NHS bosses told to reduce wait times or face pay cuts
NHS bosses face pay cuts of up to £15,000 for failing to meet waiting time reduction targets, while high-performing bosses could receive bonuses of up to 10 per cent.
Those who relocate to struggling areas could receive bonuses up to £45,000.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting believes these "carrot and stick" reforms will improve NHS productivity and patient care.
The Royal College of Nursing criticised the potential for bonuses exceeding nurses' annual salaries, while NHS Providers expressed concern about potential unintended consequences of withholding pay rises.
NHS England chief executive supports linking pay to performance, citing its prevalence in other sectors.
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Leader Live
10 minutes ago
- Leader Live
NHS Wales to remove no-show patients from waiting lists
Jeremy Miles warned more than 700,000 appointments are missed each year, with 14% of all outpatient appointments lost because people do not turn up or cannot attend. 'That's not right and it's not sustainable,' said the Labour politician. 'And it doesn't help us to make sure the public gets faster access to the care they need. 'So, in future, we will provide patients with two offers of dates for an NHS appointment. If those appointments are not kept without a good reason, they will be removed from the list so that their place can be taken by somebody else. 'Every person's circumstance will be considered. Patients who are vulnerable and children will be protected but we want patients to keep their appointments or to cancel in good time so their place can be taken by someone else.' James Evans, the Conservatives' shadow health secretary, responded: 'I tend to agree with that. We need to make sure the public do actually take a bit more responsibility with their appointments within the NHS but I do urge a little bit of caution. 'And I just need to make sure… this policy is not going to unfairly penalise vulnerable people, those who struggle to get transport, especially in Powys, for example, where people have to rely on public transport to get to appointments. It's not always readily available." Mr Evans cautioned that people who struggle with their mental health sometimes cannot go to appointments, with the minister reiterating that vulnerable people will be protected. Urging people to do all they can to keep appointments, Mr Miles added: 'It is really important that that capacity is available for patients who are able to take up those appointments. We all want to see access to care becoming faster, and so that's an important part of the solution. 'It's a partnership approach between the [Welsh] Government and the NHS on the one hand and the public on the other, and my anecdotal reading of it is that people do understand that that is an important part of the way forward.' In a Senedd statement about waiting lists on June 3, Mr Miles stressed that reducing long waits is his number one priority as he pointed to some signs of good progress. 'We've seen the waits of more than two years falling by two-thirds,' he said. 'At the end of March, long waits fell to… just under 8,400. This is the lowest level since April 2021." He added: 'The size of the overall waiting list had reduced for the fourth month in a row.' Mr Miles, who was appointed in September, said the health service will commission the private sector to carry out a significant number of treatments. He recognised the problem is most acute in north Wales and emphasised : 'I expect the health board to meet its plans to significantly reduce long waits.' Mr Miles told the Senedd: 'We will reset and reduce the overall size of the list by March 2026, bringing it back towards pre-pandemic levels. 'It is within our grasp to reduce the size of our waiting list by as much as 200,000 pathways over the next year.' But Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid Cymru's shadow health secretary, warned Welsh ministers have failed to hit their own targets from 2022 despite moving the goalposts multiple times. He asked: 'What measure of success is seeing over 8,000 people waiting over two years… after promising that no person would be waiting for more than two years by March of 2023?' Mr ap Gwynfor added: 'With finite resources, we must prioritise the right things, rather than introducing a wide range of baseless targets.' He called for a fair funding settlement for Wales from next week's UK spending review, saying: 'The current system and settlement fail entirely to provide resources in proportion with the needs of Wales: older people, more ill health and greater poverty levels.' TOP STORIES Mr ap Gwynfor welcomed a recent improvement but pointed out that 600,000 people – almost one in five of the population – continues to wait for treatment. Labour's Hannah Blythyn welcomed positive progress, with two-year waits down 67% over the past three years and more than 12,000 patients coming off the list. She said: 'We should be honest here that the progress has been made possible thanks to additional investment made possible by two Labour governments working together.' Rhys ab Owen, an independent, expressed concerns about a shortage of anaesthetists, warning it will ultimately lead to the cancellation of treatments and longer waiting lists.
North Wales Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
NHS Wales to remove no-show patients from waiting lists
Jeremy Miles warned more than 700,000 appointments are missed each year, with 14% of all outpatient appointments lost because people do not turn up or cannot attend. 'That's not right and it's not sustainable,' said the Labour politician. 'And it doesn't help us to make sure the public gets faster access to the care they need. 'So, in future, we will provide patients with two offers of dates for an NHS appointment. If those appointments are not kept without a good reason, they will be removed from the list so that their place can be taken by somebody else. 'Every person's circumstance will be considered. Patients who are vulnerable and children will be protected but we want patients to keep their appointments or to cancel in good time so their place can be taken by someone else.' James Evans, the Conservatives' shadow health secretary, responded: 'I tend to agree with that. We need to make sure the public do actually take a bit more responsibility with their appointments within the NHS but I do urge a little bit of caution. 'And I just need to make sure… this policy is not going to unfairly penalise vulnerable people, those who struggle to get transport, especially in Powys, for example, where people have to rely on public transport to get to appointments. It's not always readily available." Mr Evans cautioned that people who struggle with their mental health sometimes cannot go to appointments, with the minister reiterating that vulnerable people will be protected. Urging people to do all they can to keep appointments, Mr Miles added: 'It is really important that that capacity is available for patients who are able to take up those appointments. We all want to see access to care becoming faster, and so that's an important part of the solution. 'It's a partnership approach between the [Welsh] Government and the NHS on the one hand and the public on the other, and my anecdotal reading of it is that people do understand that that is an important part of the way forward.' In a Senedd statement about waiting lists on June 3, Mr Miles stressed that reducing long waits is his number one priority as he pointed to some signs of good progress. 'We've seen the waits of more than two years falling by two-thirds,' he said. 'At the end of March, long waits fell to… just under 8,400. This is the lowest level since April 2021." He added: 'The size of the overall waiting list had reduced for the fourth month in a row.' Mr Miles, who was appointed in September, said the health service will commission the private sector to carry out a significant number of treatments. He recognised the problem is most acute in north Wales and emphasised : 'I expect the health board to meet its plans to significantly reduce long waits.' Mr Miles told the Senedd: 'We will reset and reduce the overall size of the list by March 2026, bringing it back towards pre-pandemic levels. 'It is within our grasp to reduce the size of our waiting list by as much as 200,000 pathways over the next year.' But Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid Cymru's shadow health secretary, warned Welsh ministers have failed to hit their own targets from 2022 despite moving the goalposts multiple times. He asked: 'What measure of success is seeing over 8,000 people waiting over two years… after promising that no person would be waiting for more than two years by March of 2023?' Mr ap Gwynfor added: 'With finite resources, we must prioritise the right things, rather than introducing a wide range of baseless targets.' He called for a fair funding settlement for Wales from next week's UK spending review, saying: 'The current system and settlement fail entirely to provide resources in proportion with the needs of Wales: older people, more ill health and greater poverty levels.' Mr ap Gwynfor welcomed a recent improvement but pointed out that 600,000 people – almost one in five of the population – continues to wait for treatment. Labour's Hannah Blythyn welcomed positive progress, with two-year waits down 67% over the past three years and more than 12,000 patients coming off the list. She said: 'We should be honest here that the progress has been made possible thanks to additional investment made possible by two Labour governments working together.' Rhys ab Owen, an independent, expressed concerns about a shortage of anaesthetists, warning it will ultimately lead to the cancellation of treatments and longer waiting lists.
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The core traits of INCELS: Scientists identify 12 key characteristics in disturbed, women-hating men
A new study has shed light on incels - and exactly why some men are more likely to become women-hating recluses. Researchers from Swansea University and the University of Texas at Austin surveyed 561 incels from the UK and the US. And their results revealed 12 key characteristics shared by this group. The surprising results show that the most important common factors are not right-wing ideology or ethnicity, but extremely poor mental health and a history of bullying. Incels, or involuntary celibates, are a group of men who believe they are unable to have sex or form relationships and are often extremely hostile to women as a result. Shows like Netflix 's Adolescence paint a picture of the stereotypical incel as y oung, white, right-wing, chronically online, and violent. However, this research suggests that incel ideology is attracting a far wider section of society than previously thought. Co-author Dr Joe Whittaker, a criminologist from Swansea University, says: 'While drama can be a useful tool for facilitating public debate, it is also important to have rigorous academic research to back it up.' Although the survey found that incels had a 'broad range of characteristics', some factors were more common. Dr Andrew Thomas, a psychologist at Swansea University, says: 'If we had to point to their most consistent characteristics, it would be incredibly poor mental health and their feelings of bitterness, frustration, and disdain towards women—though even these show variation within the sample.' The most important factor was that incels typically suffered from exceptionally poor mental health. More than a third of incels suffer from moderate depression or anxiety while 37 per cent said they had 'daily suicidal thoughts'. Co-author William Costello, a researcher in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, says: 'Incels are typically framed in terms of the threat they pose to others, but our findings suggest they may be just as dangerous, if not more so, to themselves.' However, this finding may also be concerning given that incel ideology has already been the inspiration for several mass shootings and murders. Studies have shown that over 70 per cent of all mass shooters were suicidal before or intended to die during their killing sprees. Incels' high rates of poor mental health came alongside high rates of loneliness and a history of bullying. Out of those surveyed, 86 per cent of incels reported having experienced bullying compared to just a third of the general population. Likewise, when asked to assess their loneliness, 48 per cent of incels selected the highest possible option. This could be a product of the fact that almost half of all incels live with their parents or grandparents while a further quarter live alone. In that isolation, the researchers point out that incel forums may become someone's only source of social contact or companionship Another extremely common factor is incels' extremely high rates of autism and neurodivergence. During the study, the researchers gave incels the 'Autism Spectrum Quotient-10' test, a screening tool used to see whether someone should be referred for a formal autism assessment. A third of all participants would have been referred for clinical assessment, compared to just one per cent of the general population. In terms of ideology, incels beliefs were often varied but centred on a few key principles. Just like in Adolescence, the majority of incels agreed with the so-called 80/20 principle - the belief that 80 per cent of women are attracted to 20 per cent of men. This principle is the cornerstone of incel 'black pill' ideology which states that incels should give up on relationships because they can never improve their dating prospects. Likewise, incels are unified in their belief that 'feminists', followed by 'the political left', 'wider society', and 'women', were the biggest threats to their community. However, incels are not all members of the far right as they are often made out to be. In fact, incels typically viewed themselves as 'centre-left' and shared left-wing views on issues such as homosexuality, corporate profits, and social benefits. In another break with the stereotype, incels are also a far more diverse group than many people believe. Only 58 per cent of incels taking the online survey said they were white while the remaining 42 per cent were from a variety of ethnicities. Likewise, incels were mainly middle-class but reported coming from all socioeconomic backgrounds and the majority were either employed or in full-time education. Dr Thomas says: 'Incels are often stereotyped in the media as young, white, right-wing men who are not in employment, education, or training. 'When we tested the accuracy of these stereotypes using primary data collection, we discovered misconceptions.' However, one of the study's most important findings was the identification of which two sub-groups of incels were more likely to develop harmful attitudes which could lead to violence. The first group are incels with psychological vulnerabilities such as autism spectrum disorder or a history of bullying and abuse who may be drawn to 'black pill' ideology by feelings of rejection. The second were those on the 'dispositional extremism trajectory' whose innate characteristics disposed them to misogynistic violence. These incels had high rates of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism as well as right-wing political views which lead to a greater risk of violence. The researchers hope these distinctions will help de-radicalisation and counter-extremism efforts target the right people with the right interventions. What is an Incel? 'Incel' stands for 'involuntary celibate' and is a term used by a certain group of men who blame their inability to form relationships and have sex on women. Incel groups have been accused of inciting violence and misogyny online and numerous communities and subreddits have been banned over their content. A cryptic Facebook message posted by Toronto suspect Alek Minassian just before the incident suggested he was part of an online community angry over their inability to form relationships with the opposite sex. The now-deleted post saluted Elliot Rodger, a community college student who killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks near the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014. Calling Rodger 'the Supreme Gentleman', the Facebook post declared: 'The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys!' Chads and Stacys are names used in internet forums to denote people with more active sexual lives. The reference to the term 'incel', meaning involuntarily celibate, was a term used by Rodger in online posts raging at women for rejecting him romantically. The anti-women sentiment also recalled Canada's 1989 massacre at the Ecole Polytechnique, an engineering college in Montreal, when 25-year-old Marc Lepine entered a classroom. He then separated the men from the women, told the men to leave and opened fire, killing 14 women before killing himself.
