Health and care sector latest developments
Baroness Casey calls for ‘moment of reckoning’ for adult social care
Baroness Louise Casey, the Peer who is chairing the independent commission into adult social care, has said that the social care system needs a ‘moment of reckoning’.
Baroness Casey was speaking at the Nuffield Trust Summit where set out how there is currently a reliance on cobbled together underfunded services relying on low-paid care workers, a lack of ownership and accountability, and a deep divide between health and social care which leaves families to navigate alone.
The Peer also confirmed she had written to Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to ask the government to take six immediate actions on dementia, motor neurone disease and adult safeguarding due to the urgency of the reform needed in these areas. A response from the Secretary of State has been published this afternoon.
The independent commission into adult social care will be undertaken in two phases with a first report to be published in 2026 and the final phase reporting back by 2028.
CMA launches investigation into private dentistry
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a review into the private dentistry sector.
The investigation comes after the chancellor previously raised concerns about hidden costs, overtreatment and inadequate information. It is looking at both essential care and cosmetic treatments and is seeking feedback from consumers and dental professionals as it explores how well the market is working – from finding a dentist and understanding prices to knowing where to go if something goes wrong.
The CMA has said it wants to ensure the sector works well for consumers, with chief executive Sarah Cardell saying the regulator wants to ‘hear directly from people across the UK…to help build a clear picture of how this market is working in practice’.
In related news, it has been reported that £900 million has been handed back by dentists over the past two years for unfulfilled NHS care, as they prioritise private work.
Nine trusts put in NHSE turnaround regime
Nine trusts have been placed in NHS England’s new turnaround regime for the country’s most challenged trusts.
The ‘national provider improvement programme’ (NPIP) is the new special-measures-style regime for trusts judged to have both severe performance problems and poor ‘capability’ to improve.
The nine trusts are University Hospitals Sussex FT, Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn FT, Humber Health Partnership (Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole FT), Blackpool Teaching Hospitals FT, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals FT, Medway FT, Mid and South Essex FT and Nottinghamshire Healthcare FT.
Medical training bill receives Royal Assent
The government’s medical training (prioritisation) bill has today received Royal Assent.
Ministers say that the legislation will ensure that UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant NHS experience will be prioritised for specialty training posts this year, with the application process already underway. It is expected to halve competition ratios from around 4:1 to 2:1.
Women report not feeling listened to at healthcare appointments
15 per cent of women say they never feel listened to, or feel listened to less than half the time, during healthcare appointments, according to new research by Healthwatch.
The research also revealed disparities between ethnic groups, with more than six in ten (64 per cent) of white women who have had a medical appointment in the last two years saying they felt listened to and taken seriously, compared to 52 per cent of Asian women.
Healthwatch has said that it will share the findings of its research with the government to help shape the Women’s Health Strategy, which is currently being refreshed.
Professor Chris Whitty warns over health misinformation
Speaking at the Nuffield Trust Summit, Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer, said that medical professionals in both the UK and the US broadly agree on the scientific evidence behind vaccines and other public health measures, stressing that disagreements are not divided along national lines.
Professor Whitty noted that the public generally continues to trust medical evidence, reflected in consistently high vaccination uptake, but warned that misinformation still has the potential to undermine key public health interventions.
He also criticised those spreading misleading claims online, arguing that some clinicians and academics promote inaccurate information to gain attention, influence or financial benefit, which risks eroding trust in health guidance.
New senior adviser to Secretary of State appointed
Liz Chinchen has been appointed as a senior adviser to Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Her role will focus on sustaining and developing good industrial relations in the NHS and policy to support and develop the social care workforce, the government confirmed.
UK sets out pathway for space‑manufactured drugs
UK companies developing medicines in space are set to benefit from a coordinated package of measures to support the rapid growth of in-orbit manufacturing.
The unique environment of microgravity, impossible to replicate on Earth, can improve how biologic drugs form, behave and work within the human body and have the potential to improve outcomes for people with cancer, rare diseases and other conditions by enhancing the quality, stability and performance of complex medicines.
The government has said that the measures will provide industry with greater regulatory clarity and a clearer pathway from research in orbit to patient access on Earth.
Federated data platform trusts failed to meet data security requirements
Almost one-third of NHS trusts using the federated data platform (FDP) last year were not meeting minimum data security standards, it has been revealed.
Minutes from a meeting of the FDP data governance group in October, which were published in February, showed that 25 trusts of 77 live on the FDP were not meeting minimum data security and protection toolkit (DSPT) standards and that senior officials considered whether to eject the organisations from the controversial programme, because of the scale of the issue.
Ex-CQC chief to lead charity
Sir Julian Hartley, recently departed boss of the Care Quality Commission has been named chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, an anti-poverty charity and housing trust.
