scandals for a decade
Anita Charlesworth
Senior Economic Health Foundation and Chair of the Health Foundation's Commission on Productivity
Health Foundation
Episode: Solving the £20bn productivity puzzle
Henry Anderson
Finance correspondent for HSJ
HSJ
Episode: Solving the £20bn productivity puzzle
Karin Smyth
Health Minister
UK Government
Episode: Who runs the NHS?
Ciarán Devane
Chief Executive of the NHS Alliance
NHS Alliance / Ex-CEO roles in NHS
Episode: How racism hurts NHS services - with Ciarán Devane and Stacey Hunter
Stacey Hunter
Chief Executive of the Teesside Trust Group
Tees, University of Tees Trust Group, Foundation Trust Group
Episode: How racism hurts NHS services - with Ciarán Devane and Stacey Hunter
James Ilman
HSJ journalist covering elective care
HSJ
Episode: Inside the Southport victims' privacy breach
Dave West
HSJ deputy editor
Healthcare within HSJ
Episode: Wes publishes his Health Bill and quits – where does it leave the NHS?

Hosts

Dave West
Host of HSJ Health Check
Henry Anderson
Host of HSJ Health Check; HSJ journalist
Annabel Collins
Host of HSJ Health Check; HSJ Health Check / HSJ

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars from 53 ratings
  • Sort the sound out!!!!

    Please teach your journalists how to use their microphones. Every week someone’s mike is too close to them which produces a poppy sound. Totally ruins the experience of listening to these on the whole excellent podcasts.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    tyranosaurus sax
    United Kingdom6 months ago
  • Need to buy some decent mics

    Some good content in the podcast, but given HSJ’s profile you think they could mic up their contributors properly and do a bit of sound mixing. Sounds quite amateurish

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Chris Noble
    United Kingdoma year ago
  • Excellent content, bad badly needs an editor

    Excellent and detailed reporting but episodes filled with ‘ums’, coughs and other things that could easily be edited out

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    A string of numbers 123
    United Kingdoma year ago
  • Excellent content, needs tighter editing.

    Excellent and detailed reporting but pauses and filler words like ‘um’ can be distracting.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    A string of numbers 123
    United Kingdom3 years ago
  • Sort out the verbal ticks please!

    All the reporters really need to work on their verbal communication. The amount of verbal ticks and pointless words eg.’kinda’, ‘sort of’ and ‘erm’ is painful to listen to Takes away from the content which is otherwise useful

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Podheart3000
    United Kingdom4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Guests are industry experts; content is data-driven and informative.
Sponsorship appeal benefits from the clear focus on NHS reform and governance.
Sound quality and editing are frequently cited as areas for improvement.
Listeners value strong policy analysis and practical NHS leadership insights.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Solving the £20bn productivity puzzle
Q: Anita, what do you see as the core misunderstanding about NHS productivity and how would you reframe the debate?
Productivity should be viewed as enabling better health outcomes with the same or fewer resources, not simply doing more with more. It requires transforming workflows, embracing technology, and changing funding models to reward value and care quality, not mere activity counts.
Who runs the NHS?
Q: What are the government's likely paths for transferring powers after abolishing NHS England?
The discussion suggests moving national statutory powers to the Secretary of State while delegating many operational and commissioning responsibilities to providers, ICBs, and trusts, with ongoing debate about how quickly and transparently that transfer should occur.
Bob Wachter on healthcare's AI revolution
Q: Do you think NHS or US systems will win in adopting AI tools?
Both have strengths and weaknesses; the NHS benefits from scale and data accessibility but faces bureaucratic hurdles, while the US can move faster but carries high administrative costs. The future will involve a mix of in-house development, startups, and integration with EHR vendors like Epic.
Bob Wachter on healthcare's AI revolution
Q: How has AI been used in your day-to-day practice at UCSF?
AI scribes and other tools summarize past medical records, draft discharge summaries, and assist with diagnosis and treatment planning, becoming an expected part of clinical work.
Bob Wachter on healthcare's AI revolution
Q: AVT stands for what?
Ambient Voice Technology; it's the technology behind ambient scribing that can speed up documentation and potentially improve workflow.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About HSJ Health Check

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Which podcasts are similar to HSJ Health Check?

These podcasts share a similar audience with HSJ Health Check:

1. Health On The Line
2. The Health Foundation podcast
3. Radical
4. Political Thinking with Nick Robinson
5. Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

How many episodes of HSJ Health Check are there?

HSJ Health Check launched 7 years ago and published 332 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact HSJ Health Check?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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What guests have appeared on HSJ Health Check?

Recent guests on HSJ Health Check include:

1. Emily Townsend
2. Bill Kirkup
3. Anita Charlesworth
4. Henry Anderson
5. Karin Smyth
6. Ciarán Devane
7. Stacey Hunter
8. James Ilman

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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