In The Loop: the BIG Questions
In The Loop: the BIG Questions
Podcast Description
In this podcast series, Roy and Niall leverage their extensive experience in health and social care to engage in insightful conversations with influential figures. They explore the sector's critical issues and challenges, cutting through political rhetoric and hype. Each episode offers a deep dive into the realities of healthcare, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the complexities involved.Who is Niall?Niall Dickson CBE is a prominent health and social care figure. He has held several key positions, including Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Medical Council, and Chief Executive of The King’s Fund. He has also worked as a journalist for the BBC and was awarded a CBE for his services to patient safetyWho is Roy?Roy Lilley is a health policy analyst, writer, broadcaster, and commentator on the National Health Service (NHS) and social issues. He has held various influential roles, including vice-chairman of West Surrey and North East Hampshire Health Authority and chairman of the Homewood NHS Trust. Roy is also known for his popular eLetter, which reaches around 300,000 health and care managers, and for founding the Academy of Fabulous Stuff, a repository of best practices in the NHS.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Explores critical issues and challenges in healthcare, with specific topics such as healthcare funding, patient safety, and the impact of policy on social care. Episode examples include 'Unmasking Healthcare Funding' featuring discussions with experts like Paul Johnson on the truths behind political claims and the challenges faced by patients and staff.

In this podcast series, Roy and Niall leverage their extensive experience in health and social care to engage in insightful conversations with influential figures. They explore the sector’s critical issues and challenges, cutting through political rhetoric and hype. Each episode offers a deep dive into the realities of healthcare, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the complexities involved.
Who is Niall?
Niall Dickson CBE is a prominent health and social care figure. He has held several key positions, including Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Medical Council, and Chief Executive of The King’s Fund. He has also worked as a journalist for the BBC and was awarded a CBE for his services to patient safety
Who is Roy?
Roy Lilley is a health policy analyst, writer, broadcaster, and commentator on the National Health Service (NHS) and social issues. He has held various influential roles, including vice-chairman of West Surrey and North East Hampshire Health Authority and chairman of the Homewood NHS Trust. Roy is also known for his popular eLetter, which reaches around 300,000 health and care managers, and for founding the Academy of Fabulous Stuff, a repository of best practices in the NHS.
In one of the most controversial clinical decisions of recent times, the UK National Screening Committee has ruled against the mass screening of men for prostate cancer. In their latest podcast Niall and Roy question the committee’s Chair, Sir Mike Richards, and seek to understand a decision which has been challenged by former Prime Ministers, high profile patients with prostate cancer such as Sir Chris Hoy, as well as other celebrities. The committee even rejected the idea of screening black men who have double the risk of developing prostate cancer, men with a general family history, and even some with certain genetic factors.
Sir Mike is a former consultant oncologist who became the national cancer tsar and brought about major improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease across the UK. But when it comes to prostate cancer, while he supports the idea that men who want to have a PSA test should be allowed to have one, he argues that, based on current evidence, a screening programme would do more harm than good.
This is a complex area which is developing all the time and he concedes that as our understanding grows and as treatment and testing develop, the case for screening may be made. He is also adamant that this is not one of those clinical decisions based on cost.
If you are with or without a view on this topic, do join Niall, Roy and Mike In the Loop, and like men all over the country, make up your own mind as they explore this delicate and difficult topic.

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