Health and care sector latest developments

Covid-19 Inquiry publishes its Module 2 Report 

The Covid-19 Inquiry has this afternoon published its Module 2 Report. 

The key takeaway from the report is that the government took too long to act, with modelling suggesting that an immediate lockdown brought in on 16 March could have led to 23,000 fewer deaths in England during the first wave. 

Additionally, the report also argues that, had voluntary measures been introduced before 16 March, a full lockdown could have been avoided. 

Some further key points from the report’s findings include: 

• Vulnerable people weren’t protected – the report says a number of key groups who were more at risk from Covid, such as disabled people and people from some ethnic minorities were not sufficiently protected due to a lack of data and policy failures.
• Messages were confusing – this was a key theme of the report, with Johnson criticised for his ‘expressions of over-optimism’.
• Politicians didn’t understand the science – the inquiry heard that ‘many ministers lacked confidence in their ability to understand technical material’, with Johnson in particular singled out for struggling with scientific concepts.
• There was no support for experts – the inquiry said it was ‘striking that the burden of providing advice to ministers fell on the shoulders of a few individuals, especially in the devolved nations’. 

Baroness Hallett, author of the report, said that better preparation would have meant that ‘fewer lives would have been lost, the socio-economic costs would have been substantially reduced, and some of the decisions politicians had to take would have been far more straightforward.’ 

NHS ramps up flu vaccine offer 

NHS teams across the country will be offering flu vaccines on high streets, in shopping centres at football clubs and at soft play centres across the Black Friday sales. 

In a country-wide vaccination drive kicking off this weekend, those eligible for their free flu jab are being urged to get vaccinated now ahead of the festive period. Those eligible include people aged 65 and over, those in clinical risk groups and close contacts of those who are immunosuppressed, pregnant women and children, care home residents and carers, frontline social care workers, and health and social care staff.  

So far, 15.4 million flu vaccines have been delivered since the beginning of this season’s rollout, with 2.4 million appointments running across the next week alone. 

Eligible adults are able to book their flu vaccine appointment now online, via the NHS App, via their GP practice, by calling 119, or by finding their nearest walk-in service. 

Home Secretary outlines proposed changes to qualification process for indefinite leave to remain 

Delivering a ministerial statement in the House of Commons, Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said that indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is too easy to access, highlighting the high numbers who are set to receive the status. 

She said the starting point for settlement will move from five years to ten and that applicants for ILR must have no criminal record, speak English to an A Level standard, make national insurance contributions, and have no debt in the UK. 

A survey conducted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had earlier found that up to 50,000 nurses could quit the UK over the government’s immigration proposals. 

The RCN’s survey found that the plans have sparked profound distress among foreign NHS and social care staff. There are more than 200,000 internationally educated nursing staff – about 25 per cent of the UK’s total workforce of 794,000 – with many now considering leaving the UK for good, according to the survey. 

A public consultation on the government’s plans is expected to follow. 

Public Accounts Committee hears evidence on costs of clinical negligence 

MPs on parliament’s Public Accounts Committee have heard evidence from Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England officials on the costs of clinical negligence. 

Giving evidence were Samantha Jones (permanent secretary at Department for Health and Social Care), Elizabeth O'Mahony (interim director general, finance at NHS England) Professor Aidan Fowler (national director of patient safety at NHS England) and Helen Vernon (CEO at NHS Resolution). 

The session also touched on issues including NHSE reform and the changing role of ICBs. 

BMA urges government to re-enter talks over resident doctors’ pay 

The British Medical Association has said that ‘further strikes are in no one’s interest’ and that ‘a deal can be reached if the government recognises the need to move on jobs and pay’ as the latest round of resident doctor strikes came to an end yesterday. 

The union has called on health secretary Wes Streeting ‘to put aside the hostile rhetoric and sit down with us’ and added that ‘a multi-year pay deal and some common-sense changes to fix the jobs crisis can resolve this dispute for years to come’. 

It came as Wes Streeting and NHS England chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, wrote an open letter to NHS staff thanking them for their efforts to keep NHS services running for patients during the latest round of industrial action. 

Patients face long waits at ‘above-average’ A&Es 

Trusts within reach of NHS England’s headline A&E performance target are often dealing with only a small fraction of their sickest patients in a timely fashion, new data, published for the first time, has revealed. 

The performance data for accident and emergency, specifically focused on admitted patients, has been labelled ‘experimental’ and indicates that some hospitals are dealing with as few as 10 per cent of their patients deemed ill enough to require admission at major or specialist A&Es within four hours. 

This is despite many of these trusts performing well against NHSE’s key four-hour A&E interim performance target of 78 per cent for all patients. 

Registration opens for NHS ConfedExpo 2026 

Bookings are now open for NHS ConfedExpo, the UK’s leading health and care conference. 

Taking place on 10 and 11 June 2026, the conference – delivered by the NHS Confederation and NHS England – will turn the spotlight on delivering the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, showcasing bold ideas and celebrating excellence across health and care. 

Bringing together leaders, professionals and partners from across the country, the two-day gathering in Manchester will provide unrivalled opportunities to network, learn and connect.  

Early bird rates are available until 30 January, and passes can be booked on the NHS ConfedExpo website.

Health and care leaders are being encouraged to submit proposals to deliver breakout sessions, with a call for submissions open until 23 January. 

Former MP to chair trust 

Andy Carter, former Conservative MP for Warrington South between 2019 and 2024, will join Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust as chair next year.

He is joining ahead of a planned merger between WHTH and Bridgewater Community Healthcare FT in April 2026. Both organisations currently share a chief executive, Nik Khashu. 

NHS England issues national patient safety alert 

A joint national patient safety alert has been issued by the NHS England national patient safety team, in collaboration with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of General Practitioners, about the risk of harm from inadvertently recording patients’ penicillin allergies as penicillamine allergies in electronic prescribing and medicines administration (EPMA) systems.