Ruth Robertson sits down with Dr Waheed Arian, who shares his journey of leaving Afghanistan as a refugee, becoming an NHS doctor and founding two organisations which use technology to overcome barriers in health care. In this episode, Waheed delves into the importance of hope, compassion and mentors during times of adversity. Related resources Dig…

Ruth Robertson is joined by a panel of King's Fund experts to discuss the state of health and care in the context of a potential general election in 2024. Between the British Social Attitudes survey, the NHS staff survey and performance data, we have a lot of information to give us a view of the current health and social care landscape. We also dis…

How are community groups bridging some of the gaps between Black mothers and health and care services? What can the health and care system learn in response? Siva Anandaciva speaks to Amanda Smith, founder and Chief Executive of Maternity Engagement Action CIC, Benash Nazmeen, Professor of Midwifery and co-founder and co-director of the Association…

New year, new CEO for The King's Fund. In this episode host Jo Vigor sits down with Sarah Woolnough, who became our new chief executive at the end of 2023. Get to know Sarah as she shares her reflections on her career to date and the role of organisations like The King’s Fund in the health and care space.…

In this episode, Ruth Robertson explores how the NHS elective care waiting list can be managed in a way that improves health equity with Dr Mark Ratnarajah, UK Managing Director at Precision Healthcare, Sharon Brennan, Director of Policy and External Affairs at National Voices and Dr Polly Mitchell, Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Bioethics and Pu…

What is anti-racism, and why is it important in the context of health and care? Jo Vigor sat down with Joy Warmington MBE, Chief Executive of the equalities and human rights charity brap, to find out. Joy explores the importance of forging genuine change beyond target setting and delves into her own journey of leading authentically and having the c…

What does the future of health and care look like from the perspective of three young leaders, and how can they help to shape that future? Join Jo Vigor as she speaks to Hannah McCaffery, Registered Manager at Richmond Fellowship, Rini Jones, Senior Policy and Research Manager at Marie Curie and Beth Sutherland, Senior Project Manager in the Nation…

How do you solve a problem like NHS workforce planning? Ruth Robertson speaks to Dr Navina Evans CBE about her leadership journey – from starting out as a psychiatrist, to becoming NHS England’s Chief Workforce and Training Education Officer – and the opportunities and challenges of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. Definitions of the acronyms used…

Join us as we mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS. In this episode, Jo Vigor chats with fellow colleagues from The King’s Fund, Danielle Jefferies and Siva Anandaciva, about how the NHS has changed in its history, and what we can learn from other health systems around the world. Related resources How does the NHS compare to the health care systems…

How can we ensure that health and care staff from all backgrounds feel respected, valued and listened to at work? Siva Anandaciva sits down with Karen Bonner, Chief Nurse at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, to talk about the value of having a diverse workforce, and how we can make the health and care system fairer for staff, patients, and comm…

Jo Vigor speaks to Karen and Yvette, a couple who beautifully demonstrate the varied and essential role that unpaid care work plays in many relationships. As they share their story we learn what support they currently receive, and what could make a positive difference. Later in the episode, Jo is joined by Deborah Fenney to talk about our recent re…

What is it like to be leading during this difficult and uncertain period for the NHS? Ruth Robertson sits down with Dr Fay Gilder, Medical Director of the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and Matthew Rice, one of our senior leadership consultants, to find out. Join us for a conversation about leadership, vulnerability and self-care. Related re…

Anna Charles speaks to Hilary Cottam OBE, internationally acclaimed social entrepreneur and author of Radical Help, about the importance of building new systems that are equipped to deal with the health challenges of today, and the need to foster ‘horizontal’ bonds between communities and public services. Related resources Lessons from the Wigan De…

Is the NHS really full of ‘overpaid pen pushers’? Jo Vigor talks to Dr Seema Srivastava, Deputy Medical Director at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Emma Challans-Rasool, Founder and Chair of the Proud2bOps operational network and Director of Organisational Development, Culture and Talent at Nottingham and Nottinghamshi…

What can data tell us about the health of our nation, and the state of the system meant to help us get better, and stay healthy? In this episode, Siva Anandaciva sits down with chief data reporter at the Financial Times, John Burn-Murdoch. Related resources The health policy year in review 2022 What's in store for health and care in 2023?…

Is it possible to tackle climate change without further widening health inequalities? Jo Vigor speaks to Dr Dominique Allwood, Chief Medical Officer at UCL Partners and Director of Population Health at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, about her leadership journey, why clarity of mission is so important and the challenge of creating a sustaina…

Anna Charles speaks to Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, Helen Barnard, Associate Director at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Marie Gabriel CBE, Chair of North East London Integrated Care System and Cormac Russell, Founding Director of Nurture Development, to find out how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting the nation’s…

Stafford Scott talks about taking a 'constructively awkward' approach to community activism, how the NHS can become a ‘national hearing service,’ and challenges the next generation of leaders to embed themselves in communities and bring people together. Stafford is the Founder and Director of Tottenham Rights, a community-led initiative that addres…

What needs to happen to make sure everyone gets the care and support they need as they approach the end of their lives? Ruth Robertson speaks to Lesley Goodburn, Professor Bee Wee CBE, John Powell MBE and Angie Arnold to find out more. Please note that this episode explores experiences of death and dying that may be distressing. If you've been affe…

What are the immediate health and care pressures the next Prime Minister will need to address once they're in post? Join host, Jo Vigor, and a panel of colleagues from The King's Fund: policy adviser, Charlotte Wickens; Head of Policy, Sally Warren and Senior Policy Fellow, Simon Bottery. Please note, this episode was recorded on 26 August 2022, be…

What does it mean for public organisations to be ‘of a place’ and not just ‘in a place’? What’s the difference between ‘thin’ and ‘thick’ trust? New host Ruth Robertson talks with Professor Carolyn Wilkins OBE about leadership across local government and the NHS, cultivating a sense of a place, and how you can influence across local, regional and n…

How does the health and care system respond when an asylum seeker, refugee or migrant arrives in England? Join host Siva Anandaciva and guests Dr Inês Campos Matos, Farisai Dzemwa and Kama Petruczenko as they discuss refugee and migrant health care. This episode was recorded before the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 came into force on the 28 June…

From growing up in her parents’ community pharmacy to leading the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out in general practice, Dr Nikki Kanani, Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement, talks about the values at the heart of her leadership, the power of connection and community, and what general practice could look like for the next g…

The latest NHS Staff Survey results paint a sobering picture of a workforce under intense pressure. Sally Warren, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund, speaks to Annie Laverty, Chief Experience Officer at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Steve Ned, Director of Workforce at Barnsley and Rotherham NHS Foundation Trusts, about the role…

To mark International Women’s Day, host Helen McKenna speaks with Professor Dame Lesley Regan and Dr Janine Austin Clayton about women’s health journeys from start to finish. They explore why women can struggle to get medical professionals to listen to them and the impact this has on diagnosis and treatment, as well as the mental and physical effec…