Public acceptability of health and social care funding options Funding options for the NHS and social care in the UK

Public acceptability of health and social care funding options Funding options for the NHS and social care in the UK This working paper is part of a research project exploring funding options for the NHS and social care in the UK.

It explores the preferences of the general public with regard to the various ways of raising the additional funds that will be needed for health and social care in the UK. The researchers conducted focus groups with members of the public in all four UK countries and used the findings to design a discrete choice experiment (DCE). In the DCE, with a total of 2,756 respondents, researchers tested people’s preferences between different ways of funding health care and social care by asking them to make a series of choices between pairs of options.

The working paper presents the key findings, and draws out the policy implications. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Health funding – finally something we can agree on The Health Foundation

Reframing the conversation on the social determinants of health

Reframing the conversation on the social determinants of health The Health Foundation is working with the FrameWorks Institute to develop a deeper appreciation of the ways in which people understand and think about health in order to develop more effective approaches to communicating evidence.

This briefing presents the main findings from research commissioned by the Health Foundation and carried out by the FrameWorks Institute, analysing public understanding, expert opinion and media narrative around health. It also presents findings from questions sponsored by the Health Foundation in the 2017 British Social Attitudes survey.

NHSX: new joint organisation for digital, data and technology

NHSX: new joint organisation for digital, data and technology A new joint unit, NHSX, will be created to bring the benefits of modern technology to every patient and clinician. It will combine the best talent from government, the NHS and industry.

NHSX will aim to create the most advanced health and care service in the world to diagnose diseases earlier, free up staff time and empower patients to take greater control of their own healthcare. Department of Health and Social Care 

GPs told to stop charging patients with a mental illness for debt support forms

GPs told to stop charging patients with a mental illness for debt support forms GPs in England have been told they can no longer charge a fee for paperwork to help people with mental health problems who are being pursued by creditors or debt collectors to access support.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has committed to ending charges for mental health debt forms, which can be requested as evidence by creditors when someone is in arrears and struggling to pay. The Independent

Britons urged to get flu vaccine as critical cases rise above 2,000

Britons urged to get flu vaccine as critical cases rise above 2,000 Virus has killed 200 and left many more in intensive care units over winter period

Flu has left more than 2,000 Britons needing life-or-death treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) this winter, even though the virus is circulating at unusually low levels.

Senior doctors said as many people were at risk of dying as during the pandemics of 2009-10 and 2010-11, despite the small numbers contracting the virus. The Guardian

See also:

• Winter flu is 'hitting harder than ever' as more than 2,000 people in intensive care The Daily Mail

Figures show soaring number of homeless hospital patients

Figures show soaring number of homeless hospital patients NHS Digital figures show admissions in England rose from 1,539 in 2008/9 to 10,259 in 2017/18

Thousands of homeless people in England are arriving at hospital with Victorian-era illnesses such as tuberculosis, as well as serious respiratory conditions, liver disease and cancer, with hospital admissions for such conditions surging over a decade, the Guardian can reveal.

NHS chronic illness patients to get £3,000 a year to spend on their own care by 2024

NHS chronic illness patients to get £3,000 a year to spend on their own care by 2024 Up to 200,000 patients will be given their own NHS allowances to spend on care - including dogs.

Ministers want to massively expand the ‘personal health budgets’ scheme for patients with long-term illnesses.

They will be given allowances of approximately £3,000 a year to spend on care and equipment to manage their condition. The Daily Mail

GPs who dispense drugs from their own practice could be costing the NHS £7MILLION

GPs who dispense drugs from their own practice could be costing the NHS £7MILLION GPs who dispense drugs from their own practice could be costing the NHS more than £7million per year by choosing more expensive medications.

Experts say the NHS's reimbursement system has created a 'financial conflict of interest in treatment decisions'.

Specifically, it allows doctors to choose medicines which are costlier but are no more effective than their cheaper counterparts.

This, the researchers claim, allows some GPs to negotiate and buy drugs at lower prices but still be reimbursed the full cost by the NHS, increasing their profits. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Do doctors in dispensing practices with a financial conflict of interest prescribe more expensive drugs? A cross-sectional analysis of English primary care prescribing data (open access) BMJ Open