The King's Fund podcast

How does the Labour Party plan to clear the NHS backlog? What public health initiatives might be mentioned in party proposals?

Join host Andrew McCracken, Assistant Director of External Affairs and King's Fund colleagues, Sally Warren and Saoirse Mallorie, as we delve into the key debates in health and care in the lead up to the 2024 general election. Plus, we answer a listener question: 'is it sensible for political parties to com...

The countdown to the 2024 UK general election is now on. Join Andrew McCracken, Assistant Director of External Affairs and colleagues here at The King’s Fund for our new election podcast series.

Over the next five weeks we'll be examining the key debates and exploring the big issues in health and care. We'll also be answering your listener questions 

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.

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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 discuss what the data doesn't show us and the need for long-term strategies to solve th...

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 of South Asian Midwives CIC, and Chrissy Brown, founder and Chief Executive of the M...

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 Nat...

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 courage to do things differently.

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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 National Ambulance Team at NHS England.

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.

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.

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 communities from ethnic minority groups.

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 research in this area.

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.

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.

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 Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System and Rachel Burnham, Director of Perfor...

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 sustainable and equitable health and care system.

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 health and wellbeing, and what the health and care sys...