Matt Discombe
Matt covers performance --- especially urgent and emergency services --- as well as the North East and Yorkshire regions. During the pandemic, he has been writing about infection control in hospitals and surge capacity for the second wave.
Contact info
- Tel:
- 020 760 89032
- Email:
- matt.discombe@wilmingtonhealthcare.com
- News
Elective activity nosedives as strikes and holidays bite
Elective activity fell sharply in April as national holidays and strikes squeezed resources, and the waiting list rose to a record 7.4 million, NHS England’s monthly performance data shows.
- News
ICSs most ‘off target’ on recovery named by NHS England
Seven integrated care systems and one ambulance trust have been placed in ‘intensive support’ because of their performance against urgent and emergency care metrics.
- News
Region trapped in ‘vicious circle’ as NHS ‘incentivises poor performance’, says ICS chief
People in the North East of England are being trapped in a ‘vicious circle of ill health’ due to national funding structures which ‘incentivise’ poorly performing areas, according to the chief executive of the largest commissioning board.
- News
Sunak’s local acute becomes first to be upgraded to ‘good’ since covid
The Care Quality Commission has upgraded a major hospital trust to a ‘good’ rating for what is believed to be the first time since the start of the pandemic.
- News
Chief midwifery officer named
Kate Brintworth has been appointed the new head of midwifery in England.
- News
‘Unreserved apology’ issued to national cancer director over ‘dishonest’ claim
Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust deputy chief executive Andy Welch, has issued an ‘unreserved apology’ over his public criticism of remarks made by NHSE national cancer director Dame Cally Palmer.
- Expert Briefing
Recovery Watch: ‘Grey area’ over key A&E target
Recovering services from the covid crisis is the big task for NHS leaders for the foreseeable future. The Recovery Watch newsletter tracks prospects and progress. This week by HSJ emergency care correspondent Matt Discombe
- News
NHS warned ‘cramming’ A&Es with medics is not working
The NHS’s efforts to prop up emergency departments with thousands of additional medical staff has been the wrong approach to solving the crisis in these services, experts have argued.
- News
Hancock WhatsApp coverage ‘distressing’, says ICS chief
Media coverage of Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages and the government’s response to the pandemic ‘can be distressing’ for NHS staff and others, a respected system leader has said.
- HSJ Local
More prosecutions launched over patient deaths at trust
A scandal-hit mental health trust is facing further prosecutions over alleged care failings relating to the deaths of two inpatients, HSJ can reveal.
- News
Outstanding trust handed warning notice
An ‘outstanding’ rated acute trust has been served a warning notice to make ‘significant and immediate improvements’ to the quality of care to people with mental health needs and learning disabilities.
- News
CEO resigns from trust told to merge leadership
The chief executive of North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust, which was ordered by NHS England to merge its leadership team with a neighbour, is to step down in September.
- News
Delayed discharges rise in 17 ICSs despite Barclay’s £250m fund
A high-profile £250m government intervention to free up hospital beds has so far failed to deliver any significant reduction in delayed discharges – with multiple systems instead reporting large increases.
- News
‘NHS factors’ lead to more than a third of delayed discharges
More than a third of delayed discharges for long-stay patients are being caused by factors generally associated with the NHS, according to new data obtained by HSJ.
- News
Trust leaders ‘welcome rigour’ of A&E target, says new NHSE director
Trust leaders have said they will welcome the ‘rigour’ of ‘a lot more focus’ on the four-hour A&E target nationally, alongside other indicators, NHS England’s new emergency care director told HSJ.
- News
Paramedics not sent to quarter of urgent calls, admits trust
Some ambulance trusts are not sending paramedics to up to around a quarter of their most serious calls, according to figures obtained by HSJ.
- News
NHSE launches new intervention regime for worst A&E performers
NHS England has revealed a new intervention regime, as it seeks to deliver on its new urgent and emergency care recovery plan.
- News
New A&E target branded ‘extremely unambitious’
The new national target to see 76 per cent of A&E patients within four hours by March 2024 has been described as ‘extremely unambitious’ by senior emergency clinicians.
- News
A&E patients being discharged before they are admitted, warns senior medic
A growing number of patients deemed to require a hospital admission are waiting so long in A&E that they end up being discharged before being admitted to a ward, HSJ has been told.
- News
Board members tried to ‘disrupt’ joint CEO plans, says NHS England
Board members at an acute trust deliberately ‘disrupted’ attempts to merge its leadership with another provider, according to a highly critical NHS England investigation.