The plan for NHS league tables is bad, and will lead to unintended consequences

In this episode, we hear about ketamine addiction. It's in the news, but the rise in addiction amongst young people in the UK has caused concern for some time.  Irene Guerrini and Nicola Kalk, both addiction psychiatrists from the National Addiction Centre, join us to explain why its become a problem. In November 2024 Wes Streeting, the UK’s health and social care minister, announced that he was planning to introduce league tables for hospitals - and would be linking managers' pay and continued employment to those outcomes.  Richard Lilford, from the University of Birmingham, Timothy Hofer, from the University of Michigan, and Ian Leistikow, an inspector at the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate, join us to explain why this is a bad idea. Non-prescribed ketamine use is rising in the UK Hospital league tables, targets, and performance incentives should be used with care