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Dave West @ HSJ

@davewwest.bsky.social
2.2K followers 816 following 319 posts

Deputy Editor of Health Service Journal. News on the English health and care system, its policy, performance and leadership. www.hsj.co.uk/dave-west/2231.contri…

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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Full picture of the widespread data breaches being commited by NHS staff - excl investigation from HSJ @zoetidman.bsky.social with Sky News www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/ex...
hsj.co.uk
Exclusive: Hundreds sacked for snooping on patient records
More than 200 NHS staff have been sacked and around 2,000 others sanctioned for inappropriately viewing patient records over the past five years, HSJ can reveal.
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ADASS @adass.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
✍️Soup or salad? It’s time to rethink health and care integration. Former ADASS President, @jessmcp.bsky.social, argues that we need to turn the question around: Read the full blog for her insights: www.adass.org.uk/soup-or-salad-its-time-to-rethink-health-and-care-integration/
adass.org.uk
Soup or salad? It’s time to rethink health and care integration - ADASS
For decades, the debate about integration has focused on structures, systems and services. Former ADASS President, Jess McGregor, argues that we need to turn the question around – starting with the li...
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
NEW On funding, Andy Burnham says it is possible to do more within current budgets - "I mentioned people coming into hospital and long stays" Says the NHS loses "several billions pounds a year" to unnecessary / extended hospital stays
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Burnham says principles from Casey include 'home care wherever possible' Questions of what it covers and what is funded are for Casey's review
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Burnham - We will have independent Casey review a year from now (brought forward from 2028) Care has to be very integrated, preventative and person-centreree
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Burnham: Social care doesn't live in its own silo - it's intrinsically linked to the NHS There is no way we can restore the NHS to the standards we'd want to see without reforming social care
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Andy B: it's a major dereliction of duty that parliament has not cracked care Says gaps in care often lead to people calling 999 - once that's done it's very difficult to prevent admission of frail person, they are sucked in
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Louise Casey: some of our asks to improve care will be modest and some will be less modest Says "we can do difficult"
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Yvette Cooper speaking in north London before Andy Burnham says "We cannot keep walking around this problem" - argues it was 50 years ago Barbara Castle first sought to integrate health and social care
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Helen Buckingham @hbuckingham.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Is it too much to hope that today's speech presents social care as a positive thing in itself? Not just an adjunct to healthcare, not just for older people, but a service which can & should enable 1000s of people with physical disabilities, mental health issues, learning disabilities to thrive? 1/2
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Trailer tonight for Andy Burnham social care speech tomorrow No10 again emphasises the link with NHS pressures - the Notes claim "cuts to social care funding between 2010 and 2018 led to an estimated additional half a million A&E attendances a year for people aged 65 and over".
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Charles Tallack @charlestallack.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
In his first speech as defence secretary, Wes Streeting reiterates his record at health in "achieving the biggest reduction in waiting in 17 years". Is that record still looking as good?
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Trailer tonight for Andy Burnham social care speech tomorrow No10 again emphasises the link with NHS pressures - the Notes claim "cuts to social care funding between 2010 and 2018 led to an estimated additional half a million A&E attendances a year for people aged 65 and over".
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
A positive + not insubstantial step on care reform Interesting also to see the official PR include range of comments that also point out the change relies on other big decisions - funding to pay for pay increases, and something to enforce them t.co/mp7vm4xwWW
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Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley @ardernkate.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
A must read from @alicesemark.bsky.social @stkaye.bsky.social @re-state.bsky.social on supporting the adult social care workforce … great examples including Wigan & recommendations 👇link to report in thread. @adass.bsky.social @nuffieldtrust.org.uk @blimeysimon.bsky.social @davewwest.bsky.social
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
My read of Burnham's speech on devolution is, though, that Burnham does get the agglomeration stuff, and the political issue will be the 'what about places that either don't *want* to be run by their cities?' or thornier still, as @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social mentioned here, that don't have one:
ft.com
The Manchester project encapsulating Burnham’s growth vision
The Piccadilly underground station under negotiations would show the vote-winning fruits of fiscal devolution
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Jess Morley @jessrmorley.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I (ironically) fell over on the way to the physiotherapist today and grazed my face, knees, and hands. But NEVERMIND, I have a new podcast episode out with the HSJ www.hsj.co.uk/hsj-download... talking ambient scribes, responsibility, and the single patient record. Give it a listen!
hsj.co.uk
The HSJ Download Podcast: Who is responsible when AI goes wrong?
Ben Clover, Ella Devereux and Joe Talora are joined by Dr Jessica Morley to discuss how best to regulate AI in healthcare.
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Healthwatch @healthwatch.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Carers, people with care needs and carers’ organisations are encouraged to have their say on how to improve Carer’s Allowance in major review of benefit that opens today www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
Views sought to transform benefit paid to carers
Opening today (Tuesday 7 July 2026) the six-week call for evidence will gather views on: modernising the earnings limit to reduce the impact of the current cliff edge, improving predictability for car...
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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
Jack Serle @jackserle.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Nice to have some unbridled good news, in this day and age. Girls who got the HPV vaccine at 12 and 13 have pretty much zero chance of dying from cervical cancer before 30. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
HPV vaccine means young women now have 'close to zero' risk of cervical cancer death
A new study finds that hundreds of lives have been saved since school-age girls were offered the HPV jab in 2008.
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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
Paul Mainwood @paulmainwood.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Still finding this worrying (and unreported). It's summer, and these numbers aren't obviously falling off. Recent numbers for Enfield, Haringey, Islington + Hertfordshire seem to suggest a North London-centred outbreak is still expanding.
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Medical Journalists' Association @mja-uk.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
It's Friday afternoon. What better time to sort out your entry to the #MJAawards @phoebeivy.bsky.social @davewwest.bsky.social @madlendavies.bsky.social @abirimmer.bsky.social @andrewgregory.com @cbwickware.bsky.social Enter here before June 1: mjauk.org/enter-the-20...
mjauk.org
Enter the 2026 MJA Awards - Medical Journalists’ Association
Dates Entries open: 11 May 2026 Entries close: 10 June 2026 Finalists announced: August 2026 Awards ceremony:22 September 2026 Award Categories 2026 Case Study The Dr David Delvin Award for sex and se...
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
The Streeting legacy - Health Bill bang on 200 pages just dropped on Parliament publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...
publications.parliament.uk
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alina @ramshackle78.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Let's remain optimistic for the Single Patient Record, no matter how low its chances might seem
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Some irony in Healthwatch England's findings being cited in the case for the government's proposed NHS Modernisation Bill - the bill that will also scrap HWE
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lawrencedunhill.bsky.social @lawrencedunhill.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Do poor towns really have the worst hospitals? Analysis here of new data that helps map NHS provider quality against their patient deprivation profile. lawrencedunhill.substack.com/p/do-poor-to...
lawrencedunhill.substack.com
Do poor towns really have the worst hospitals?
New data helps map the quality of NHS hospitals against the deprivation profile of their patients.
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Stuart Hoddinott @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
It's not just DHSC where morale is plummeting; the HSJ reports that morale declined in every NHS integrated care board that answered the NHS staff survey in 2025 Worth remembering that these are the people who are supposed to deliver Streeting's 3 shifts www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-r...
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Alf Collins @alfcollins.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Shades of Herbert Morrison.
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New ICB chairs in South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester will for the first time report to their elected Mayors (as health commissioners), as well as to NHS England/SofS on their NHS responsibilities. Could make for an interesting dynamic
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Co-chairs named for DHSC advisory group on frailty & dementia MSF , including @jkdhesi.bsky.social & neighbourhood health guidance is expected to (finally) land this week I understand The centre has been slow on integrated care policy lately, but they're some small steps forward...
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
DHSC declining to confirm a Phase 2 for the neighbourhood implementation programme In reply to a Parliamentary question from @helenmorganlibdem.bsky.social
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Don’t blame the government – NHS ‘conservatism’ is holding back change stark piece on HSJ today from @joemcmanners.bsky.social - about the stalling of 'neighbourhood health' & associated agenda to shift power and resource to the community www.hsj.co.uk/service-rede...
hsj.co.uk
Don’t blame the government – NHS ‘conservatism’ is holding back change
Neighbourhood health has momentum and support, but without structural reform to funding and authority, the NHS risks slow implementation
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David Oliver @mancunianmedic.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
#ntsummit Baroness Casey mentioning the ageist way that Dementia/Frailty gets labelled in effect as social problems not clinical diagnoses/medical problems and so get marginalised in funding/service priorities
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Enjoying this recipe but I live in south London www.ft.com/content/c506... Anyone know if south London has a favourite carbonara ?
ft.com
Recipe: north London’s new favourite carbonara
Lupa’s very yellow riff on a classic comes alive in the details
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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
David Buck @davidjbuck.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Yes, flatlining www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
kingsfund.org.uk
The complex story of public health and prevention spending in local government | The King's Fund
What do longer term trends in local government spending tell us about the government’s commitment to the prevention shift?
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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Details of public health grants to councils were published yesterday (we're shifting treatment to prevention, remember) But they appear to confirm my story from December that the grant will be held flat in real terms / eroded over the next three years. (lnkd.in/eXQx3Jbb)
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Details of public health grants to councils were published yesterday (we're shifting treatment to prevention, remember) But they appear to confirm my story from December that the grant will be held flat in real terms / eroded over the next three years. (lnkd.in/eXQx3Jbb)
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Craig @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 06/02/2026
This just popped up on my phone from LinkedIn. Not that I'm in the slightest qualified to go near the job but being a Trust or ICB CEO right now just seems like a bitterly awful job to want to do. I wouldn't do this, or any other Trust or ICB CEO job, if you added a zero to the end of the salary.
A screenshot from a phone with a LinkedIn alert from East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust saying "Could you be our new Chief Executive Officer?"
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Jack Blackburn @hackblackburn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Trying to get AI to improve my productivity sure is eating into my productivity
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Roger Kline @rogerkline.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
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Prof Jim McManus, OCDS, D.Sc,FFPH,FBPsS, @jimmcmanusph.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
New data from #PublicHealth Wales shows early life really shapes long-term health—15% of children born in 2022 were already overweight by age 2. Feeding practices and early environments make a huge difference. If we support families better, we build a healthier Wales. 🔗 phw.nhs.wales/news/new-dat...
phw.nhs.wales
New data analysis highlights opportunities to prevent childhood obesity in Wales
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Emily Townsend @emilyltownsend.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Excl: NHSE “urgently” reviewing home birth services Comes as @hsj.co.uk investigation reveals widespread fragility and safety risks — including concerns highlighted by multiple coroners Warning follows deaths of Jennifer & Agnes Cahill w/@alijanemoore.bsky.social www.hsj.co.uk/patient-safe...
hsj.co.uk
Revealed: Urgent review ordered after deaths in fragile maternity services
NHS England has ordered trusts to "urgently" review their home birth services, it has emerged - as an HSJ investigation reveals widespread fragility and safety risks.
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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
Stuart McDonald @actuarybyday.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Hospital admissions with flu are back at "low" levels in England. www.gov.uk/government/s...
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
CEO forced out by chair wins £1.4m settlement from @zoetidman.bsky.social www.hsj.co.uk/countess-of-...
hsj.co.uk
Exclusive: CEO forced out by chair wins £1.4m settlement
A trust has agreed a £1.4m settlement with its former chief executive, who was forced out of her role in a coordinated campaign by its then chair and other directors, HSJ has learned.
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Exclusive: CEO forced out by chair wins £1.4m settlement www.hsj.co.uk/countess-of-...
hsj.co.uk
Exclusive: CEO forced out by chair wins £1.4m settlement
A trust has agreed a £1.4m settlement with its former chief executive, who was forced out of her role in a coordinated campaign by its then chair and other directors, HSJ has learned.
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Reposted by Dave West @ HSJ
Stuart Hoddinott @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
DHSC published its impact statement for the 10 Year Health Plan this week (yes, that is 6 months after it published the plan) It's more measured and clear-eyed than the original document and quite a contrast to some of the effusive optimism in the plan Some of the things that caught my eye 👇
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Dave West @ HSJ @davewwest.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Indications that the flu in 2025, though infections started spreading early, was substantially less deadly than the last two years. That
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Stuart McDonald @actuarybyday.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
For all of those who - think we are still in the middle of a raging pandemic 😷 - believe conspiracies about the covid vaccines 🤡 I have some more data for you to ignore or explain away
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AliJaneMoore @alijanemoore.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
This will hack off some boards who have been desperately trying to reduce costs while believing it was what they were being asked to prioritise.
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Andrew Fenton @fentonaw.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Wes Streeting at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk puts great emphasis on NHS modernisation (against opposition), patient power, technology, and prevention. "The job of listening to patients can't be farmed out to an arms length body" ie HW @davewwest.bsky.social @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social
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