The NHS Long Term Plan and COVID-19: Assessing progress and the pandemic’s impact

The NHS Long Term Plan and COVID-19: Assessing progress and the pandemic’s impact This analysis looks at progress on the main pledges in the NHS Long Term Plan and the impact of COVID-19 on their delivery. 

The NHS Long Term Plan remains the blueprint for the NHS’s evolution, but the pandemic has dealt a huge blow to both the NHS and social care. In this report, we provide a narrative of what was achieved before the pandemic, assemble the evidence of how the pandemic has affected progress against the plan’s major commitments, and identify implications for the future as the NHS and government plans its recovery from the pandemic. The Health Foundation

Cancer nursing on the line: why we need urgent investment across the UK

Cancer nursing on the line: why we need urgent investment across the UK UK cancer services are slowly recovering from the devastating blow caused by Covid-19. The pandemic has both laid bare and exacerbated the terrible strain the cancer workforce has been under for many years. 

When the pandemic hit, some services were forced to pause, whilst others had to quickly adapt and many have still not ‘returned to normal’. Some cancer nurses were also deployed to care around the clock for the half a million people admitted to hospital with coronavirus. The practical and emotional impact of this disruption on people living with cancer has been profound. McMillan Cancer Support

See also:

• Nurse shortage ‘delaying treatment for 21% of UK cancer patients’ The Guardian
• NHS staff shortages led to failings in my cancer treatment, says patient calling for more specialist nurses iNews
• COVID-19: Cancer and heart patients say they felt 'abandoned' and 'anxious' after NHS treatments repeatedly cancelled and disrupted by pandemic Sky News

An ever-growing NHS budget could swallow up all of this week’s tax rise, leaving little for social care

An ever-growing NHS budget could swallow up all of this week’s tax rise, leaving little for social care This week saw major announcements on health and social care funding. Outside of the usual Budget or Spending Review process, the government announced around £12 billion of additional spending for the Department of Health and Social Care for each year between 2022−23 and 2024−25, alongside a corresponding tax rise. Institute for Fiscal Studies

See also: 

• 'If NHS needs money, there's less for social care' BBC News
• NHS could ‘swallow up’ all the money raised by new tax rise, says IFS The Guardian

Innovation and new technology to help reduce NHS waiting lists

Innovation and new technology to help reduce NHS waiting lists Local surgical hubs, new technology to speed up diagnosis, and innovative ways of working will help the NHS to tackle growing waiting lists and treat around 30% more patients who need elective care by 2023/24.

Backed by a new £36 billion investment in health and social care over the next 3 years, ‘doing things differently’ and embracing innovation will be the driving force to get the NHS back on track. Department of Health and Social Care 

4 in 5 people aged 16 and over vaccinated with both doses

4 in 5 people aged 16 and over vaccinated with both doses Four in 5 people aged 16 and over in the UK have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the latest figures show.

A total of 43,535,098 people have received 2 doses (80.1%) and 48,292,811 people have received one dose (88.8%).

More than half of all teenagers aged 16 to 17 in England have already received their first jab, just over 4 weeks after the green light was given for this age group to be offered the vaccine. Department of Health and Social Care 

Covid: Consultation on mandatory jabs for frontline health staff

Covid: Consultation on mandatory jabs for frontline health staff Compulsory Covid and flu jabs for frontline NHS and care workers in England are being considered in a government consultation.

Plans are already in place to make it mandatory for care home workers in England to be fully vaccinated.

But some unions and care organisations have warned that making the jabs mandatory will lead to staff shortages. BBC News

See also:

• Covid: Boris Johnson concerned over unvaccinated hospital patients BBC News
• Covid England and Wales: Weekly deaths rise 17% to 668 as virus now behind one in 15 fatalities The Daily Mail
• Covid vaccines do NOT increase the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women, two new studies find The Daily Mail
• 'Frustrated' doctors reveal Covid patients STILL not being given Regeneron's antibody cocktail The Daily Mail
• PHE says it has spotted 53 cases of 'Mu' variant in UK which is feared to be resistant to vaccines The Daily Mail
• People refusing Covid jabs should not work in social care, minister suggests The Guardian
• WHO asks rich countries to delay Covid booster jabs for rest of year The Independent
• Covid-19 booster vaccines will start being given to older groups in the next fortnight under NHS plans iNews
• Doctors and nurses say NHS needs 'firebreak' as staff struggle with demand of Covid cases iNews
• Unvaccinated frontline NHS staff to be redeployed Nursing Notes

Will Boris Johnson’s plan for the NHS work?

Will Boris Johnson’s plan for the NHS work? Boris Johnson chose to visit a hospital he knows only too well to highlight the new funding package for the NHS in England.

He spent anxious days in intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital in central London in April 2020, seriously ill with Covid.

The pandemic continues to cast a long shadow over the NHS and that's because of uncertainty over how case numbers and hospital admissions will develop next year. BBC News

See also: 

• Health Secretary opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph Department of Health and Social Care
• Boris Johnson on need to address NHS wait times BBC News
• Social care tax rise: Boris Johnson wins Commons vote  BBC News
• Social care: Will people still have to sell their homes? BBC News
• Now NHS wants to hire £270k bosses: Recruitment drive fuels fears over where extra cash raised by social care reforms will be going The Daily Mail
• ‘Misleading’ social care cap does not cover care home food and accommodation costs The Daily Telegraph
• UK care homes say funding shake-up threatens their viability The Guardian
• Social care backlash grows after MPs vote through tax plan The Guardian
• Social care funding in England: your questions answered The Guardian
• UK lawmakers back tax hike to pay for health, long-term care The Independent
• MPs back National Insurance hike to tackle NHS backlog and fund PM's care changes Sky News

Transport noise linked to increased risk of dementia, study finds

Transport noise linked to increased risk of dementia, study finds Exposure to noise from road traffic and railways is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to the largest study of its kind.

Research has consistently linked transport noise to health conditions including heart disease, diabetes and obesity, but studies on transport noise and dementia were scarce and small, and findings inconsistent. The Guardian

See also: 

• Residential exposure to transportation noise in Denmark and incidence of dementia: national cohort study (open access) The BMJ

GP surgeries in England told to provide face-to-face appointments

GP surgeries in England told to provide face-to-face appointments Sajid Javid has told nearly 1,000 GP surgeries to provide more face-to-face appointments — after they were found to be failing to meet basic patient needs.

The Health Secretary said that while online and phone consults can be convenient for some, they 'are not right for everyone'.  The Daily Mail 

Two in five 16 to 17-year-olds in Northampton receive first Covid jab

Two in five 16 to 17-year-olds in Northampton receive first Covid jab Two in five 16 to 17-year-olds in Northampton have received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, figures reveal.

It comes as pupils across England return to school after the summer holidays, amid a warning over a potential rise in cases. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Covid-19: Low jab rate 'a factor' in Corby's high case rate BBC Northampton 
• Northampton Covid-19 testing centre staff not paid for three weeks continue working due to 'human spirit' Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Kettering drugs overdoses linked to hazardous substance

Kettering drugs overdoses linked to hazardous substance Police have warned that a "potentially dangerous batch of crack cocaine and heroin" has led to four overdoses in a town in a few days.

Northamptonshire Police said "lifesaving interventions" have been needed in a number of incidents in Kettering.

It believed "a very hazardous substance - possible isotonitazene or fentanyl - has been used as a cutting agent". BBC News

See also: 

• Police issue warning over dangerous batch of Class A drugs Northamptonshire Police

Record £36 billion investment to reform NHS and Social Care

Record £36 billion investment to reform NHS and Social Care The Prime Minister today set out responsible, fair, and necessary plans to tackle the Covid backlogs, reform adult social care, and bring the health and social care system closer together on a long term, sustainable footing.

£36 billion will be invested in the health and care system over the next three years, to ensure it has the long term resource it needs. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Social care cap a bold step forward but funding won't ‘fix’ social care or tackle the NHS backlog The Health Foundation
• The King's Fund responds to the announcement of a health and social care levy The King's Fund
• Care providers, care users and workers will feel short-changed by proposed health and social care levy and reform Nuffield Trust
• Why the cap on care costs is not all it seems BBC News
• MPs to vote on health and social care tax rise BBC News
• Boris Johnson outlines health and social care tax to pay for reforms BBC News
• Nursing sector bosses hail plan to fund social care reforms but fear NHS will hoover up billions The Daily Mail
• Levy will ensure our NHS can cope with this unprecedented challenge The Daily Telegraph
• Funding social care is 'permanent new role for Government', says Rishi Sunak The Daily Telegraph
• Boris Johnson raises taxes by £12bn a year to fund NHS and social care – video The Guardian
• More money for the NHS is overdue, but there's not nearly enough to fix social care | Andy Cowper The Guardian

Four in five people aged 16 and over vaccinated with both doses

Four in five people aged 16 and over vaccinated with both doses Four in five people aged 16 and over in the UK have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the latest figures show.

A total of 43,535,098 people have received two doses (80.1%) and 48,292,811 people have received one dose (88.8%). Department of Health and Social Care 

Covid: No plans for October lockdown, says government

Covid: No plans for October lockdown, says government The government has denied newspaper reports that it is planning an October lockdown in England.

The i newspaper said plans had been drawn up to extend the school half-term holiday, if the number of hospitalisations continue at the current level.

The i said a full lockdown was unlikely - but the government could introduce some rules as part of a "firebreak". BBC News

See also:

• Cases of the Mu variant begin to rise, experts fear the variant could be more contagious than Delta The Daily Mail
• COVID-19: AstraZeneca boss says booster jabs may not be needed for everyone and widespread rollout could put extra pressure on NHS Sky News

Sexually transmitted infections fall during pandemic

Sexually transmitted infections fall during pandemic Cases of newly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are down by a third in England, data reveals.

Experts say the drop is partly due to people changing their behaviour during the pandemic but also because fewer tests have been done.

With few Covid restrictions remaining, people are now being warned not to swap social distancing for an STI - and to get checked if they have risky sex. BBC News

See also: 

• STI rates remain a concern despite fall in 2020 Public Health England
• Official Statistics: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): annual data tables Public Health England
• STI rates plunged by a third last year as Covid lockdowns forced 'changes in behaviour' The Daily Mail

Thousands of cancer patients could qualify for 'effective and valuable' treatment

Thousands of cancer patients could qualify for 'effective and valuable' treatment Some 8,000 people in England with hormone-sensitive or hormone-relapsed prostate cancer will be eligible for apalutamide treatment after it was recommended by a health watchdog. The Daily Mail 

Long-term air pollution linked to greater risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation

Long-term air pollution linked to greater risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation A new report finds a link between long-term exposure to air pollution and the severity with which a person will experience the effects of COVID-19.

Air pollution has harmful effects on the lungs. When COVID-19, a disease which infects the airways of the lungs, became a global pandemic it raised the question - does air pollution increase the chance of catching COVID-19 or worsen health outcomes if you do contract it? Imperial College London Environmental Research Group

Dismissed for too long: recommendations to improve migraine care in the UK

Dismissed for too long: recommendations to improve migraine care in the UK This report found a wide range of issues with migraine healthcare including slow or no diagnosis and lack of access to specialist care. It sets out the action needed from government, healthcare systems and other organisations to give everyone living with migraine in the UK the support they need. Migraine Trust 

Additional £5.4 billion for NHS COVID-19 response over next six months

Additional £5.4 billion for NHS COVID-19 response over next six months The NHS will receive an extra £5.4 billion over the next six months to support its response to COVID-19 and help tackle waiting lists, the Prime Minister and Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid have announced.

The funding will immediately go towards supporting the NHS to manage the immediate pressures of the pandemic. This includes an extra £1 billion to help tackle the COVID-19 backlog, £2.8 billion to cover related costs such as enhanced infection control measures to keep staff and patients safe from the virus and £478 million to continue the hospital discharge programme, freeing up beds. Department of Health and Social Care

Social care: PM to unveil overhaul of sector in England

Social care: PM to unveil overhaul of sector in England Boris Johnson will vow to end "catastrophic costs" for social care users in England when he sets out long-awaited reform proposals later.

The prime minister will announce the plans to MPs, alongside money to help the NHS respond to the Covid pandemic.

He is expected to breach election promises and raise National Insurance (NI) by about 1.25%.

And the plan has prompted a backlash from some of his own Tory MPs. BBC News

See also: 

• Fixing social care is not all about a cap on costs The King's Fund
• There is an alternative to the Government's social care reform plans The Daily Telegraph
• What has gone wrong with social care in England? The Guardian
• Boris Johnson faces growing red wall rebellion over social care tax rises The Guardian
• Boris Johnson to defy Tory anger with social care plan set to hit workers with higher national insurance bills The Independent
• UK National Insurance rise: How social care reform plans could impact income – and why there’s a backlash iNews
• Why is Boris Johnson's plan for social care reform being widely criticised? ITV News