Health and care sector latest developments
Resident doctors to proceed with winter strikes
Resident doctors in England will carry out a five-day strike starting Wednesday, after rejecting the government’s revised offer, which included increasing specialty training posts.
According to the BBC, an indicative vote saw 83 per cent of doctors support continuing industrial action, referencing unresolved concerns over job shortages and pay.
Responding to this, BMA chair Jack Fletcher told Sky News that health secretary Wes Streeting’s warnings were ‘scaremongering’, insisting that the NHS can manage the strike safely, and stressed that patients will still be able to access A&E if needed.
Rory Deighton also responded stating:
“It is bitterly disappointing that the BMA has rejected this offer and chosen to continue with hugely disruptive strikes. These strikes come at the worst possible time, with rapidly rising flu levels putting huge strain on hospitals
“Despite NHS leaders working incredibly hard to prepare for these strikes, we are concerned that if resident doctors walk out during a record flu surge it could put patient safety at risk. We would urge the BMA to recognise these strikes are disproportionate given the generous pay rises resident doctors have already had, call them off and moderate their demands so a solution to this long-running dispute can be found.”
Further today, Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health had an urgent question in the House of Commons this afternoon on winter preparedness in the NHS. He accused the government of failing to prepare, criticising current rates of flu and RSV vaccination.
Wes Streeting condemned the BMA for going ahead with strikes later this week, given the current risk to patient safety and that resident doctors would be recalled in emergencies. He also pointed out more flu vaccines have been delivered this year than last, including more uptake amongst NHS staff.
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was also asked about strikes at Liaison Committee this afternoon, which is the committee made of chairs of the departmental Commons Select Committee. Sir Keir said the BMA’s vote on strike action was ‘irresponsible’ at this point in the year and commented on the loss of support for resident doctors among the public and other NHS colleagues. He said the government ‘would not yield’ to the BMA’s demands.
Delayed discharge leads to overcrowding risk
Delayed discharges are leading to a risk of overcrowding in hospitals this winter.
New research by the Health Foundation, reported in The Guardian, found that such delays have been worse in the lead up to winter this year, meaning that hospitals have fewer beds available.
Francesca Cavallaro, who undertook the analysis, explained that ‘19,000 more hospital days were lost due to delays in discharging patients during July to September compared with the same period last year.’
Cavallaro emphasised that such ‘delays harm patients and increase pressures on overstretched A&E departments.’
A spokesperson from DHSC outlined the steps being taken on this issue, including the ‘joining up [of] NHS and social care through neighbourhood health teams’.
Rory Deighton said: “Delayed discharges have been a long-standing challenge for the NHS and can exacerbate winter pressures. When social and community services are not readily available to support hospitals to discharge their patients as soon as they are medically fit to leave, it can create bottlenecks across the whole service. This means ambulances that can’t handover their patients to A&E promptly, emergency departments that cannot transfer their patients into more appropriate wards or having to rely on caring for their patients in corridors and other inappropriate settings, and non-urgent inpatient care then being disrupted. With 95 per cent of hospital beds already full up, this is not a good situation for the NHS to be in as it continues to grapple with a nasty strain of flu and faces the prospect of more industrial action from resident doctors.
“Healthcare leaders continue to work incredibly hard to ensure improvements in patient discharge, working with local authorities to increase social care support, and prioritising vulnerable older patients at the front door through increased frailty screening.”
New RCS England report calls for more operating theatres and surgical staff to successfully tackle waiting lists
Almost half of NHS consultant surgeons are carrying out no more than one planned inpatient operating session per week, as productivity plummets due to shortages of theatres, staff and beds, a major census has revealed. The 2025 UK Surgical Workforce Census, conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), surveyed more than 6,300 members of the surgical workforce and found that over 80 per cent of consultants perform two or fewer elective inpatient lists weekly.
More than two in five are restricted to a single session at most, with access to operating theatres pinpointed as the biggest obstacle. A total of 73 per cent of consultants cited a lack of space, with 59 per cent pointing to theatre staff shortages and 48 per cent highlighting bed availability.
Rory Reighton responded stating: “The report is right to highlight how important continued capital investment is going to be if the NHS is going to boost productivity and tackle the care backlog. A lack of investment has left the NHS having to cope with crumbling buildings and outdated equipment, which can risk patient safety and hamper productivity... NHS leaders will hope further private capital can be leveraged to create new and upgraded facilities in hospitals and mental health services.”
Hospital to report on maternity services daily
NHS England is requiring hospitals to report on the state of their maternity and neonatal services every morning.
As HSJ reports, the new ‘sitrep’ starts today and is meant to give officials ‘oversight of safety pressures for monitoring of performance and perinatal quality’.
Some have been sceptical of such reporting, with one senior leader in maternity services arguing that collecting ‘yet more information on a daily basis is very unlikely to make a positive difference.’
However, an NHS England spokesperson argued that it would provide ‘a longer-term picture for services and NHS England to see what support is effective, and what more can be done to keep mothers and babies safe.’
Government advisers change stance on hospitals with risky concrete
Government advisers who previously said hospitals with RAAC panels needed to be replaced by 2030 have now recommended the unsafe concrete planks can ‘technically remain serviceable’ until 2040.
Engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald said in 2022 that all hospitals which use reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which is prone to collapse, should be replaced by the end of the decade.
However, in an updated independent safety assessment published on Friday, it now advises the concrete planks can ‘technically remain serviceable’ until 2040.
The report said: “The hospitals can operate safely to 2030 and beyond – but with conditions.”
The Department of Health and Social Care told HSJ the report had improved its understanding of RAAC, and it accepted the findings in full.
Lib Dems call for urgent action on hospital discharge delays
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new winter discharge unit backed by £90 million to ease hospital pressures over Christmas, proposing extra locum doctors, round-the-clock patient transport and 5,000 emergency care packages a week.
Freedom of Information data obtained by the party shows severe discharge delays, with some patients waiting up to 268 days to leave hospital, while tens of thousands faced delays of more than four days last December, costing the NHS millions each week.
The party warns that upcoming doctors’ strikes and winter pressures will worsen the situation, urging the government to act within weeks to prevent more patients from spending Christmas in hospital unnecessarily.
FDP AI tool at centre of regulatory row
A Federated Data Platform AI discharge tool hailed as ‘potentially transformational’ by Wes Streeting is at the centre of a spiralling regulatory row, HSJ can reveal.
A group established by NHS England to advise on ethics and governance of the Federated Data Platform has raised serious concerns about an AI discharge summary tool being developed and piloted at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust.
