Health and care sector latest developments
Cold snap and norovirus rise keep pressure on hospitals
A rise in norovirus cases, coupled with predicted cold weather this weekend, is keeping pressure on hospitals across England.
Last week saw the number of beds closed due to patients in hospital with norovirus rise 54 per cent from 640 to 984. However, the number of patients in hospital with flu has gone down. There were 2,519 patients in hospital with flu on average each day last week, compared to 2,725 the week before, and much lower than the 3,833 reported for the same week last year.
Average ambulance handover times last week (37:22) were more than five minutes faster than the previous week (42:51).
Responding to the figures, Matthew Taylor, interim chief executive of NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation, said it was ‘welcome to see the drop in flu levels and improvements in ambulance handovers, however, with further cold weather on the horizon it’s unlikely that there will be a let up any time soon’.
Meanwhile, assistant director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, Nesta Lloyd-Jones, responded to new figures in Wales which saw the biggest monthly reduction on record in November. She said that many performance areas are ‘strides ahead of where they were the same time last year, showing overall system progress and a real drive for improvement’.
Centre spends 2,500 hours a day approving requests, DHSC chief says
Around 2,500 hours of staff time are spent every day on ‘clearance processes’ across the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, it has been claimed.
DHSC permanent secretary Samantha Jones told an Institute for Government event on the NHS restructure that the figure, discovered through transformation work preparing for the abolition of NHSE, is an example that reflected ‘the norm’ of duplication and wastage in central processes and structures.
Select committee finds England among the worst in Europe for child health
A new report by the Health and Social Care Select Committee has found that children in England have some of the worst health outcomes in Europe, with rising obesity, uneven vaccination rates and long waits for care.
The report focuses on the first 1,000 days of life, from conception to age two, a period that is universally recognised as a critical window for shaping brain development and future mental and physical health.
The committee has called for immediate action to rebuild the health visiting workforce, which has shrunk sharply since 2015, calling for 1000 new recruits and safer caseloads.
It has also pressed the government to expand Family Hubs nationwide and restore the 95 per cent childhood vaccination target, warning that current support for families is falling far short.
Trust to end year with deficit of nearly £50 million
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT) has said it will end the year with a deficit of at least £48 million, admitting its breakeven plan ‘carried too much risk’.
The trust said the deficit will grow to £65 million if NHS England withholds its deficit support funding, which is ‘expected’.
The news follows Royal Devon University Healthcare Foundation Trust’s admittance that it will fail to hit its financial plan for 2025-26.
Matthew Trainer, chief executive of BHRUT, said the main causes of the deficit were the rollout of a new EPR, Oracle Cerner, in November, unexpectedly high demand via accident & emergency that had led to more ‘corridor care’, and rising supplies and drugs costs.
Average savings target for trusts rises
A dozen trusts have set efficiency plans worth 8 per cent of their allocations this year as the average savings target rose compared to 2024-25, according to research by the Health Service Journal.
The research found that the average cost improvement plan for 2025/26 is 5.7 per cent, up from around 5 per cent last year, as providers attempt to deliver an unprecedented savings target.
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust have the largest plan as a proportion of their budget this year at 9.2 per cent, followed by Liverpool University Hospitals FT at 9 per cent.
Ten other trusts in England have efficiency targets of 8 per cent or more, including two in Dorset, both University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Group providers and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust
Osteoporosis care failing patients, according to report
A new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Osteoporosis and Bone Health has found that many osteoporosis patients are being diagnosed by text and then left without follow up, with some waiting years for scans or treatment.
The inquiry found widespread gaps in NHS care, with only around a third of eligible patients receiving medication, half of health boards lacking clear care pathways, and patients in poorer areas reporting much lower satisfaction.
MPs and experts have warned that the system is inefficient, leaving millions at risk of avoidable fractures, disability and early death, and called for clearer pathways, regular reviews and earlier prevention checks.
Health insurers processing record number of claims
New figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), show that health insurers processed a record £4 billion in individual and workplace private medical insurance claims in 2024.
The ABPI said the total number of people covered by health insurance increased by 4 per cent from 2023 to reach 6.5 million in 2024, with 4.8 million being covered by workplace policies.
Head of Health and Protection Policy at the ABI, Rebecca Ward, said that the figures ‘specifically highlight the value of workplace health insurance schemes in supporting employees to stay well and in work’.
Use of ADHD medication triples in 13 years
The use of ADHD medication has tripled in the UK over 13 years.
A new study, led by researchers at the University of Oxford, found that prevalence rose from 0.12 per cent to 0.39 per cent between 2010 and 2023.
While use remains higher in men, the sex gap in treatment has narrowed, and there was an over 20-fold increase in prevalence among adult women.
Meanwhile, in an interview with BBC Radio Oxford, health secretary Wes Streeting admitted the NHS is ‘falling short’ on meeting demand for adult autism and ADHD diagnosis.
