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League tables to reveal failing NHS trusts

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League tables to reveal failing NHS trusts


grey placeholderPA An NHS hsopital worker, wearing a surgical mask and scrubs, walks down a busy hospital corridoor PA

Failing hospitals will be revealed in league tables and NHS managers sacked if they do not turn things around, the health secretary will tell health leaders at a conference in Liverpool.

Wes Streeting is promising a “no-holds-barred, sweeping review” of NHS performance in England.

Hospitals can expect to be ranked on indicators such as care delivery and finances, so patients can see whether they are receiving a good service.

And “turnaround teams” will be sent into struggling trusts, while top performers will have more freedom over spending.

grey placeholderReuters Wes Streeting standing in front of a building, looking directly into cameraReuters

Meanwhile, senior leaders will be denied pay rises if key improvements are not made.

A new pay framework for chief executives will be published in April, which will “clamp down” on poor performance while rewarding success.

Streeting will tell the NHS Providers conference there will be “no more turning a blind eye” to failure – something he has promised before, along with the idea of league tables.

“We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in,” he will say.

“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.”

‘Deep dives’

The Department of Health and Social Care says, currently, there is little incentive for trusts to run budget surpluses, from which they are unable to benefit – but that will now change.

Top performers will be given more capital and greater control over where to invest it – be that new equipment or technology or modernising their buildings.

The NHS Oversight Framework, which sets out how trusts and integrated care boards are best monitored, will be updated to ensure performance is properly scrutinised.

And at poorly performing trusts, government and NHS England “deep dives” will identify the most pressing issues and how they can be resolved.

NHS trusts could also be banned from using expensive agency staffing to cover certain rota gaps.

Some recruitment agencies have charged up to £2,000 for a single nursing shift -and last year, temporary workers cost the NHS in England £3bn, the government says.

‘Cut waiting’

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard welcomed the accountability, saying: “The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS – and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”

But Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power warned the new measures must bring positive change.

“We hope trusts who receive greater funding freedom will use this money wisely – to cut waiting times, make the waiting experience better for patients, and strengthen the ways they work with patients to improve services,” she said.

“These are the things that matter most to people using the NHS.”

‘Challenging circumstances’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS trusts, said health services were already subject a lot of oversight and regulation – and the prospect of “more league tables” would concern health leaders.

“NHS staff are doing their very best for patients, under very challenging circumstances, and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed,” he said.

“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement.”

Mr Taylor said the “devil will be in the detail around what constitutes failure”, much of which could be beyond a health leader’s immediate control.

“We look forward to working with the government to make sure that any new measures don’t disincentivise managers from taking on roles in struggling organisations,” he said.

NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, said hospitals were already doing everything possible to boost productivity while delivering tough efficiency measures.



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Band Aid recordings combined to mark charity single’s 40th birthday

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Band Aid recordings combined to mark charity single’s 40th birthday


grey placeholderGetty Images Harry Styles accepts Album Of The Year for Harry's House onstage during the 65th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He is smiling and is wearing a cream suit jacket with black velvet lapels.Getty Images

Harry Styles, pictured last year, featured on the 2014 recording of Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Harry Styles, George Michael, Sinead O’Connor and Ed Sheeran are among the stars whose vocals will feature in a new “ultimate mix” of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The song will feature on a forthcoming compilation marking 40 years since the original charity single was released, organisers Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and Trevor Horn said.

The original single by the charity supergroup was released in 1984 to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia.

Since then, the song has been re-recorded three times to mark the fifth, 20th and 30th anniversaries, with some of the most popular artists from each era taking part.

For the new remixed version of Do They Know It’s Christmas, producer Horn went back to the original recordings and blended the voices from the different generations into one whole.

grey placeholderReuters Rita Ora hosts the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards at Manchester Co-op Live in Manchester earlier this month. She is singing into the microphone and has long blonde hair worn down. She is wearing a black boob tube and silver jewellery.Reuters

Rita Ora, pictured at the MTV EMAs at the weekend, sang on the 2014 recording

The resulting version features vocals from Sting, Ed Sheeran, Boy George, Sugababes, Sam Smith, Bono and Chris Martin.

Vocals previously recorded by George Michael, who died in 2016, and Sinead O’Connor, who died in 2023, will also feature.

The line-up is rounded off by Harry Styles, Rita Ora, Guy Garvey, Seal, Robbie Williams, Kool and the Gang and Underworld.

The vocalists will sing to the music played by a band including Sir Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Thom Yorke, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Johnny Greenwood, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

The new “ultimate mix” will premiere on British radio stations on the morning of 25 November 2024, the 40th anniversary of the original song being recorded.

It will then be available to stream and buy on digital platforms, ahead of the full compilation album’s release on 29 November.

A new video by Oliver Murray, who created the video for The Beatles’ 2023 single Now And Then, will accompany the song, featuring archive footage of David Bowie introducing the song’s stars and Michael Buerk’s famous BBC news report on the song.

grey placeholderGeorge Michael on the Parkinson chat show in 2004. He is wearing a black jacket and is smiling.

The voices of George Michael (pictured), who died in 2016, and Sinead O’Connor, who died last year, will feature on the new single

grey placeholderBrian Aris/Band Aid Group shot of Band Aid 1984Brian Aris/Band Aid

The original Band Aid single was released in 1984 and raised around £8m

The project was founded by Geldof and Ure in 1984, and the original single sold more than two million copies, and raised around £8m.

All versions of the song reached number one in the UK singles chart.

A 1985 concert, Live Aid, and another in 2005, Live 8, saw many of the artists and bands join forces to continue raising money for the project.

In the last four decades, it’s thought the Band Aid Charitable Trust has raised more than £140m in total.

The money has gone towards long-term development projects and emergency aid. The 2014 version, for example, raised money for the Ebola crisis.

However, later versions of Do They Know It’s Christmas? received criticism, as some listeners suggested the lyrics were increasingly outdated and patronising.

Some artists such as Adele were reported to have chosen to donate to charity instead of taking part.

The decision to combine previously recorded versions of the single cleverly sidesteps similar risks, while still raising money and marking the charity’s 40th anniversary.



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England 82-0 Wales: Jodie Cunningham says Lionesses can match world’s best

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England 82-0 Wales: Jodie Cunningham says Lionesses can match world’s best


England are proving that they are good enough to match world champions Australia when the two sides meet in March, captain Jodie Cunningham says.

Stuart Barrow’s side rounded off 2024 with their biggest-ever win, thrashing Wales 82-0 in their autumn Test at Headingley.

Anna Davies made history as the first woman to score five tries in an England international, with Barrow’s side scoring 16 in total.

It was the last chance for England’s players to impress on the field before Barrow selects a training squad in preparation for facing the Jillaroos in Las Vegas on 1 March.

England see that match as an opportunity to ascertain how much progress they have made since the last World Cup two years ago, when they lost in the semi-finals to a New Zealand side themselves well beaten in the final by Australia at Old Trafford.

Cunningham told BBC Sport: “Australia are the benchmark, but who knows until we play them? And I think that’s why it’s important. We have to test ourselves against Australia to know where we are. They are the world champions.

“You can’t take any credit away from how brilliantly they play, but I think we’ve shown today that we can match the best in the world. We just have to test ourselves against them, and we’re going to get the chance in March.”



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Mum says her autistic son is like a prisoner in hospital

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Mum says her autistic son is like a prisoner in hospital


grey placeholderFamily handout A young man pictured beside his mother, this is a close up picture of their faces. The teenagers t-shirt has three black stripes on his shoulders with a grey background, his mothers top is pink.Family handout

Sebastian, who was born with autism and is non-verbal, pictured with his mother Amanda

A mother whose autistic son has spent 10 months in hospital has said he is being locked away and robbed of a future.

Amanda said her son Sebastian, 19, is deemed fit for discharge, but the health trust has been unable to find somewhere for him to live due to his complex needs.

The Southern Health Trust confirmed it was continuing to liaise directly with the family to find the most suitable care setting.

BBC News NI asked all the trusts for their figures, and it has emerged that at least 22 people in adult mental health hospitals can be discharged but have nowhere to go. One patient has been in hospital for more than a year.

grey placeholderFamily handout Sebastian is wearing a navy and yellow top. He has brown hair, some stubble and his forehead has a gash in the middle of it. In the background there is a bright cartoon painting.Family handout

Sebastian has been in hospital since January

Sebastian was born with autism and is non-verbal.

He first started respite care when he was four, as his mother needed help because she felt his behaviour was no longer manageable at home.

He then went to live in a home for children that catered for his needs.

However, when he turned 18, he could no longer live there due to his age.

Following a meltdown in January, he was detained in a mental health hospital.

Amanda, from Craigavon, said: “My son is living in hospital because he has autism, plain and simple.

“He’s autistic, has complex behaviours, and I feel like nobody could be bothered with him any more.

“My child does not belong in a building like that; every specialist that he has come across and even his psychiatrists have said he does not belong there.”

grey placeholderFamily handout The image on the front cover of a picture book. Sebastian has a grey round neck jumper in a garden where you can see the grass and a fence behind him. He is in front of a ladder attached to slide.  

Family handout

Sebastian’s mother said he had limited access to the outside world

She said two weeks after being admitted, her son was fit to be discharged from hospital.

But the local trust has been unable to find suitable accommodation.

His mother said the staff dealing with her son were very good, but a more experienced team was needed to manage his behavioural issues.

“To see his giant teddy bear sitting on the bed beside him… he is stressed,” she said.

“I feel like he is being treated like a prisoner with limited access to the outside world. He has no life.

“He has the mind of a child. It’s so unfair.”

The type of accommodation depends on the needs of the patient; it can be a supported-living placement, a residential care home, or a place provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

The trusts come together every fortnight as part of a group, known as the resettlement oversight group, to discuss placements.

Through a Freedom of Information request, the BBC has seen minutes of some of those meetings.

They revealed:

  • Ongoing challenges in finding suitable placements for people with severe learning disabilities and complex autism
  • Some providers would be “pulling back from providing these placements”
  • Cost as well as provider availability was prohibiting placements in cases

The Department of Health said it was aware that the availability of community placements was a key barrier to enabling timely discharge from inpatient services.

grey placeholderFamily handout Sebastian is wearing a red hood this is pulled up over his head, he has blonde hair and blue eyes. His father is wearing a black coat and a black. Stephen is looking at his son in this picture while grinning with a smile on his face he looks very proud of his son. Family handout

Sebastian alongside his father Stephen

Kerry Boyd, of Autism NI, said a review of autism adult services was taking place in Northern Ireland.

“Many families tell us that they are deeply concerned about the lack of provision for their children post-18, whether that is in relation to lifelong learning, mental health, employment, or supported living,” she said.

“It is crucial that autistic adults are allowed to have the same opportunities to live an independent life as the rest of society, and that means there must be supports in place for them to live within appropriate housing too.”

A spokesperson for the Southern Trust, which is in charge of Sebastian’s care, said: “As part of that care, all our in-patients have access to green spaces alongside opportunities to participate in purposeful and meaningful daily activities.

“We remain committed to working with other partner agencies to find the most suitable supports and placements for individuals with complex needs.”

They said less than five other people were in a similar situation.

In addition, they said there were 10 residential homes in the trust area registered with the care home watchdog, which provide care for people with a mental illness.

“However, it is not possible to specify the number of beds available as the suitability of each placement is based on assessed needs,” the spokesperson added.

“The Southern Trust cannot comment on the waiting list policy for admission to each independent sector care home.”

The situation in other trusts

As of 28 October 2024, the Northern Trust had 10 patients in adult mental health wards who have been deemed medically fit for discharge and require a residential placement option.

The length of delay ranges between four days and 354 days.

The trust said the patient waiting the longest required a bespoke placement that had been sourced on two separate occasions and unfortunately had not been able to proceed due to change in circumstances.

The South Eastern Trust said there were two patients in adult mental health wards deemed fit for discharge – one had been waiting 16 days, the other four months.

Both are awaiting housing from the Housing Executive.

As of 4 November 2024, the Western Trust had two patients in the same situation.

One has been waiting 70 days.

“There are 204 adult mental health supported living placements across the Western Trust area,” a spokesperson added.

The Belfast Trust said it had fewer than five patients. The longest wait is currently 105 days.



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A change-making Budget and a moment of jeopardy

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A change-making Budget and a moment of jeopardy


grey placeholderGetty Images Rachel Reeves carries the red Budget Box as she leaves 11 Downing Street. A crowd of journalists and camera operators are in the background, standing behind a fence.Getty Images

This was a huge, change-making budget.

Don’t let anyone tell you there isn’t much difference between the main parties at Westminster.

This was a Budget with Labour’s instincts and worldview stamped throughout it.

There are the tax rises visible from near-earth orbit, the self imposed borrowing rules shredded and re-written – to allow more borrowing – and big wads of spending for the NHS, just for starters.

I lost track during the election campaign of how often Labour folk insisted they had “no plans” to put up taxes beyond a relatively narrow band of those they said would rise.

Looked at now you don’t have to be wildly uncharitable to conclude that was comprehensive baloney.

Labour, psychologically scarred by losing far more elections than they win, tend to try to hug the Conservatives close when it comes to tax and spending plans before elections where they think they can beat them, fearing anything else will spook swing voters and cost them the contest.

And, pretty much, that is what Labour did back in the summer.

No such caution now.

The books were worse than we thought is Labour’s mitigating plea, garnished with a we-won’t-do-it-again insistence from the chancellor in my interview with her.

“This is not the sort of Budget we would want to repeat,” Rachel Reeves told me.

For the chancellor, we now enter the valley of maximum scrutiny and jeopardy for her prospectus.

Journalists, policy experts, industry, trade unions, you as readers have a chance to properly squirrel away at the detail and ask awkward questions.

You will see the chancellor on BBC television and hear her on the radio.

Senior figures insist they want to embrace this scrutiny.

They point out she didn’t go on TV and radio shows last Sunday, before the Budget, as has become recent infuriating tradition – where journalists ask pertinent questions about the content of the Budget and are repeatedly told to wait until Wednesday.

She will instead be appearing this Sunday, alongside the new Conservative leader elected on Saturday, no doubt.

So where might that scrutiny come? All the big stuff, for sure – the tax rises, the borrowing, the spending.

But I always like to keep an eye on the rows that may appear smaller but have the potential to blow up in a government’s face.

There is already real anger among many farmers about changes to inheritance tax which they fear will mean lots of farming families will no longer be able to pass on their life’s work and business to the next generation.

And a couple of big picture, longer-term thoughts to ponder.

This is a government with a central mission of helping to drive up economic growth.

And yet the projections for growth appear stubbornly anaemic, as our economics editor, Faisal Islam, writes.

And there is a similar observation from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who have crunched the numbers on the forecasts for the money we are each likely to have in our pockets in the coming years, once bills are sorted – per capita disposable income, to use the language of economists.

They conclude its rate of growth, while up a smidgen on where it’s been in recent years, is still pretty piffling.

The government will hope the forecasts are wrong – and they can be.

But, as I have written before, what seems to be a huge contributor to the anti-politics mood as well as wild political volatility is that unshiftable financial reality for many: the brutal truth that things haven’t got much better, if at all better, for ages and ages and ages.

And, in the end, the persistence of that trend, or its marked end, will matter more to millions of people and the likely eventual fate of this government than plenty of the other Budget numbers being picked over right now.

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