Retweet of earlier thread with working links this time! As I prepare to move on from the @NuffieldTrust
next week I've been thinking about some of the things I have found myself saying repeatedly over the last 7 years. A thread... (1/10) It is possible for 2 things to be true at the same time. There can be more money than ever before, & still not enough. Few changes actually save money - generally the best you can hope for is a saving against a counterfactual of higher spending. (2/10)nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/healt…

So with one working day to go before the end of 2023/24, @NHSEngland finally published the 'planning guidance' for 2024/25. A few thoughts... (🧵1/10) The first thing to acknowledge is that @NHSEngland are between a rock & a hard place. They know publishing so late is ridiculous. But they're not really an 'arms length body' these days, they're barely a fingertip away from DHSC, HMT and #10. An uncomfortable place to be. (2/10)

Off the train and I'm very hungry... 15 minute pasta with bacon, radicchio and balsamic vinegar. Water heating up at the back, and the is the rest of the packet of smoked pigs cheek I opened earlier in the week, cut in lardons and frying in a little olive oil.

.@IsabelHardman has just unleashed @nedwards_1 to give his tour de force on the root causes of the challenges facing the NHS. Strap in... #NTsummit Is it about the level of spending? We're in the middle of the pack on % of GDP, but our GDP is low, so £ spend is low. But why? #NTsummit

Finger food tonight, sticky pork ribs... Mixing up the marinade... I was going to use bourbon but discovered I didn't have any, so cooking brandy instead. And maple syrup (or honey), orange juice, ground allspice, salt & pepper and a good shake of Tabasco. Pour over the ribs and leave for an hour...

The long awaited 'Messenger review' into leadership in health and care has finally been published. A few thoughts to follow. This is by no means a comprehensive list. Although the report is short, it covers many important issues, and is worth reading in full. 🧵 1/n Good leadership is critical in organisations which, by the nature of what they do, touch the lives of everyone in the country. So having a focus on leadership in health & care, at the point where those services are being brought more closely together, makes sense. 2/n

In case you were wondering, the reason I've been eating up my freezer at pace is that on Monday morning a fitter will arrive to give me a whole new kitchen... so I thought something a bit special for the last meal I'll cook in the old one. Wing rib & bearnaise sauce. This has been aging somewhere between 6 & 8 weeks. Look at the marbling... Giving it a good coat of coarse salt and leaving an hour.

This is my final using up the freezer invention test... there was a grouse, and there was damson puree. Now grouse goes with blackberries, so why not damsons...? Little bit of fiddle to start with... onions browning in duck fat... take the breasts off the bird, set aside, and cut the carcase up... carcase in with the onions, and then into the oven for 20 minutes.

Bit of using up fridge as well as freezer tonight... smoked haddock and some trout fillet trimmings in the freezer, leeks in the fridge, and a desire for something both easy and spicy, so kedgeree. I don't think there's anything sacred about kedgeree recipes, so why not leeks instead of onion? Softening beautifully in butter.

Seeing much concern on my timeline about the NHS Bill going through Parliament now opening the door to 'privatisation' of the NHS. Some of it raised by people who should know better...

For the benefit of those who don't follow the ins and outs of this as closely as I do - a🧵 Here's the statement we at @NuffieldTrust issued when the bill was published: nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/nuff…

See anything in there about privatisation?

2/n

Who wanted prawns? @girlnextshore I think. Thai salad coming right up... When I say 'coming right up' there's actually quite a bit of knife work involved... not this bit, this is just the mint and coriander leaves picked off their stalks...

Back from my bubble and back in the kitchen... and for reasons I shall explain in the fullness of time, I shall be spending the next month using up my freezer - helped by fresh produce! So today, guinea fowl and petits pois à la Française. Guinea fowl skin side down in the foaming butter... medium heat. I've put the new potatoes on too.

Is anyone interested in smoked seabass with potato cakes and poached egg? Starting by grating together the (peeled) potato and onion. Then putting it in a tea towel, and squeezing out all the liquid possible. I've done that over the bowl so you can see how much there is, not keeping the liquid.