Health and care sector latest developments

UK officials ‘working night and day to resolve NHS drug pricing row’

The UK science minister has said officials are ‘working day and night’ trying to resolve the standoff with big pharmaceutical companies over drug pricing.

Speaking to industry leaders and investors at London life sciences week, Patrick Vallance, a former GSK executive, said the government was ‘clear eyed about the challenges’.

“Recent headlines have not always been favourable, and we are acutely aware of the pressures that companies face in the current commercial environment here in the UK,” he said.

“Many of us are working day and night right the way across government to make progress on these issues. And rest assured that we are laser focused on getting that resolved.”

Ministers are working on proposals to raise the cost-effectiveness thresholds at which new medicines are assessed for use in the NHS by about 25 per cent overall. The UK spends less than other European countries on new medications as a share of gross domestic product.

The government is trying to rebuild its relationship with big pharma, after negotiations over drug pricing broke down in late August following an ultimatum set by the health secretary, Wes Streeting. This prompted several companies – MSD, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly – to abandon or pause planned investments in the UK. The chief executive of Eli Lilly, Dave Ricks, went on to describe the UK as ‘probably the worst country in Europe’ for drug prices.

Strike participation among doctors appears to be falling 

Early NHS figures suggest fewer resident doctors are joining the latest strike compared with previous walkouts, allowing hospitals to maintain a higher level of planned appointments and operations than before.

As The Telegraph notes, NHS leaders say this reduced turnout reflects a possible shift in attitude among some staff, with several trusts reporting more doctors choosing to work during the strike despite ongoing frustration over pay.

Although disruption continues, the NHS has kept most services running, with some hospitals operating close to normal levels and safety-based exemptions agreed where necessary, such as in maternity care.

Working in understaffed NHS is leaving nurses sick and ‘broken’, leaders warn

Understaffing in the NHS has left nurses feeling ‘sick and ‘broken’ causing ‘nightmares and panic attacks’ as nurses feel unable to leave work or even take breaks on shift, the RCN finds. Nurses across the NHS and independent care sector are reporting similar issues of being overstretched and under resourced, frequently working unpaid extra hours, feeling unsafe on wards and working more than under half of their usual capacity.

An RCN survey of more than 20,000 UK nursing staff found two thirds (66 per cent) admitted to working while ill on multiple occasions a year, up from fewer than half (49 per cent) in 2017. Stress was found to be the biggest cause of illness self-reported by staff (65.1 per cent), up from 50 per cent in 2017. Meanwhile, a poll for the union and professional body found 70 per cent of nurses are working in excess of their contracted hours at least once a week, with 52 per cent receiving no additional pay.

The RCN said its analysis showed that the numbers reporting working while sick and citing stress as the leading cause were both at an eight-year high.

Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary, said called for ‘new and urgent investment’ to grow the nursing workforce, to be ‘accompanied by the introduction of safety-critical nurse-patient ratios in all health and care settings’.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the work of nurses is greatly valued and that the 10 Year Health Plan aims to ‘improve conditions’ for the ‘overworked and demoralised workforce’.

Concerns grow over limited scope of national maternity review 

The maternity inquiry has told trusts that it will focus on learning rather than identifying failures or assigning blame, prompting frustration from campaigners who say families were promised accountability and transparency.

According to HSJ, critics argue the review risks becoming a reassurance exercise instead of the rigorous scrutiny needed, with calls for a full statutory public inquiry as delays raise further doubts about whether meaningful change will follow.

Although the review aims to gather family experiences and produce national recommendations, MPs and affected families are concerned that slipping timelines and softened scope will postpone urgently needed improvements in maternity safety.

Assisted dying bill begins in the House of Lords

The Committee Stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill) commenced in the House of Lords on Friday.

As the BBC notes, peers warned that the bill is at risk of being delayed or derailed, as more than 900 proposed amendments have slowed progress, with only a handful being debated. 

Supporters argue the large number of changes is being used to stall the bill, while opponents say extensive revisions are essential to protect vulnerable people and ensure the system is safe. 

With limited parliamentary time available before the session ends next spring, some peers are calling for the government to step in or allocate more time, warning that the bill could be ‘talked out’ altogether. 

Pioneering step toward preventing lung cancer

Scientists in the UK are launching the first ever clinical trial of LungVax, an experimental vaccine aimed at preventing lung cancer in people at high risk. 

Built on technology similar to the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, LungVax trains the immune system to spot and destroy abnormal lung cells before they can turn cancerous.

Backed by over £2 million in funding, the four-year phase 1 trial, which is due to start in 2026, will test the vaccine’s safety, dosage, and early immune response in people with a high likelihood of developing or relapsing with lung cancer. 

Although still in its early stages, researchers believe LungVax could mark a major shift toward cancer prevention and potentially reduce deaths from the disease, which currently has very poor long-term survival rates.