Introducing integrated care systems: joining up local services to improve health outcomes

Introducing integrated care systems: joining up local services to improve health outcomes This report examines the setup of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and their partners and the risks they must manage. The report is not an assessment of whether the programme has secured good value for money to date because ICSs have only recently taken statutory form. Instead, it is an assessment of where they are starting from and the challenges and opportunities ahead. It makes recommendations intended to help manage those risks and realise those opportunities. National Audit Office

The bet against the NHS – how likely is a two-tier healthcare system in the UK?

The bet against the NHS – how likely is a two-tier healthcare system in the UK? This briefing unpacks the background and policy landscape creating increased concerns for the health care system in the UK. It explains how for-profit health care provision has grown in the past two decades, the role of the Government in creating an environment that encouraged this growth, and the effect this has on patients and the way we access treatment based on ability to pay rather than level of need. Centre for Health and the Public Interest

NHS delivers record number of lifesaving cancer checks as long waits for care continue to fall

NHS delivers record number of lifesaving cancer checks as long waits for care continue to fall More people than ever before received a lifesaving NHS cancer check in August alongside continued progress against the elective recovery plan, new figures show today.

Over a quarter of a million people (255,055) were checked following an urgent GP referral in August – the highest number since records began. NHS England

Guidance: The R value and growth rate

Guidance: The R value and growth rate The latest reproduction number (R) and growth rate of coronavirus (COVID-19). UK Health Security Agency

See also:

• Research: Consensus statements and medium-term projections on COVID-19 UK Health Security Agency

Covid cases rise as one in 37 has virus in UK

Covid cases rise as one in 37 has virus in UK The latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest one in 37 people in the UK has coronavirus, a rise from one in 50 the week before.

Experts warn of a "notable rise" in older people in England and Wales.

They say vaccines are the best defence against the virus and urge people aged 50 and over and others eligible for booster jabs to get them.

There are fears of a flu and Covid "twindemic" this winter. BBC News

See also:

• Covid: Time running out to protect vulnerable, campaigners warn BBC News
• Study links coronavirus lockdowns to birth rate drop in Europe BBC News
• BioNTech: Could Covid vaccine technology crack cancer? BBC News
• Still never had Covid? Thank your genes: Three in 10 people have a gene that blocks infection The Daily Mail
• Covid cases surge across UK again as one in 35 people in England now has virus The Independent

Nurses can leave ‘if they want to’ – they have already had a pay rise, says Thérèse Coffey

Nurses can leave ‘if they want to’ – they have already had a pay rise, says Thérèse Coffey Thérèse Coffey doubled down on her previous comments rejecting any notion of an increased pay offer.

The Health Secretary has said that nursing staff can leave the UK “if they want to” amid complaints over poor pay and short staffing. Nursing Notes

See also:

• RCN responds to media comments by the Health Secretary on not making changes to NHS pay Royal College of Nursing
• Government must act urgently on NHS pay to bring record waiting times down UNISON
• Ballot dates for ambulance strike vote revealed BBC News
• Nurses can LEAVE if they're unhappy about their pay Health Secretary says The Daily Mail
• Therese Coffey: Government ‘has already acted’ to help nurses with cost of living Evening Standard
• Thérèse Coffey says nurses won’t get higher pay offer as strike vote looms The Guardian
• Endemic low pay threatens future of NHS, says union boss The Guardian
• NHS facing mass staff walkouts this winter as unions hold votes on coordinated strike action The Independent
• Higher pay offer for nurses unlikely to be put on the table, Health Secretary Therese Coffey says Sky News

Thérèse Coffey criticised for giving leftover antibiotics to a friend

Thérèse Coffey criticised for giving leftover antibiotics to a friend Doctors have rounded on the health secretary, Thérèse Coffey, after she admitted to sharing prescription medicines with others, actions the British Medical Association described as both dangerous and against the law.

Coffey told civil servants in a meeting last month that she had given leftover antibiotics to a poorly friend, an admission that came as the discussion on how to alleviate pressures on struggling GPs moved on to public behaviour around antibiotics. The Guardian 

See also:

• Health Secretary Therese Coffey admits to illegally sharing antibiotics with friends and family as she faces backlash over plan for pharmacies to offer the medicines without prescriptions The Daily Mail
• Thérèse Coffey's 'nuts' plan for antibiotic prescription without GP okay makes drugs less effective The Daily Mail

NHS struggles as lockdown boozing causes deaths from liver disease to soar to unprecedented levels

NHS struggles as lockdown boozing causes deaths from liver disease to soar to unprecedented levels Deaths from alcohol-related liver disease reached record levels at the height of the Covid pandemic, NHS figures have revealed.

More than 5,200 people under 75 lost their lives to the condition in 2020 – 20 per cent more than the year before and the highest number since records began.

Hospitalisations related to the disease also reached unprecedented levels that year, rising to 25,000 – a jump of 57 per cent since 2010. The Daily Mail 

More Covid patients in Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital as over-50s offered vaccine booster

More Covid patients in Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital as over-50s offered vaccine booster Covid jabs are being made available to everyone over-50 from Friday (October 14) in a bid to reduce the impact of an autumn wave on the NHS in Northamptonshire and beyond.

The county’s vaccination programme this week reached the milestone of 100,000 booster jabs since the latest campaign launched on September 12 urging people to get vaccinated to ensure they are protected against the virus’ most severe symptoms.

Numbers of Covid patients in the county’s two main NHS hospitals have more than doubled since the beginning of October. Northamptonshire Telegraph

RCP sets out urgent workforce solutions to keep the NHS running

RCP sets out urgent workforce solutions to keep the NHS running The RCP has warned that long waiting times in the NHS will become normalised unless the government acts immediately, as well as setting out credible long-term workforce solutions.

In a new policy paper, the RCP reiterates the case for long-term workforce planning and sets out a range of short- to medium-term solutions the government must implement now to keep the NHS running. Royal College of Physicians

See also:

• Government must listen and act on solutions put forward to alleviate NHS workforce crisis BMA
• NHS workforce and spending plans must go further if the government is to deliver its promises The King's Fund
• NHS Confederation responds to the Royal College of Physicians new policy paper on workforce solutions NHS Confederation
• Severe lack of staff piles pressure on overstretched NHS services NHS Providers

Why do diagnostics matter? Maximising the potential of diagnostics services

Why do diagnostics matter? Maximising the potential of diagnostics services This briefing explores the role that diagnostics play in underpinning much of the activity that takes place in the health and care system, the policy focus to date and where attention is needed to ensure diagnostic capacity and capability are fit for the future. The King's Fund

See also:

• Are community diagnostic centres really moving care closer to home? The King's Fund
• Community diagnostic centres may struggle to reduce NHS backlog in current situation The King's Fund

Poor NHS buildings mean poor NHS care

Poor NHS buildings mean poor NHS care I’ve been writing about the poor condition of some NHS buildings and equipment for nearly a decade. Over this time the cost of tackling the problems with NHS buildings and equipment has more than doubled from £4 billion in 2011/12 to over £10 billion in 2021/22. And nearly one-fifth of the repair bill is now for equipment and buildings that are in such a sorry state they present potentially catastrophic risks to patient care.  The King's Fund

See also:

• Estates Returns Information Collection, Summary page and dataset for ERIC 2021/22 NHS Digital
• Billions needed to plug growing NHS maintenance backlog NHS Providers
• Cost of eradicating NHS repairs backlog hits £10bn for first time The Guardian
• Cost of fixing 'crumbling' NHS hospitals soars to record £10bn The Independent

The power of the ordinary

The power of the ordinary Half of adults who have a mental health difficulty had experienced symptoms by the age of 14. Many children struggle with their transitions to secondary school or are affected by exposure to risk factors such as poverty, disability, discrimination or trauma during their childhoods. But many of these problems are preventable. A Million & Me was developed by BBC Children in Need to explore how ordinary, trusted relationships can help children who are beginning to struggle with their mental wellbeing. Projects have showcased early intervention approaches, and provided intelligence for the wider children’s mental health and wellbeing system. 

However, this report raises concerns that this awareness is not translating into enough action to prevent mental ill health in children at scale. It recommends further investment from governments and charitable funders in programmes to boost children’s mental health and prevent later problems. Centre for Mental Health

Over £800m to boost innovation, growth and improve patient safety

Over £800m to boost innovation, growth and improve patient safety Patients up and down the country are set to benefit from innovative new treatments and improved delivery of health and care services following significant funding to support ground-breaking experimental medicine research and advance the UK’s response to patient safety challenges.

Today (Friday 14 October) the government has announced that over £800 million of funding, to be allocated by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will go to support specialist research facilities bringing together scientists to create an environment where experimental medicine and patient safety research can thrive. Department of Health and Social Care

NHS invites people 50 and over for autumn boosters and flu jab

NHS invites people 50 and over for autumn boosters and flu jab Millions of people aged 50 and over will be able to book their autumn booster and flu vaccines tomorrow, as the NHS Covid-19 and flu programmes continue to protect the country ahead of winter.

Online and phone bookings will open to around 12 million people aged between 50 and 64 to book their Covid jabs tomorrow (Friday 14 October). NHS England

See also:

• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2022 to 2023 season UK Health Security Agency

Covid protection may be boosted by genes, study shows

Covid protection may be boosted by genes, study shows Some people with "lucky genes" or certain DNA may get extra strong protection after Covid jabs, say scientists from University of Oxford.

The researchers found people with a version of a gene called HLA-DQB1*06 had a bigger antibody response following vaccination than others.

About 30 to 40% of the UK population have this type. BBC News 

See also:

• Human leukocyte antigen alleles associate with COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and risk of breakthrough infection (abstract) Nature Medicine
• Bereaved families to ask Covid contract PR firms not to bid for inquiry work The Guardian
• When doctors become long Covid patients – and still aren’t believed The Guardian
• ‘I’m going to get there’: they’re slowly recovering from long Covid – but how? The Guardian
• Covid-19 health crisis fears ‘may have led to 14% drop in live births in Europe’ The Independent
• Covid: Professor warns of two new ‘telltale’ symptoms as cases rise The Independent

Public responds to NHS amber alert over donor blood stocks

Public responds to NHS amber alert over donor blood stocks The blood-donation service has been inundated with offers of help after putting out an alert, on Wednesday, warning NHS stocks were running critically low in England.

More than 10,000 appointments to donate blood over the next few weeks have been booked in the past 24 hours.

People can check how and where to donate, at blood.co.uk, but should be prepared for online queues, NHS Blood and Transplant says. BBC News

See also:

• How the NHS's dire blood shortage was sparked by cancelling walk-ins six years ago The Daily Mail

University of Leicester team finds more stillbirths in deprived areas

University of Leicester team finds more stillbirths in deprived areas Research suggests there are higher rates of stillbirth and neonatal death for those living in deprived areas and minority ethnic groups.

A report from a team at the University of Leicester shows that while overall stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates have reduced, inequalities persist.

MBRRACE-UK, the team that carried out the research, said it had looked at outcomes for specific ethnic groups.

The group said it hoped the work would help target support and intervention. BBC News

See also:

• Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report for births in 2020 MBRRACE-UK

Record 7 million people awaiting hospital treatment, says NHS England

Record 7 million people awaiting hospital treatment, says NHS England About one in 18 have been waiting for more than a year, the figures for the end of August show

The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.

Seven million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August, NHS England said. The Guardian

See also:

• Fewer ops being done as NHS waiting list hits seven million BBC News
• NHS in 'grave situation' , says Academy of Medical Royal Colleges chair Channel 4 News
• GPs face rising pressure as NHS backlog hits record 7m patients GPonline
• An NHS in crisis and boom time for private health: that’s the bleak prognosis now | Aditya Chakrabortty The Guardian
• NHS waiting list hits record high as A&E performance sinks to new low The Independent
• Patients waiting for routine hospital treatment in England hits record high Sky News

Signs of dementia 'might be visible up to a DECADE before patients are even diagnosed'

Signs of dementia 'might be visible up to a DECADE before patients are even diagnosed' Possible signs of dementia may be visible up to a decade before people are typically diagnosed, a study suggests.

People who performed badly on problem solving and memory tests nine years earlier were more likely to get diseases including Alzheimer's, Cambridge scientists found. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Pre-diagnostic cognitive and functional impairment in multiple sporadic neurodegenerative diseases (open access) Alzheimer's & Dementia