Health and care sector latest developments
Starmer to face biggest rebellion since becoming PM
It is almost certain that today will see the biggest rebellion of the Starmer government, with 40 to 50 Labour MPs expected to support Maskell’s amendment.
Maskell herself has used the debate to describe the measures as “Dickensian cuts” which “belong to a different era and a different party”, as Sky News reports.
While the 50 or so rebels will not be enough to defeat the bill, Chris Mason of the BBC writes that the government still has work to do in keeping potential waverers on side in the coming weeks, as further amendments and votes take place.
As Mason reports, Liz Kendall’s statement yesterday was meant to calm the situation but ended up turning “a fair few colleagues off”, according to one backbencher.
The possibility does remain that there are enough quiet rebels who will vote with Maskell and bring down the legislation. In The Telegraph, Tom Harris argues that if this [rebellion] were to occur, the Prime Minister would have to resign.
This comes as Sir Keir Starmer defends his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney from briefings against him, as The Times outlines.
NHS to prioritise UK-trained doctors
The government plans to prioritise British-trained doctors for NHS positions as part of the ten-year health plan.
The aim is to achieve workforce self-sufficiency by 2035, reducing overseas recruitment from being two-thirds of new doctors to just 10 per cent of total hires.
The Times reports that the initiative addresses growing concerns about UK medical graduates struggling to secure specialist training positions, despite increased medical school capacity, with five applicants now competing for each training place.
The broader NHS reform package includes establishing neighbourhood health centres led by GP teams, implementing work coaches in surgeries to help patients return to employment, and giving hospitals more autonomy, while introducing performance league tables.
However, the plan faces scepticism from NHS leaders questioning funding sources for expanded local services, while medical associations demand faster implementation to prevent further exodus of underemployed British doctors from the profession.
Immigration reforms delivered
New rules to be laid in parliament see skills and salary thresholds rise, overseas recruitment for care workers end, and more than 100 occupations no longer granted access to the immigration system.
These changes, the first to be rolled out from the immigration white paper, represent a fundamental shift in the UK’s approach to immigration and restore order to the points-based system, focusing on higher skills, lower numbers and tighter controls.
Each sector must have a workforce strategy in place to train UK workers, or it will lose access to the immigration system.
New task force will speed up access to medicines
The government hopes that this will lead to medicines being available to patients up to three months earlier, while cutting administrative costs.
The health secretary said the government "is slashing red tape and turbocharging economic growth of the life sciences sector so patients can get the innovative treatments they need, faster."
NHS England declares £1.5 billion of ‘risk’ in financial plans
A large number of local trust and commissioner financial plans are still 'high risk', NHS England has said.
A presentation from the national body said local assessments had identified about £1.5 billion 'risk' nationally. This is an estimate of planned efficiencies which are deemed unlikely to deliver, and expectations of overspending against plan.
The £1.5 billion "will have to be proactively managed", the presentation said. This is expected to involve NHS England trying to intervene to reduce overspending, and otherwise seeking to cover it from underspends elsewhere.
All 42 integrated care systems submitted plans to balance their books at the end of 2025/26, after the addition of £2.2 billion deficit support funding.
An NHS England presentation to finance directors last month said there had been "good work to close down most planning gaps but a large number of plans are still high risk”.
Areas with the riskiest plans, according to slides at the meeting seen by HSJ, include the three north-west ICSs, several in the Midlands, and South West London, Sussex and Kent and Medway.
NHS stroke care standards declining, watchdog claims
England's health ombudsman has reported a two thirds increase in stroke care investigations over four years, rising from 17 to 28 cases, with complaints also growing, indicating widespread failures in diagnosis, nursing care, communication and treatment of stroke patients.
The Guardian reports that only 46.6 per cent of stroke patients are admitted to specialist stroke units within the critical four-hour window, despite NHS guidelines stressing the importance of rapid treatment to prevent death or severe disabilities.
The watchdog identified recurring problems, including delayed diagnosis of both typical and atypical stroke symptoms, poor communication between medical teams, and insufficient collaboration, with calls for urgent investment and a comprehensive cardiovascular plan focused on stroke care improvements.
