The past, present and future of government spending on the NHS

The past, present and future of government spending on the NHS With the Chancellor making further updates to government spending plans and the health service facing crisis on several fronts, there is uncertainty over what the future will hold for health care finances amid such instability. How much is this government really spending on the NHS per person given rising demographic pressures, and how does this compare historically? John Appleby and Sally Gainsbury take a look at the reality. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• From safety net to springboard: putting health at the heart of economic growth NHS Confederation

Performance tracker 2022 : public services after two years of Covid

Performance tracker 2022 : public services after two years of Covid Performance Tracker reviews the state of nine public services – general practice, hospitals, adult social care, children’s social care, neighbourhood services, schools, police, criminal courts and prisons – and their comparative and inter-connected problems.

The report shows that projected 3.4% per year average budget increases set out in the 2021 spending review have fallen – due to inflation and higher than anticipated pay awards – to 1.5%, which is unlikely to be enough to meet growing demands and deal with the aftermath of Covid in most services. At the same time long-term staff shortages are set to worsen due to below-inflation pay rises and the cost-of-living crisis. Institute for Government

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: one year on

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: one year on OHID was set up as part of Matt Hancock’s (then   Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) disestablishment of Public Health England. The argument for OHID (acting alongside its sister organisation the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)) was that bringing health improvement expertise into the heart of government, through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), would ensure a stronger evidence-based influence over wider government policy decisions on health and health inequalities. It was accompanied by the announcement of a Health Promotion Taskforce, a Cabinet committee to help provide the cross-government vehicle for those decisions. So how has OHID been doing, or perhaps more aptly, been allowed to do? The King's Fund

Under pressure: an analysis of primary care pressures facing Integrated Care Systems at launch

Under pressure: an analysis of primary care pressures facing Integrated Care Systems at launch This report identifies 16 of 42 regions where primary and secondary care services are under high levels of pressure going into this winter. The research finds widespread variation in access to services including a nearly four-fold variation in the proportion of patients waiting three weeks or more for a GP appointment. Analysis from nine different NHS data sources including appointment access, waiting times and ratios of staff to patients is used to look at relative pressures between new integrated care systems, established in July 2022 and now responsible for regionally managing health services. Future Health

Covid: Life expectancy still down in many countries

Covid: Life expectancy still down in many countries Life expectancy has been slow to rise again after the shock of the pandemic, according to new research.

Data on registered deaths from 31 countries shows few recovering in 2021, and many seeing further declines.

Countries that rolled out vaccines quickly, to all age groups, have generally bounced back faster.

Life expectancy in England and Wales rose slightly in 2021, while in Scotland and Northern Ireland it fell further, the researchers say. BBC News

See also: 

• Life expectancy changes since COVID-19 (open access) Nature Human Behaviour
• Outrage as Boston University CREATES Covid strain that has an 80% kill rate The Daily Mail
• ‘They can’t ignore us any more’: five women on long Covid and medical misogyny The Guardian
• Scientists identify new Covid subvariant that is best yet at beating immune system The Independent
• Covid jab rates vary in England in children of different ethnicities New Scientist
• Why are Covid-19 cases rising again? New Statesman
• COVID pandemic caused changes to global mortality not seen in 70 years, say researchers Sky News

End rules stopping thousands of doctors working in GP surgeries, says GMC chief

End rules stopping thousands of doctors working in GP surgeries, says GMC chief Exclusive: regulator warns ‘patients will suffer’ if growing group of medics in NHS restricted mainly to hospitals

Thousands of doctors are being prevented from working in overstretched GP surgeries across the UK because of unnecessary “red tape”, leaving NHS patients experiencing “unprecedented” waits for care, the head of the doctors’ regulator in the UK has said.

Charlie Massey, the chief executive of the General Medical Council, said barriers that stopped medics from being deployed to meet areas of high demand, such as in primary care, must be removed urgently if the NHS workforce crisis was to be resolved and access to care improved. The Guardian

Children’s health chief calls for free school meals for all to end ‘disturbing’ food poverty

Children’s health chief calls for free school meals for all to end ‘disturbing’ food poverty The government must offer all children free school meals to address the country’s “profoundly disturbing” food poverty rates, the NHS’ most senior paediatrician says.

Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, warned the cost of living crisis was forcing struggling families to turn to unhealthy food and called on the government to act. The Independent

'Scant evidence' that social prescribing works

'Scant evidence' that social prescribing works Gardening clubs, art classes and walking groups have all been hailed as healthy alternatives to popping pills.

But there is 'scant evidence' social prescribing actually improves people's health, according to a scientific review.

Researchers found no consistent evidence that the radical approach to treatment — now widely available on the NHS — actually works. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Effect of social prescribing link workers on health outcomes and costs for adults in primary care and community settings: a systematic review (open access) BMJ Open

The dating-style matchmaker that pairs patients with cutting-edge trials

The dating-style matchmaker that pairs patients with cutting-edge trials The process couldn’t be simpler — you enter your name, date of birth, a few key characteristics about yourself and then wait for interested parties to click on your profile.

But this is not internet dating. Instead, it’s a new way of recruiting people to clinical trials that promises to speed up the development of life-saving medicines, potentially slashing the time it takes to get new drugs on to the market and transforming the way medical research is carried out. The Daily Mail