Health and care sector latest developments
NHS doctors begin five-day strike amid staff cuts warning
Doctors have launched a five-day strike with NHS bosses warning there is a possibility of cutting frontline staff appointments and operations for patients.
As thousands of resident doctors go on strike across England from 7am on Friday in a dispute over pay, the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, which represent health trusts, said continued action was piling pressure on already-stretched budgets.
The strike action from Friday is the 13th walkout by doctors since March 2023, with the last strike in July estimated to have cost the health service £300 million.
NHS Confederation and NHS Providers said that if the NHS continues to have to foot the bill from strikes, it could lead to staff being cut and fewer tests, appointments and operations being carried out.
The knock-on impact on patients is that they will be forced to wait longer for care, and many may no longer be able to work without the treatment they need, they said.
Doctor strike inflicting pain and misery on patients, says health secretary
Doctors going on strike again over pay is "inflicting pain and misery" on patients, said health secretary Wes Streeting.
"We could do without this reckless action," he said, adding it could harm patients.
The BBC News Online reported that the five-day walkout in England by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, runs until 07:00 GMT on Wednesday.
The doctors' union - the British Medical Association (BMA) - says they are still not paid enough and there are too few training places or jobs.
The NHS says nearly all services will keep running, and patients should attend appointments unless advised otherwise. Hospitals will come under the most strain - resident doctors make up about half their medical workforce.
UK hospitals bracing for once-in-a-decade flu surge this winter
Hospitals are bracing for a once-in-a-decade flu season, with a mutated version of the virus that is spreading widely in younger people expected to drive a wave of admissions when it reaches the elderly.
The threat has prompted NHS managers to redouble efforts to vaccinate staff and communities, expand same-day emergency care and treat more patients in the community to reduce the need for hospital stays.
As resident doctors in England continue a five-day strike over pay, hospitals are turning to contingency plans to bring in consultants and other staff for extra shifts and reschedule appointments where necessary.
“Last flu season was particularly nasty and we’re very concerned that this year could be even worse,” said Elaine Clancy, the group chief nursing officer for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier university hospitals. “We’re preparing for a spike of flu on to our wards.”
Thousands waiting 24 hours in A&E with mental illness
One in ten mental health patients who attended A&E in England last month stayed for more than 24 hours – and this figure rose to more than one in three in some departments, new data suggests.
According to the Health Service Journal, for the first time, NHS England has published data on long waits for mental health patients in A&Es.
NHS England labelled the data as “experimental” because no quality checks were performed after it was received. However, they are the first official figures on the size of this long-standing problem. HSJ has previously reported on internal data.
Chief nurse leaving troubled trust for ICB
A chief nurse is leaving a teaching hospital under investigation over maternity failings for an integrated care board role, HSJ has learned.
Rabina Tindale is departing Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to take up a new role as director of nursing and patient safety at North East and North Cumbria ICB.
It comes just weeks after health and social care secretary Wes Streeting took the ‘exceptional step’ of ordering an urgent investigation into baby deaths at the hospitals, which make up one of the biggest teaching trusts in England.
‘Advanced FTs’ will be able to use revenue to fund capital projects
The new advanced foundation trusts (FTs) will be allowed to save up and then reinvest their revenue surpluses into capital projects, according to guidance out for consultation.
NHS England’s draft guidance, Advanced Foundation Trust Programme: Guide for Applicants, has been published, under consultation until January.
The guidance follows NHS England announcing that eight trusts had been lined up to be among the first to apply for the status, with two also expected to apply to take on an integrated health organisation contract.
System leaders warn that the criteria is challenging and “only high-performing and capable trusts will be considered.”
