Health and care sector latest developments
NHS England pushes forward ICB consolidation plan
According to internal NHS England guidance, ICBs are being directed to 'cluster' with neighbouring boards as soon as possible in 2025/26 and formally merge in either April 2026 or 2027.
As reported by HSJ, to facilitate this process, NHS England is immediately removing restrictions on ICB chief executives holding multiple roles, although partner board members from local authorities, general practices, and trusts cannot be jointly appointed across clustering ICBs.
During the clustering phase, boards will remain separate legal entities, while potentially combining teams or forming joint committees.
The merger plans must align with ongoing local government reorganisation and avoid cutting across local authority boundaries without specific approval.
This consolidation could ultimately reduce the number of ICBs from 42 to approximately 25 to 28, with significant reconfigurations expected in the Midlands, East of England, and South West regions.
Mental health bill passes second reading
The mental health bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons yesterday.
The legislation, which has already made its way through the House of Lords, seeks to modernise the Mental Health Act and enjoys cross-party support.
Having gone through its second reading without the need for a division, the bill will now be scrutinised in a Public Bill Committee, scheduled to conclude on 26 June.
GP employment crisis threatens healthcare access, BMA warns
The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that approximately 1,000 newly qualified GP registrars could face unemployment when they complete their training in August 2025, exacerbating an already critical situation where many practicing GPs are taking non-clinical roles or leaving the NHS entirely due to limited job opportunities.
Practice funding shortages have created a situation where GP surgeries have to choose between financial stability and hiring doctors, while the few available positions tend to be geographically dispersed across multiple sites, making it difficult for doctors to establish meaningful patient relationships.
The BMA has launched a social media campaign and is urging Streeting to provide ring-fenced funding specifically for practices to hire more GPs
BMA expressed concerns over mandatory reporting of teen sexual activity
The British Medical Association (BMA) has opposed a proposal in the crime and policing bill, which requires doctors to report all underage sexual activity, warning it would breach confidentiality and deter young people from seeking care.
As The Telegraph notes, The BMA argues that not all underage sexual activity is abusive and that mandatory reporting of consensual relationships could harm trust and public health outcomes.
They urge changes to the bill to exempt doctors from reporting consensual cases unless there are clear signs of abuse or exploitation.
UK joins global pandemic prevention framework
The UK has adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement, which creates an international framework to better detect, prevent and respond to global health threats by improving disease surveillance, encouraging pathogen data sharing, and accelerating vaccine development.
The agreement establishes a voluntary pathogen access and benefit sharing system, where pharmaceutical organisations can gain faster access to pathogens needed for developing treatments.
Responding to the announcement, health minister Ashley Dalton stressed how the agreement supports UK interests, speaking on the “the vital importance of international cooperation to save lives", which supports the government's “mission to build an NHS fit for the future”.
Drug deaths fuelling worsening UK death rates
UK trends in death rates are worsening when compared to other high-income countries.
A new report from the Health Foundation found that improvements in the UK death rate slowed in the 2010s, more so than most of 21 other countries studied.
While death rates from cancers and circulatory diseases have improved, the worsening situation in the UK is due to death rates from external causes, fuelled by a significant rise in drug-related deaths.
Chief executive of the Health Foundation, Dame Jennifer Dixon, called for action "to boost prevention, tackle drugs seriously, invest in public health services and address risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, and poor diet."
Expansion of weight-loss jabs could significantly boost growth
Expanding weight-loss jabs to 15 million patients could boost economic growth by £52 billion.
The Times reports that a new paper from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) argues that an expansion in the jabs, which include Wegovy and Mounjaro, would help people stay in work longer, reducing benefits payments.
The researchers go on to argue that the medications should be means-tested, so that poorer patients have free access to them. They also say that the drugs should be available for order on the NHS app.
Dr Charlotte Refsum, director of health policy at the TBI, said the "cost of treating obesity may be high, but the cost of not treating it is higher."
