Strengthening trusts’ financial and operational performance for 2016/17 – NHS Improvement
In partnership with NHS England we’ve unveiled a suite of new measures for providers and commissioners to restore financial discipline and help ensure ongoing financial sustainability for the NHS. Download the PDF: Strengthening financial performance and accountability in 2016/17

The King’s Fund response to the PAC report on discharging older people from hospitals – The King’s Fund
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee’s report on discharging older people from hospitals, Richard Murray, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund, said: ‘The growing and unacceptable delays in discharging patients from hospital highlighted in today’s report symbolise the twin crises facing the NHS and social care.

DH confirms changes to healthcare education funding – NHS Employers
The Department of Health has now confirmed the changes to healthcare education funding, which will see bursaries replaced by a loans system for student nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

BME doctors face unconscious bias and remain less likely to pass exams, says GMC – GP Online
Medical graduates from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds face unconscious bias and are significantly less likely to pass exams than their white counterparts, according to GMC reports.

North West trust ‘not sustainable’ in current form – Health Service Journal
STRUCTURE: East Cheshire Trust has confirmed to HSJ that the board no longer believes the organisation is sustainable in its current form.

Locum shortage forces trust to close hospital unit – Health Service Journal
WORKFORCE: Difficulties in recruiting locum doctors has led to Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust temporarily closing its ambulatory care unit at Dewsbury Hospital, HSJ has learned.

Regulators step up intervention on financial failure; CCGs rated – Health Service Journal
NHS England and NHS Improvement have announced a series of interventions in the local NHS, representing a major step-up in intervention over financial failure, while the NAO says the DH overspent its 2015-16 budgets

Trust chiefs hit back at claims of over-recruitment – Health Service Journal
Hospital chief executives who face having to find millions of pounds in extra savings have hit back at NHS Improvement’s claims they recruited too many staff.

Fines for trust performance failures increase – Health Service Journal
Fines for the non-achievement of performance targets have effectively increased by 60 per cent under new rules announced on Thursday.

Special measures trust chief: The problem is demand not inefficiency – Health Service Journal
The chief executive of one of the five trusts put in financial special measure said his organisation’s overspending was mainly due to demand rather than inefficiency.

Two-year operational plans to be submitted by December – Health Service Journal
Local NHS organisations will be expected to agree two-year operational plans by the end of December, national leaders have said.

£400m of uncertainty in financial forecast as trusts reject control totals – Health Service Journal
Seventeen trusts that have not agreed control totals with NHS Improvement are predicting a combined deficit of more than £400m for 2016-17.

“Nudge” and the epidemic of missed appointments – Journal of Health Organization and Management, Volume 30, Issue 4, Page 558-564, June 2016.
Findings – A policy, which avoids the use of financial penalties is likely to be more culturally acceptable within the NHS. It could also prevent the phenomenon of “crowding out” whereby the desire to act dutifully gets displaced by the motivation to avoid incurring a monetary fine. Originality/value – Testing both strategies would provide insight into patient attitudes towards health care and society. This would help optimise behavioural strategies which may influence not only appointment attendances but also have wider implications for encouraging rational health care consumption.