Devolve to evolve? The future of specialised services within integrated care

Devolve to evolve? The future of specialised services within integrated care Specialised services typically care for small numbers of patients with rare or complex conditions. They are commonly overlooked in debates around the future of the NHS.

This report sets out a series of recommendations including refinement of the services into more logical groupings, an expanded role for patient and carer input into service design, and stronger ministerial and financial oversight to ensure the sustainability of service delivery for the longer term. Policy Exchange

The government’s response to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee’s ninth report of session 2021-22, 'Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic'

The government’s response to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee’s ninth report of session 2021-22, 'Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic' This report sets out how the government is working with its arm’s length bodies to help the NHS clear the waiting list for elective care. Department of Health and Social Care

New prescription charge freeze to help ease cost of living

New prescription charge freeze to help ease cost of living NHS prescription charges will be frozen for the first time in 12 years to help with the cost of living.

Charges usually increase in line with average inflation. This year - in a move not seen for over a decade - the cost for prescriptions will remain the same to help ease cost of living pressures and ensure prescription medication remains accessible. Department of Health and Social Care

Government delays restrictions on multibuy deals and advertising on TV and online

Government delays restrictions on multibuy deals and advertising on TV and online Rules banning multibuy deals on foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) - including buy one get one free (BOGOF), ‘3 for 2’, and restrictions on free refills for soft drinks - will be delayed for a year.

Restrictions on the placement of less healthy products – a key part of the government’s commitment to reduce obesity - will still come into force in October 2022 as planned. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Junk food: Ministers to delay ban on multi-buy deals BBC News
• Junk food: Obesity strategy falling apart, Jamie Oliver says BBC News
• Tory backlash grows over delay to junk food TV ad ban The Guardian
• Delay to junk food ads ban could ‘blow a hole’ in UK obesity strategy The Guardian
• Ban on buy-one-get-one-free junk food deals delayed for a year, as PM accused of playing politics with kids' health Sky News

Hundreds of patients to get life-extending lung cancer drug on the NHS

Hundreds of patients to get life-extending lung cancer drug on the NHS Hundreds of people with a form of the most common form of lung cancer could survive twice as long with the disease, thanks to a drug now available on the NHS.

The drug, durvalumab, can double the overall time someone can survive with an aggressive form of lung cancer from two and a half to five years.

It stops the cancer from getting worse for more than two years – significantly longer than treatment with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which can only hold the disease at bay for around six months. NHS England

Monkeypox cases confirmed in England

Monkeypox cases confirmed in England Two individuals have been diagnosed with monkeypox in London, confirms the UK Health Security Agency.

The cases live together in the same household. They are not linked to the previous confirmed case announced on 7 May. Where and how they acquired their infection remains under investigation.

UK Covid infections lowest since mid-December

UK Covid infections lowest since mid-December Covid infections continue to decrease in the UK with around one in 45 or just over two in every 100 people thought to be infected.

The estimates - from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - show levels of the virus are at the lowest since mid-December.

It means around 1.48m people would have tested positive in the week to 7 May. BBC News

See also:

• North Korea: More than a million Covid cases feared BBC News
• Covid: What will the pandemic look like in North Korea? BBC News
• 'Covid jab's very rare side-effects may be explored in public inquiry into pandemic The Daily Mail
• Cells infected with Covid can 'explode' The Daily Mail
• Only 7% of 5-11s in England have had Covid jab as parents hesitate The Guardian
• Long COVID sufferers 'considering buying own oxygen' as number seeking help doubles, says charity Sky News

Vitamin D: Could UV-mushrooms help fix the nation’s issue?

Vitamin D: Could UV-mushrooms help fix the nation’s issue? A government consultation on how to tackle the nation's vitamin D deficiency problem ends on Sunday.

One idea being floated is getting people to eat biofortified foods, such as mushrooms that have been exposed to UV light.

It is a process that makes the food extra-rich in the nutrient. BBC News

Tens of thousands waiting too long for 999 calls to be answered in England

Tens of thousands waiting too long for 999 calls to be answered in England Tens of thousands of emergency calls are taking more than two minutes to be answered in England amid a crisis in the ambulance service, The Independent has learned.

More than 37,000 emergency calls took more than two minutes to answer in April 2022 – 24 times the 1,500 that took that long in April 2021, according to a leaked staff message.

Jeremy Hunt: I was at top of rogue system as health secretary

Jeremy Hunt: I was at top of rogue system as health secretary Jeremy Hunt has described sitting at the top of a “rogue system” when he was health secretary, as he reportedly told how he was “shocked to his core” by failures in care.

The current chair of the Health and Social Care Committee said the a fear of transparency and honesty in the NHS when it comes to avoidable deaths and mistakes is a “major structural problem” that must be addressed, in comments reported in the Sunday Times. The Independent

See also:

• Jeremy Hunt: I was at top of rogue system as health secretary Evening standard
• Jeremy Hunt ‘ignored’ NHS staff shortages while health secretary The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt says NHS was a ‘rogue system’ during his time as health secretary The Guardian

Thousands miss out on treatment as physiotherapists are taken off UK register

Thousands miss out on treatment as physiotherapists are taken off UK register Thousands of patients have been left without vital healthcare after nearly one in 10 physiotherapists was prevented from practising after their regulator removed them from its register.

Exactly 5,311 physiotherapists were deregistered by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 May because they had not renewed their registration after the HCPC decided not to send out reminder letters. The Guardian

See also:

• Statement on physiotherapist renewals Health and Care Professions Council
• Physiotherapists: how to rejoin the Register if you’ve been removed Health and Care Professions Council

Health chiefs deny vulnerable patients vital care which NHS should fund

Health chiefs deny vulnerable patients vital care which NHS should fund Campaigners have warned that thousands entitled to help from the Continuing Healthcare fund, which covers the costs of long-term social care, are being turned down by Clinical Commissioning Groups. The Daily Mail

England will end free NHS flu jabs for over-50s but Scotland won't

England will end free NHS flu jabs for over-50s but Scotland won't England will ditch Covid measures which saw the annual flu jab given free to those aged 50-64 and secondary school children aged 11 to 15. Scotland and Wales will still offer a free jab to these groups. The Daily Mail