Craig
@craig.nikolic.co.uk
NHS GP Federation CEO. Not a GP/clinician.
Ex artillery forward observer, with dodgy knees and hearing.
Favourite comment about me: "His comms style is like a brick through a window."
Ex artillery forward observer, with dodgy knees and hearing.
Favourite comment about me: "His comms style is like a brick through a window."
Reposted by Craig
Overnight last night in GP OOH & on call this week.
Urgent primary care is available throughout with many GPs working all around 🇬🇧.
They will of course be joined by 1000s of hospital, community and paramedic colleagues who will all keep the NHS going. 🥼🩺🚑
#MerryChristmas
Urgent primary care is available throughout with many GPs working all around 🇬🇧.
They will of course be joined by 1000s of hospital, community and paramedic colleagues who will all keep the NHS going. 🥼🩺🚑
#MerryChristmas
December 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Overnight last night in GP OOH & on call this week.
Urgent primary care is available throughout with many GPs working all around 🇬🇧.
They will of course be joined by 1000s of hospital, community and paramedic colleagues who will all keep the NHS going. 🥼🩺🚑
#MerryChristmas
Urgent primary care is available throughout with many GPs working all around 🇬🇧.
They will of course be joined by 1000s of hospital, community and paramedic colleagues who will all keep the NHS going. 🥼🩺🚑
#MerryChristmas
Reposted by Craig
Posting this from insta.
If you’re North or East London based and #alone this #christmas pop by the wonderful Dusty Knuckle Dalston, for a warm welcome, cuppa and pastry #christmasday 10-1.
If you’re North or East London based and #alone this #christmas pop by the wonderful Dusty Knuckle Dalston, for a warm welcome, cuppa and pastry #christmasday 10-1.
December 24, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Posting this from insta.
If you’re North or East London based and #alone this #christmas pop by the wonderful Dusty Knuckle Dalston, for a warm welcome, cuppa and pastry #christmasday 10-1.
If you’re North or East London based and #alone this #christmas pop by the wonderful Dusty Knuckle Dalston, for a warm welcome, cuppa and pastry #christmasday 10-1.
Why does Bisto Gravy have palm fat in it? Same with quite a lot of the chocolates these days and palm oil.
Out of principle, I tend to add products with it to my “not buying that again” list.
Out of principle, I tend to add products with it to my “not buying that again” list.
December 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Why does Bisto Gravy have palm fat in it? Same with quite a lot of the chocolates these days and palm oil.
Out of principle, I tend to add products with it to my “not buying that again” list.
Out of principle, I tend to add products with it to my “not buying that again” list.
I saw this on Instagram last night and I now really want to try it. A top grade fusion food idea if ever I've seen one...
www.instagram.com/reel/DPjH0k7...
www.instagram.com/reel/DPjH0k7...
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December 24, 2025 at 11:49 AM
I saw this on Instagram last night and I now really want to try it. A top grade fusion food idea if ever I've seen one...
www.instagram.com/reel/DPjH0k7...
www.instagram.com/reel/DPjH0k7...
Reposted by Craig
Registrars delay qualifying as GPs amid 'bleak' job market
Registrars delay qualifying as GPs amid 'bleak' job market
Registrars are delaying qualification as GPs because they fear being unable to find work - and have warned that short-term additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) jobs leave them 'anxious'.
www.gponline.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Registrars delay qualifying as GPs amid 'bleak' job market
It's Christmas Eve, so it's time for a repost of An NHS Christmas Carol that I did for last year and kindly hosted by that nice Andy Cowper.
www.healthpolicyinsight.com/an-nhs-chris...
www.healthpolicyinsight.com/an-nhs-chris...
An NHS Christmas Carol
By Craig Nikolic
Our tale begins with a bitter and unhappy NHS senior manager, wondering about another year where nothing seems to be better, and lots seem to be worse. It's just not Christmassy enou...
www.healthpolicyinsight.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:19 AM
It's Christmas Eve, so it's time for a repost of An NHS Christmas Carol that I did for last year and kindly hosted by that nice Andy Cowper.
www.healthpolicyinsight.com/an-nhs-chris...
www.healthpolicyinsight.com/an-nhs-chris...
Reposted by Craig
What would really be the implications of taking Santa Claus seriously?
It's the time of the year to review the current state of the physics of Santa Claus
1/12
It's the time of the year to review the current state of the physics of Santa Claus
1/12
December 24, 2025 at 8:03 AM
What would really be the implications of taking Santa Claus seriously?
It's the time of the year to review the current state of the physics of Santa Claus
1/12
It's the time of the year to review the current state of the physics of Santa Claus
1/12
Reposted by Craig
Happy Christmas, all. I wish my (temporarily unpaywalled) final thoughts on the English NHS in 2025 could have been more positive, but reality is what it is. www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...
Cowper’s Cut 407: The unbearable triteness of Streeting
“I don’t think anyone’s really covered themselves in glory in this dispute.”
Secretary Of State For Health But Social Care Wes Streeting to the Commons Health Select Committee (about striking phlebot...
www.healthpolicyinsight.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Happy Christmas, all. I wish my (temporarily unpaywalled) final thoughts on the English NHS in 2025 could have been more positive, but reality is what it is. www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...
Back in the days when spotting enemies was still very much line of sight, a monster gun platform was the right thing to have. As soon as you get spotted multi-hundred miles away by aircraft it becomes a big fat target. Far better to have smaller mission oriented ships that aren’t as easy to see/hit.
Trump Class battleship illustration, as released by the White House.
December 23, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Back in the days when spotting enemies was still very much line of sight, a monster gun platform was the right thing to have. As soon as you get spotted multi-hundred miles away by aircraft it becomes a big fat target. Far better to have smaller mission oriented ships that aren’t as easy to see/hit.
You read some stories and just wonder what planet the people were on who authorised this.
The conflicts of interest alone in the CEO and CFO rewards stink like a rotten fish and have no semblance of objective fairness or credibility.
The conflicts of interest alone in the CEO and CFO rewards stink like a rotten fish and have no semblance of objective fairness or credibility.
City & Guilds bosses handed bonus after training firm privatized.
£1.7m bonus for CEO + £100k pay rise; £1.2m bonus for CFO + £70k pay rise.
1,600 staff & 1,800 “associates” put on short-term contracts. Low wages, high staff churn; 300 leave a year. A third of jobs to be relocated to Greece.
£1.7m bonus for CEO + £100k pay rise; £1.2m bonus for CFO + £70k pay rise.
1,600 staff & 1,800 “associates” put on short-term contracts. Low wages, high staff churn; 300 leave a year. A third of jobs to be relocated to Greece.
Bosses at City & Guilds handed million-pound bonuses after training firm is privatised
Exclusive: Executives at body that trained chef Jamie Oliver awarded pay rises and bonuses after sale to private firm – as hundreds of jobs may be offshored
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:56 AM
You read some stories and just wonder what planet the people were on who authorised this.
The conflicts of interest alone in the CEO and CFO rewards stink like a rotten fish and have no semblance of objective fairness or credibility.
The conflicts of interest alone in the CEO and CFO rewards stink like a rotten fish and have no semblance of objective fairness or credibility.
Reposted by Craig
Either officials knew this was the error rate and thought it was acceptable, or thousands of families would have lost their benefit, no-one would have known why and this flawed system might have run on and on and on. Excellent investigation.
Labour admits 60% of parents wrongly targeted in HMRC child benefit fraud crackdown
Exclusive: Scale of government’s anti-fraud fiasco is four times higher than previously admitted
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Either officials knew this was the error rate and thought it was acceptable, or thousands of families would have lost their benefit, no-one would have known why and this flawed system might have run on and on and on. Excellent investigation.
An interesting time for a major Govt politician to call for breaking that idiot pledge to appease the massive failure that is Brexit.
It is a very welcome thing.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
It is a very welcome thing.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Wes Streeting: Britain needs to join customs union with EU
The health secretary’s remarks are being seen as a direct challenge to Sir Keir Starmer, who has repeatedly ruled out a policy favoured by many Labour voters
www.thetimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:08 AM
An interesting time for a major Govt politician to call for breaking that idiot pledge to appease the massive failure that is Brexit.
It is a very welcome thing.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
It is a very welcome thing.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Pretty sure that this won’t stop until someone loses all their academic privileges as a consequence of using AI to make up shit and not bothering to even check it’s right.
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Pretty sure that this won’t stop until someone loses all their academic privileges as a consequence of using AI to make up shit and not bothering to even check it’s right.
My favourite Patton quote is one that a whole pile of senior leaders will not learn because it doesn’t suit them, and that makes them unfit to lead.
“There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent.”
“There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent.”
PERSON OF THE DAY. 21 December 1945. US General George S. Patton (aged 60) was killed in a car accident in Heidelberg, Germany. He had commanded the US 7th Army in the Mediterranean, and the 3rd US Army in France and Germany, after the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944.
December 21, 2025 at 10:04 AM
My favourite Patton quote is one that a whole pile of senior leaders will not learn because it doesn’t suit them, and that makes them unfit to lead.
“There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent.”
“There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent.”
Reposted by Craig
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: English hospitals that cut registered nurses saw more deaths while those hiring nurses saw more patients survive. Even when hospitals tried to fill gaps with non-nurses, deaths still went up. Major new study exposes dangerous NHS variation:
www.thetimes.com/article/7eed...
www.thetimes.com/article/7eed...
Death rates rise when NHS cuts back on nursing
Using lower-paid workers to plug the gaps left by a failure to hire registered nurses damages safety, new research has shown
www.thetimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 8:41 AM
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: English hospitals that cut registered nurses saw more deaths while those hiring nurses saw more patients survive. Even when hospitals tried to fill gaps with non-nurses, deaths still went up. Major new study exposes dangerous NHS variation:
www.thetimes.com/article/7eed...
www.thetimes.com/article/7eed...
Christmas main shop being delivered this morning. The price of some stuff is astonishing and would have been unbelievable even 3 years ago.
It’s not the biggest food shop we’ve ever done, but it is the most expensive.
It’s not the biggest food shop we’ve ever done, but it is the most expensive.
December 21, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Christmas main shop being delivered this morning. The price of some stuff is astonishing and would have been unbelievable even 3 years ago.
It’s not the biggest food shop we’ve ever done, but it is the most expensive.
It’s not the biggest food shop we’ve ever done, but it is the most expensive.
Happy with that Strictly outcome, just seemed right.
Not sure about the band at the end though, did the actual band not show and they got five blokes from the street to do some karaoke?
Not sure about the band at the end though, did the actual band not show and they got five blokes from the street to do some karaoke?
December 20, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Happy with that Strictly outcome, just seemed right.
Not sure about the band at the end though, did the actual band not show and they got five blokes from the street to do some karaoke?
Not sure about the band at the end though, did the actual band not show and they got five blokes from the street to do some karaoke?
Major things like this, I love just leaving on in the background to enjoy, and tend to get engrossed in secondary sports more than the headline stuff.
I won't pay for it though on a subscription channel. Just encourages them.
I won't pay for it though on a subscription channel. Just encourages them.
Mind-boggling!
The UK can no longer even broadcast it's own sports events
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The UK can no longer even broadcast it's own sports events
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC replaced by TNT Sports as Commonwealth Games live broadcaster
The subscription channel takes over from the BBC which had been the principal partner since 1954 and provided free-to-air coverage.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Major things like this, I love just leaving on in the background to enjoy, and tend to get engrossed in secondary sports more than the headline stuff.
I won't pay for it though on a subscription channel. Just encourages them.
I won't pay for it though on a subscription channel. Just encourages them.
This is the one new movie I want to see in 2026.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VYs...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VYs...
Project Hail Mary | Official Trailer 2
YouTube video by Amazon MGM Studios
www.youtube.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:54 AM
This is the one new movie I want to see in 2026.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VYs...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VYs...
Go to any deprived part of the UK, look at the healthy life expectancy, especially of those with physically demanding jobs.
It's frankly wrong to expect these people to do MORE work.
I'm reaching the age where I'm seeing friends stop work because of ill health and be harassed by the state for it.
It's frankly wrong to expect these people to do MORE work.
I'm reaching the age where I'm seeing friends stop work because of ill health and be harassed by the state for it.
The UK should prioritise helping people in their 50s and 60s to stay in work to ease pressure on public finances and living standards, a House of Lords committee has said. ft.trib.al/Bpt6zuy
December 19, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Go to any deprived part of the UK, look at the healthy life expectancy, especially of those with physically demanding jobs.
It's frankly wrong to expect these people to do MORE work.
I'm reaching the age where I'm seeing friends stop work because of ill health and be harassed by the state for it.
It's frankly wrong to expect these people to do MORE work.
I'm reaching the age where I'm seeing friends stop work because of ill health and be harassed by the state for it.
Unless the original contract was written to guarantee payment (I’d hope they weren’t that stupid), bin it, suck up your pride and buy the quite good stuff the Europeans are making that fits the modern needs we’ve been shown by Ukraine and modern combat scenarios.
The servicemen was testing the armoured car — already eight years late — as part of efforts to see why dozens of other soldiers have fallen ill while using it
Ajax trials halted after another soldier suffers ‘vibration’ injury
www.thetimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Unless the original contract was written to guarantee payment (I’d hope they weren’t that stupid), bin it, suck up your pride and buy the quite good stuff the Europeans are making that fits the modern needs we’ve been shown by Ukraine and modern combat scenarios.
Reposted by Craig
YouGov snap poll found rejoining Erasmus UK-EU study exchange scheme is 65-12
Labour 81-4 (+77)
LibDem 85-4 (+81)
Cons 57-21 (+36)
Reform 40-33 (+7)
By 2026, specific "closer cooperation" proposals generate a positive "wedge" effect for Labour: unite centre-left, split elites from voters on right
Labour 81-4 (+77)
LibDem 85-4 (+81)
Cons 57-21 (+36)
Reform 40-33 (+7)
By 2026, specific "closer cooperation" proposals generate a positive "wedge" effect for Labour: unite centre-left, split elites from voters on right
December 18, 2025 at 12:01 AM
YouGov snap poll found rejoining Erasmus UK-EU study exchange scheme is 65-12
Labour 81-4 (+77)
LibDem 85-4 (+81)
Cons 57-21 (+36)
Reform 40-33 (+7)
By 2026, specific "closer cooperation" proposals generate a positive "wedge" effect for Labour: unite centre-left, split elites from voters on right
Labour 81-4 (+77)
LibDem 85-4 (+81)
Cons 57-21 (+36)
Reform 40-33 (+7)
By 2026, specific "closer cooperation" proposals generate a positive "wedge" effect for Labour: unite centre-left, split elites from voters on right
Reposted by Craig
NEW. Major report on Investigating the Investigators examines whether NHS workplace investigations are fair, effective, often unnecessary, cause harm, and are often themselves a form of punishment. Author: Roger Kline www.rogerkline.co.uk/investigatin...
Investigating the Investigators | RogerKline
www.rogerkline.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 7:43 AM
NEW. Major report on Investigating the Investigators examines whether NHS workplace investigations are fair, effective, often unnecessary, cause harm, and are often themselves a form of punishment. Author: Roger Kline www.rogerkline.co.uk/investigatin...
Reposted by Craig
Investigating the Investigators 0 the good, the bad and the unnecessary. A major new report on NHS investigations
www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/st...
www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/st...
Staff left suicidal by ‘punitive’ and drawn-out HR investigations
Investigations into workplace conflict and alleged misconduct are frequently being used as punishment across the NHS, leaving staff feeling suicidal and alienated, according to findings shared with HS...
www.hsj.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Investigating the Investigators 0 the good, the bad and the unnecessary. A major new report on NHS investigations
www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/st...
www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/st...
Reposted by Craig
Major update to our map of Anglo-Saxon London... we've now added etymologies for each place name, so you can find out what your bit of London used to be called.... and why londonist.substack.com/p/mapping-an...
Mapping Anglo-Saxon London: A Big Update
A glimpse of London, 1,000 years past.
londonist.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Major update to our map of Anglo-Saxon London... we've now added etymologies for each place name, so you can find out what your bit of London used to be called.... and why londonist.substack.com/p/mapping-an...