The Improving Healthcare Podcast

What can Toyota teach the NHS? More than you'd think. Steve Boam, CEO of Develop Consulting and former Toyota employee, and Jeremy Butler, Executive Director for Transformation at Imperial College NHS Trust, join host Darren Jones to discuss why Lean principles work in healthcare - and why continuous improvement so often fails. They challenge how the NHS uses metrics, explore what world-class operational performance actually looks like, and explain why strategy is about choices - and what you don't do.

As ICBs and Trusts finalise 2026 budgets, Dr Felix Davies and Sajid Khan explain why continuous improvement capability is a strategic necessity, not an optional extra. Discover the difference between having a QI team and building genuine CI capability that delivers year after year.

Continuous improvement programmes across the NHS are failing. Dr Felix Davies from Develop Consulting reveals why organisations get it wrong, from leaders operating behind desks to boards stuck on the hamster wheel avoiding hard problems, and explains what actually works in health and social care.

New research challenges the belief that adding more GP appointments increases capacity. Instead, it reveals practices are seeing the same patients more often, with 19% of consultations driven by “failure demand” from unresolved prior interactions.In this episode of The Improving Healthcare Podcast, our expert panel explores why effectiveness, not volume, is the key to sustainable primary care:Nick Downham – Independent Health & Social Care Improvement SpecialistSteve Boam – CEO, Develop ConsultingSimon Bricknell – Senior ConsultantDrawing on over 15,000 practice improvement sessions and work with 3,000 GP practices, they uncover seven critical areas where practices lose capacity, from continuity of care to process variation.🔍 Want to go deeper? Read the full whitepaper “General Practice – Prioritising Effectiveness Over Volume” here:🔗 develop-consulting.co.uk/general-practice-prioritising-effectiveness-over-volume/

The NHS 10-Year Plan promises the most radical transformation in the service’s history – but how can healthcare leaders deliver such sweeping change while protecting patient outcomes?In this essential episode, expert panelists move beyond policy rhetoric to share the practical realities of NHS transformation, drawing on real-world experience from across the country.Our Panel:Dr Natasha Behl – GP Partner, Solihull Healthcare Partnership; Clinical Lead for Primary Care WorkforceNick Downham – Independent Health & Social Care Improvement SpecialistSteve Boam – CEO, Develop ConsultingChair: Darren Jones – NHS Strategic AdvisorKey Topics:Neighbourhood Teams: What they really mean and how to implement themWorkforce Sustainability: Building resilient, skilled teamsAccess vs Effectiveness: Why more appointments don’t equal better outcomesDigital Transformation: Lessons from frontline implementationProtecting Patient Outcomes during major changeImplementation Methodology: Why some projects succeed and others failReal-World Insights:How one practice co-designed digital transformation with staffWhy 19% of GP consultations are “failure demand”Data showing practices are seeing the same patients more frequentlyPsychological safety during changeThe “back to basics” approach before launching new initiativesWho Should Listen:Practice managers, PCN leads, ICB executives, healthcare improvement specialists, and anyone implementing neighbourhood working under the Ten Year Plan.Recorded July 2025 | Duration: 60 minutes | Format: Expert panel with live Q&A