Nigel Edwards discusses ideas from the Darzi review
HSJ - 3 July 2008
Nigel Edwards on innovation in the NHS
Guardian Society - 18 June
A velvet revolution for commissioning
Commissioning Health editor Andy Cowper interviews Nigel Edwards, director of policy of the NHS Confederation
Commissioning Health - 9 June 2008
Should top ups be allowed on the NHS?
In light of the growing controversy surrounding the issue of top up payments for extra and often expensive treatments, the NHS Confederations evaluates the current system, and calls for a balanced debate on if topping up should be allowed on the NHS.
Public Finance - 19 June 2008
Healthcare Commission National Patient Survey results
Jo Webber analyses the results of the National Patient Survey highlighting where the service is succeeding and where work is needed to drive improvements in care.
National Health Executive - May / June 08
How informatics can revolutionise the health service
In the modern NHS, good informatics are essential. Managed by Connecting for Health, the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) is the largest and most complex civil IT project in the world, and aims to revolutionise the use of information and technology in the NHS.
House Magazine - July 2008
David Worskett on ISTCs
What does the future hold for Independent Sector Treatment Centres in the NHS?
June 2008
Public finance
Steve Barnett discusses the focus of legislation focussed on the health service following the draft queen’s speech
Public Finance - 23 May 2008
Gill Morgan interview for GMC today
Collaborative working between private and public sector managers
March / April issue 2008
ASN vision HSJ article
An article from the Ambulance Service Network (ASN).
Published in the Health Service Journal in June 2008
Finding the right medicine
Last week, we watched our latest tradition - the draft queen’s speech. The Conservatives claimed many of the ideas were their own, while others thought that Tony Blair’s reform agenda was alive and well. Whatever the reality, there is broad consensus about the direction of travel on public services.
Feature on www.publicfinance.co.uk- 23 May 2008
Health service variations - Gill Morgan
NHS Confederation responds to claims of "health apartheid" in letter to Daily Telegraph.
Published in the Daily Telegraph - 04 January 2008
Health and Social Care Bill and the Care Quality Commission - Nigel Edwards
The Health and Social Care Bill, published on 16th November, will establish a new super-regulator, the Care Quality Commission, which will bring together into one power house the Healthcare Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
The Parliamentary Brief - 14 November 2007
A clinical vision of a reformed NHS
Doctors' views about a reformed NHS. By Nigel Edwards and Bill Dunlop.
Public Servant - 6 November 2007
How can we stop chief executives' rush to quit with a golden handshake?
While experienced chief executives can be paid off even after gross misconduct, first-timers are often persuaded to take reputation-damaging jobs at failing trusts. Neither is acceptable - the health service needs to take more care of its talent, says Nigel Edwards.
HSJ - 25 October 2007
Conservative white paper and NHS workforce - Nigel Edwards
The NHS looks set to remain the top political priority - and with good reason. Still at the heart of what the public associate with the best of British and costing society £100 billion a year, there are few more emotive issues.
House Magazine - 1 October 2007
Mentally ill fare best in community
With mental illness on the increase and a constant feed of news stories announcing cuts and blunders in services, we could be forgiven for concluding that Care in the Community hasn't worked. This is a simplistic conclusion to a complicated issue.
Times (Public Agenda), 4 September 2007
Widening primary care access
The GP Patient Survey results on primary care access were published with some fanfare at the end of July. The expectation from the Department of Health is that Primary Care Trusts will now develop local action plans by the end of September to improve access, responsiveness and choice.
HSJ - 30 August 2007
Opinion piece for Healthcare Finance - David Stout We're now entering the third year of the operation of Payment by Results (PbR) so it is timely for the Department of Health to issue its consultation document on the future of this policy.
Health advice for Gordon Brown - Nigel Edwards
Gordon Brown has talked about creating an NHS that is more independent of central government, but are structural changes really the answer? There have been significant improvements in the NHS but public opinion of the service is at an all time low. Frequent reorganisations have been particularly poorly perceived.
British Journal of Healthcare Management - 1 July 2007
Managers must dig deep for new skill set - Nigel Edwards
Quite a bit of our time at the Confederation is spent defending NHS organisations and management from various types of attack. Much of this is ill informed and in the worst cases based on little more than the opinions of columnists' dinner party guests.
HSJ - 21 June 2007
Opinion piece on autonomy - Nigel Edwards
Establishing an independent board to loosen the apron strings between politicians and the NHS is being proposed by politicians of all persuasions as a solution to many of the NHS' ills - from rationing to reconfiguration.
Times Public Agenda - 19 June 2007
Opinion piece (HSJ) - Gill Morgan
The NHS Confederation's annual conference is fast approaching. So it is a good time to take a step back and look at the current state of play in the NHS. I have been wondering how things would appear to someone landing from another planet. I fear a 'man from Mars' may well feel rather confused if he landed and picked up a newspaper.
HSJ - 14 June 2007
NHS Confederation 10th anniversary
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the NHS Confederation - the trade body that represents over 90 per cent of NHS organisations. And just like the NHS, the Confederation is changing.
Medendium, volume 26 - spring 2007
Brown's First 100 Days - Nigel Edwards
The most significant issue facing an incoming Prime Minister is that despite very significant improvements in the NHS there is a widespread belief that it is getting worse and may even be in crisis.
Progress online - 25 April 2007
Why the annual health check needs to change - Gill Morgan
The Healthcare Commission has invited views on what it should include in the second annual health check. The message from NHS Confederation members is that regulation must not be seen as an end it itself. It needs to be about helping NHS organisations improve their services for patients.
HSJ online - 23 April 2007
Financial crisis in the NHS - David Stout
This has been a tough year for the NHS. Ongoing financial problems means the news agenda continues to be driven by stories of financial mismanagement and cuts in patient services.
HSJ online - 8 March
Can anybody fix the NHS? - Public Opinion: Peter Mount
Gerry Robinson took on the challenge in a major documentary this week, Peter Mount CBE, Chair of the NHS Confederation, former Chief Executive with Thorn EMI and chair of an NHS Trust in Manchester, gives his view of what needs to change
Times Public Agenda - 16 January 2007
Restructuring: how to get closure with your MP - Anne Campbell
Reconfiguring acute hospital services against the wishes of the local population can be challenging at the best of times, but if there is a Cabinet Minister in the patch, who joins the campaigners then NHS managers are really up against it. This has happened already in Salford, Redditch as well as Airdrie and Shotts, where Cabinet Ministers Hazel Blears, Jacqui Smith and John Reid have all been photographed on the march, protesting about closures in their own constituencies.
HSJ - 15 February 2007
Opinion piece on partnership working - Jo Webber
NHS organisations and local authorities need to work in partnership to deliver better health and social care to local communities. Recent reports however have suggested that some of these partnerships are not working.
Local Government Chronicle - Thursday 15 Feb
Playing up the postcode – Gill Morgan
The papers are full of disturbing reports about patients being denied new drugs through their local NHS, and campaigning organisations calling for universal access to treatments. What many people refer to as the ‘post-code lottery’.
Whitehall and Westminster World – 12th September 2006
Creating a level playing field – Gill Morgan
Independent sector treatment of NHS patients is not a new phenomenon. NHS GPs, ophthalmic and pharmacy services have all largely been provided by independent contractors since the formation of the NHS in 1948. Today, independent providers deliver an even wider range and breadth of services to NHS patients.
Health Investor – September 2006
Viewpoint – looking with - Maria Nyberg
The aim of self assessment is to draw attention to problems but after this first round of reporting, will the new system help or hinder NHS trusts?
Health Management Journal – September 2006
Beyond beds, bricks and mortar – Gill Morgan
On 22 May the NHS Confederation, which represents more than 90 per cent of NHS organisations, published a controversial report with a hard-hitting message.
Nursing Standard – 12th July, 2006
On true productivity – Nigel Edwards
Whatever the conclusion of the arguments amongst statisticians about how efficiency and productivity should be measured, in the real world there is increased interest and urgency as, like commissioning, increased efficiency is seen as the answer to the financial problems we face.
Health Service Journal - 15th June, 2006
Public opinion – Gill Morgan
The NHS Confederation annual conference, which starts tomorrow in Birmingham, gives senior managers and non-executives in the NHS a valuable opportunity to take a step back and discuss how we can improve patient services.
The Times – 13th June, 2006
Divided we fall – Gill Morgan
The NHS has a long history of working closely with social services and the voluntary sector. Indeed, effective care for many cannot be delivered unless services are integrated around their needs…
The Guardian - 7th June, 2006
Why Is the NHS accused of being inefficient? – Nigel Edwards
The NHS is frequently accused of being inefficient. There is a well known catalogue of complaints about delays, high costs, financial problems, staff reductions and difficulties in accessing expensive new drugs.
Whitehall and Westminster – May, 2006
A balanced view and collective action are needed at a turbulent time – Gill Morgan
With the current media climate of negative headlines about the NHS, it is very easy to make the so-called ‘crisis’ in the NHS a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, it is important that we take a balanced view.
British Journal of Health Care Management – May, 2006
What makes a good manager? – Gill Morgan
A good manager needs to understand their core business - people and patients. They need the skills to drive improvement through incredibly complex organisations. And they need to know how to manage change.
Health Service Journal -11th May, 2006
Achieving value for patients and the public – Gill Morgan
The NHS in 2006 faces unprecedented change, significant uncertainty and huge opportunities. The new reforms represent a real opportunity to improve patient care. However, the change agenda is so large there is a danger of losing sight of the end goal.
Medendium - April 2006
Integration is key task – Nigel Edwards
One reaction to some of the turbulence caused by the current reforms being rolled out across the NHS has been a resurgence of interest in the group practice model of provision.
Hospital Doctor – 6th April, 2006
Speak out – Sue Slipman
Foundation trusts were rocked by the suspension of the Tariff and its aftermath as a result of which the foundation trust authorisation programme that is one of the critical planks of system reform has been delayed.
Health Service Journal - 9th March, 2006
Trusts look to the future to fight historic debts – Nigel Edwards and Martin Hensher
The government’s decision late last year to send management consultants into the trusts facing the biggest financial difficulties may not have been a surprise – the political pressure to be seen to be taking action to address the NHS deficit of nearly £1bn was overwhelming.
Health Services Journal – 2nd February, 2006
While experienced chief executives can be paid off even after gross misconduct, first-timers are often persuaded to take reputation-damaging jobs at failing trusts. Neither is acceptable - the health service needs to take more care of its talent, says Nigel Edwards
HSJ - 25 October 2007.
Last reviewed 22 Aug 2008