80. Wes Streeting says - get it right first time!


Author: Steve Brine & James Bethell January 16, 2026 Duration: 31:40
Podcast episode
80. Wes Streeting says - get it right first time!

The health and politics podcast reaches its 80th episode! Steve and James discuss Kemi Badenoch's social media ban proposal, the high-wire act of negotiating a new GP contract and what Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, meant when he cited GIRFT (get it right first time) at a major conference this week.


Also, this week saw a genuine medical breakthrough as a patient at Manchester Royal Infirmary became the first in the UK to receive a new CAR-T treatment for aggressive blood cancer. The pair discuss what this means.


And James owns up to progress on his 'Dry January' efforts this year!


We welcome your feedback on our discussions and suggestions for what we might discuss next and who we might interview. You can email preventionisthenewcure@gmail.com or find us on any of our social media channels.


You can access our archive via Podfollow.


Thanks for listening to our show.


Love Steve & James


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


More episodes

Duration: 44:15
James Bethell returns as Steve's guest co-host to review the Budget they previewed last time. Did they find it to be a prevention focused health special from Rachel Reeves or something less? They deep dive into the state…

Duration: 46:54
For the first episode of the post-Helen era, Steve is joined by guest co-host (and fellow traveller) Lord James Bethell for the 'Prevention is the new cure' podcast focused on health and politics. The pair discuss the Te…

Duration: 51:39
This week marks two huge milestones, with the 40th episode of 'Prevention is the new cure' and (sadly) Helen's last appearance as co-host alongside Steve before heading to New Zealand to embark on her new journey in the…

Duration: 45:21
Helen and Steve take delve through a huge host of reports on the future of the NHS, that have been released in the past couple of weeks including the Darzi Review and from The Institute For Public Policy Research and Pol…

Duration: 35:22
Steve and Helen take a deep dive into Lord Ara Darzi's review aimed at identifying the biggest barriers to improving waiting lists, giving their raw and honest assessment of the approach. Also in this week's episode our…

Duration: 50:15
Steve and Helen fresh from their Summer holidays discuss the top new stories of the past couple of weeks, including the CQC, criticisms of GRAIL multi-cancer early detection tests, Mpox and puberty blockers among other t…

Duration: 46:49
Helen and Steve discuss the pay rises for junior doctors, with the Government hoping this may bring their industrial action to an end, and the signs of further strike trouble ahead with GPs. Joining the pod for a segment…

Duration: 42:02
Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, Gemma Peters, joins Helen and Steve on the pod to talk all things cancer and the amazing work that Macmillan Cancer do - including their famous coffee morning month each Septe…

Duration: 40:50
Off the back of an historic election Helen and Steve take a deep dive into Labour's health policy and it's impact on prevention, the NHS and social care. They also cover their thoughts on the new Ministerial appointments…

Duration: 47:55
Helen and Steve pick apart the major parties' manifestos ahead of the General Election on Thursday 4th July, they share their hopes and ambitions for the next Government and what the impact might be on health and the NHS…

Duration: 42:15
With Men's Health Week in full force, Helen and Steve welcome Toby Freeman from the Robin Cancer Trust onto the pod to talk about cancer awareness and the charities work. Helen and Steve also cover a host of other storie…

Duration: 40:18
With Helen away, former Health Minister and Peer, Lord Bethell, joins Steve on the podcast to discuss the Smoking and Vapes Bill, smartphones and their effect on young people and some of the biggest news stories from the…

Logo
Select station
VOL