Why we need a new ‘Beveridge moment’ for social care in the 21st century

Why we need a new ‘Beveridge moment’ for social care in the 21st century 2023 is not only the 75th anniversary of the National Assistance Act, it is also the 45th anniversary of the beginning of my career. In June 1978 I began working as a social worker for Wakefield Council. I have held roles as a director of social services, as a senior civil servant advising on social care reform, as a regulator of the quality and safety of health and care services and more recently as a non-executive working in health education and as a member of the NHS England board.

In all those roles I have often asked myself ‘How did we get here?’ The King's Fund

Costs of expensive new drugs threaten financial sustainability of NHS

Costs of expensive new drugs threaten financial sustainability of NHS New figures show that the total cost of prescription medicines to the NHS in England reached a new high of £17.2 billion in the financial year 2021 –2022, according to a new independent report.

The report, from a team at the University of York, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), shows that since 2018 NHS spending on branded medicines has been increasing by over five per cent annually - this excludes expenditure on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

See also:

• Costs of expensive new drugs threaten financial sustainability of NHS while pharma industry lobbies for increase on medicines spending London School of Economics and Political Science

Final four weeks to get spring booster with more than half protected

Final four weeks to get spring booster with more than half protected The NHS is encouraging people to come forward for their spring booster ahead of the seasonal campaign coming to a close at the end of June. The NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Programme has provided more than 3.6 million people with a spring booster to date, which is more than half of those eligible. NHS England

Doctors failed to spot cancer 'red flags' - report

Doctors failed to spot cancer 'red flags' - report A woman whose GP failed to diagnose her with colon cancer for a year, says she now has "problems trusting anyone".

Charlie Puplett, 45, from Yeovil, Somerset, first expressed concerns about unexplained weight loss and a lack of appetite to her GP in May 2019.

Failing to test her for colon cancer, she was not diagnosed until almost a year later, after vomiting blood.

The NHS trust in question has been approached by the Press Association for comment. BBC News

See also:

• Doctors failed to spot cancer ‘red flags’ for a year Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
• Doctor told cancer patient she had anorexia despite three ‘red flag’ signs The Independent

Ministers ‘playing dangerous game’ with NHS workforce plan delay

Ministers ‘playing dangerous game’ with NHS workforce plan delay A nursing union has warned that the Government is “playing a dangerous game” with the delay to the long-awaited NHS workforce plan.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said nursing numbers are plummeting and waiting lists are soaring while the delay continues.

The RCN said a review of NHS England/Digital data paints a picture of targets being missed and patients being failed, with record numbers of patients on waiting lists, people waiting hours in A&E, and tens of thousands of vacant nursing posts. Evening Standard

See also:

• NHS workforce crisis: ‘This catalogue of issues must be addressed urgently’ Royal College of Nursing
• Latest NHS workforce and vacancy statistics NHS Employers
• PM to pledge £1billion to train tens of thousands of extra nurses, midwives, doctors and dentists The Daily Mail 
• NHS plan to fix workforce crisis ‘will double number of medical school places for doctors’ iNews

Why does Rishi Sunak want to limit scope of Covid inquiry?

Why does Rishi Sunak want to limit scope of Covid inquiry? When Boris Johnson first announced a public inquiry into Covid, many observers saw it as an attempt to kick difficult questions into the long grass. Two years on, in a twist that may well amuse the former prime minister, that long grass is littered with political bear traps for Rishi Sunak.

Such are the complexities of this week’s developments, it can be easy to overlook the sheer strangeness of what is actually going on: a government going to the high court to try to limit the scope of an official inquiry it set up in the first place. The Guardian

See also:

• Boris Johnson warned Covid inquiry legal funding could be withdrawn BBC News
• Government legal challenge against Covid inquiry ‘very disheartening’, virus victim’s son says Channel 4 News
• Senior Tories express doubts over Covid inquiry legal challenge The Guardian
• Sunak under fire as ‘stupid’ Eat Out to Help Out scheme to be focus of Covid inquiry The Guardian
• Who were in the WhatsApp groups Boris Johnson and ministers used to fight Covid? The Independent
• Boris Johnson warned he could lose legal funding for Covid inquiry ITV News
• Government accused of COVID inquiry 'cover-up' as legal battle beckons over Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages Sky News
• Boris Johnson to bypass Cabinet Office and hand over unredacted messages directly to COVID inquiry Sky News

‘Children with ADHD are being failed’: parents share their experiences of an overwhelmed system

‘Children with ADHD are being failed’: parents share their experiences of an overwhelmed system Since the pandemic there has been a steep rise in cases of ADHD among children. Here, experts discuss why, parents describe their struggles and campaigners say what needs to change. The Guardian

The worst day of the week for heart attacks revealed

The worst day of the week for heart attacks revealed erious heart attacks are more likely to happen on a Monday than at any other time, research has suggested.

The study found that the likelihood of a heart attack occurring on a Monday was 13% greater than expected.

Doctors at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland analysed data from 10,528 patients across the island of Ireland – 7,112 in the Republic and 3,416 in Northern Ireland. The Independent

New British lung cancer drug from AstraZeneca is hailed as a 'game changer'

New British lung cancer drug from AstraZeneca is hailed as a 'game changer' A 'game-changing' British drug can halve the risk of dying from lung cancer, research has shown.

The ground-breaking trial found patients who received osimertinib after surgery were 51 per cent more likely to be alive five years later than those given a dummy pill.

The daily tablets target non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumours among people who have a specific genetic mutation which means they have stopped responding to earlier treatments. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Overall Survival with Osimertinib in Resected EGFR-Mutated NSCLC (abstract) New England Journal of Medicine
• Tagrisso achieved unprecedented survival in early-stage EGFR-mutated lung cancer, with 88% of patients alive at five years in ADAURA Phase III trial AstraZeneca
• Lung cancer pill cuts risk of death by half, says ‘thrilling’ study The Guardian

Medics set to sue General Medical Council for failing to clamp down on conspiracy theorists

Medics set to sue General Medical Council for failing to clamp down on conspiracy theorists Angry doctors have accused the General Medical Council of negligence for failing to crack down on medics who spread false information about Covid-19 jabs.

They say the doctors' regulator – charged with protecting patients and maintaining standards in medicine – is shirking its statutory responsibility to police its members properly.

All practising doctors in the UK must be registered with the body. The Daily Mail