Health and care sector latest developments
Nursing funding increase to support community care
The government has announced that funding for NHS-supported nursing care in community care homes will rise by over 5 per cent from April, increasing the weekly payments made by the NHS for residents who require specialist nursing support.
This change is expected to help around 80,000 people receive better care outside hospitals, easing pressure on hospital beds by preventing avoidable admissions and supporting quicker discharges.
The increase forms part of the wider plans to strengthen adult social care and move towards a National Care Service.
NHS is letting women down through ‘medical misogyny’, says Wes Streeting
‘Medical misogyny’ in the UK is letting women down, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, has said, as a survey showed half of female patients felt they had been dismissed or ignored because of their sex.
A report from Mumsnet, which examined data taken from the site over the past decade, warned of ‘structural and deeply embedded’ sexism in UK healthcare.
Trusts waiting twice the legal limit for key regulatory approval
NHS trusts are waiting an average of six months for a regulatory decision on capital projects, despite the relevant legislation stating they should be completed in 8-12 weeks, HSJ reveals.
This is resulting in lengthy delays to urgent building repairs and the purchase of new medical equipment, as well as the potential loss of funding if work is not started by the end of the financial year for which capital budgets apply.
The NHS faces a maintenance backlog estimated at £15 billion, meaning a huge number of remedial projects are now being put forward by trusts.
Higher‑risk capital projects must be signed off by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). This includes hospital buildings more than 18 metres or seven storeys tall. The BSR was set up in response to the Grenfell Tower fire and went live in late 2023.
Health unions push for fair and flexible working across the NHS
A group of 18 health unions have urged NHS employers to routinely offer flexible working, including advertising flexible options in all job roles and improving how requests are managed.
The unions have argued that many staff struggle to access flexible arrangements, despite having the right to request them, with inconsistent policies across regions forcing some workers into lower paid or less secure contracts.
Improving flexibility is seen as vital to retaining experienced healthcare staff, especially in maternity services, where a better work-life balance could help prevent further workforce losses and support safer care.
Lords launch inquiry into NHS innovation and personalised medicine
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has launched an inquiry into innovation in the NHS, focusing on personalised medicine and artificial intelligence.
The inquiry will examine how advances in genomics, biotechnology and AI could transform prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Peers will investigate why the NHS often struggles to adopt cutting-edge life sciences innovations and what changes are needed to accelerate their use.
Lord Mair CBE, chair of the Committee said that the inquiry will also ‘examine how the fragmentation of the overall NHS structure contributes to the uneven deployment of innovation’, and how costs and clinical trial infrastructure must be adapted.
Almost a third of people in England use private dentists
The Guardian reports that almost a third of people in England now use private dentistry, with a sharp rise in the number of poorer households forced to pay for fillings and extractions.
The scarcity of NHS care means the proportion of people turning to private dental services jumped from 22 per cent in 2023 to 32 per cent late last year, the health service’s patient watchdog found.
The reliance on paid-for treatment is so significant that dental care is becoming a costly ‘one tier’ – private-only – service for more and more people, Healthwatch England is warning.
It is concerned that the percentage of people who describe themselves as struggling financially that have used private dentistry has almost doubled in recent years from 14 per cent to 27 per cent.
