How will you celebrate 75 years of NHS care? Here's what is happening in Northamptonshire

How will you celebrate 75 years of NHS care? Here's what is happening in Northamptonshire This year marks 75 amazing years of the National Health Service – and people across Northamptonshire are being encouraged to celebrate what the NHS means to them. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries?

How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries? Comparing the health care systems of different countries can help politicians and policy‑makers assess how the UK health care system is performing and where it could improve. 

For our research, we reviewed the academic literature on previous attempts to compare health care systems, analysed quantitative data on health system performance, and interviewed experts in comparative health policy. 

We found the UK health care system has fewer key resources than its peers. It performs relatively well on some measures of efficiency but waiting times for common procedures were ‘middle-of-the-pack’ before the Covid-19 pandemic and have deteriorated sharply since. The King's Fund

See also:

• NHS given mixed bill of health in new study of international health care systems The King's Fund
• Comparing the NHS to the health care systems of other countries: five charts The King's Fund

Longer hospital stays and fewer admissions

Longer hospital stays and fewer admissions This analysis shows that 800,000 (12 per cent) fewer patients in England were admitted to hospital in 2022 than in 2019, while at the same time the average length of time patients spent in hospital increased. It suggests that because hospitals are at the limits of their capacity and length of stay has increased, hospitals have had to increase admission thresholds, in effect rationing care by admitting fewer patients. The Health Foundation

Access to unplanned or urgent care

Access to unplanned or urgent care This report gives a factual overview of NHS services that may be used when people need rapid access to urgent, emergency, or other non-routine health services, and whether such services are meeting the performance standards the NHS has told patients they have a right to expect. It covers: general practice; community pharmacy; 111 calls; ambulance services (including 999 calls); urgent treatment centres; and accident and emergency departments. National Audit Office

New lung cancer screening roll out to detect cancer sooner

New lung cancer screening roll out to detect cancer sooner A national targeted lung cancer screening programme designed to catch cancer sooner or prevent it altogether has been announced by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Each year the programme - which will cost £270 million annually once fully implemented - is expected to detect cancer in as many as 9,000 people, deliver almost one million scans and provide treatment earlier. Department of Health and Social Care

Senior doctors back strike action in England

Senior doctors back strike action in England NHS consultants in England have voted in favour of strike action in their fight for more pay.

Some 86% of British Medical Association members backed walkouts over what the union described as repeated pay cuts.

The union had already announced that a 48-hour walkout on 20 and 21 July would take place if doctors backed action.

It will follow a five-day strike by junior doctors - the combination is likely to lead to huge disruption to services, and cancelled treatments. BBC News

See also:

• BMA calls on Government to come forward with credible pay offer for consultants in England and avoid strikes as senior doctors vote yes for BMA
• Consultants' strikes “unchartered territory” for a post-pandemic NHS NHS Confederation
• Patients face SEVEN DAYS of NHS chaos as senior doctors walk out The Daily Mail
• Striking junior doctors will be offered an extra £1,000 on top of 6% pay rise The Daily Mail
• Senior doctors’ strike signals fight over NHS pay is just beginning The Guardian
• Junior doctors to strike for five days in longest walkout in NHS history The Independent
• NHS consultants in England vote to strike for two days next month Sky News

Nurse strikes in England end as vote turnout too low

Nurse strikes in England end as vote turnout too low Strike action by nurses at the Royal College of Nursing will not continue after the union's ballot of its members in England failed to achieve a mandate.

While most of those members who cast a ballot voted to continue industrial action, the proportion taking part in the vote was too low for it to count.

Just over 43% took part - below the 50% threshold required by trade union laws. BBC News

See also:

• Fight for fair pay to continue without new strike mandate Royal College of Nursing
• NHS Confederation responds to the outcome of the RCN's industrial action ballot NHS Confederation
• Nurses fail to vote in sufficient numbers for fresh strikes in England The Guardian

Matt Hancock criticises UK's 'body bag' approach to Covid

Matt Hancock criticises UK's 'body bag' approach to Covid Ex-health secretary Matt Hancock has criticised the UK's pandemic planning before Covid hit, saying it was "completely wrong".

He told the Covid Inquiry that planning was focused on the provision of body bags and how to bury the dead, rather than stopping the virus taking hold.

He said he was "profoundly sorry" for each death.

After giving evidence he approached some of the bereaved families, but they turned their backs on him as he left. BBC News

UK risks becoming reliant on overseas care workers, report warns

UK risks becoming reliant on overseas care workers, report warns The UK risks becoming highly reliant on overseas care workers after nearly 58,000 visas were issued for the sector last year, a report says.

Analysis by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford found that the demand for foreign staff had left the NHS and care homes open to “vulnerabilities” including “exposure to international competition for health workers and risks of exploitation”.

In the year to March, 57,700 care workers received skilled work visas, the report says. The Guardian

See also:

• Migration and the health and care workforce  The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford

Record numbers of children seek mental health help from NHS England

Record numbers of children seek mental health help from NHS England A record 1.4 million children and young people sought NHS help for mental health problems last year, amid concern that under-18s are struggling with issues including about money and their education.

The number of school-age children being referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) has undergone an “explosion” in the last three years, soaring by 76% since 2019, NHS figures show. The Guardian

Warning over 'retirement timebomb' among GPs

Warning over 'retirement timebomb' among GPs The NHS faces a 'retirement time bomb' with one in five GPs now over the age of 55 and soon to hang up their stethoscope, figures show.

An explosion in retirements among family doctors over the next few years could make the 8am scramble for appointments worse.

Analysis of NHS data by the Liberal Democrats show almost 8,000 fully qualified GPs are over 55, making up 22 per cent of the total. The Daily Mail