Five Things I Think: 

1. It was great to be able to attend the Health Plus Care Conference in London this week. The speakers were excellent, and it was a great chance to network.
2. The CQC is relishing its new powers (coming 2023) of being able to regulate Local Authorities and wider systems of health and social care. I know this because CQC CEO Ian Trenholm told us this yesterday at the conference, I think he even smiled whilst saying it. 
3. Patient safety incidents and ‘never events’ are rising. So too are the fines. 
4. GPs are quite angry, and they appear to be ready to strike back. I overheard no fewer than three talks yesterday given by fired-up GPs, including the line “GPs are not just here to prevent people from going to A&E!”
5. Almost 50% of new nurses entering the NMC register were trained overseas is a clear example of the nursing workforce planning failure over the past decade.  

The “wow he’s harsh” thought of the week:

I often wonder if senior staff at NHS England really communicate with senior staff at NHS Trusts etc. Yesterday at the conference one such clinical director (responding to an audience question about investing in NHS mental health inpatient services instead of the independent sector) said that if funding was available then Trusts could invest and open such services. 

I know for a fact that at least one large mental health trust is considering closing one of its two existing inpatient mental health services completely. Surely this is contraction and not expansion, has the memo not been sent?

The Business of Healthcare:

The issues around recruitment and retention featured heavily at the conference, with many excellent presentations delivered. Recruitment & retention was also the topic of conversation amongst delegates over coffee. I’m not sure that there is a more widespread and urgent business need?