Health and care sector latest developments
NHS Confederation responds to PAC report on use of private finance for infrastructure
In response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the government's use of private finance for infrastructure, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:
“Capital funding is going to be essential if the NHS is going to make the improvements and reforms necessary to put it on a sustainable long-term footing. We have welcomed the government’s commitment to explore public private partnerships to inject more capital funding into the health service. But the committee is right that having a long pipeline of work for private investors is vital if we are going to get value for money for the taxpayer.”
Full comment is here: NHS Confederation responds to PAC report on use of private finance for infrastructure | NHS Confederation
Stop giving millions of sick notes and send patients to gym, GPs told the government
GPs will be told to stop issuing millions of sick notes that sign people off work and instead send them to job coaches or the gym, according to The Times.
Wes Streeting has said: “We simply can’t afford to keep writing people off” as he launched a government pilot aimed at ensuring the NHS helps people find ways to work.
Under the scheme, being trialled in 15 regions, GP surgeries will be given funding to provide specialist support to patients alongside sick notes, rather than simply signing them off.
Government announces £100 million jobs support package
The government is providing £103.6 million to help nearly 30,000 people with health conditions, disabilities or employment barriers find and maintain jobs through the Connect to Work programme in four English regions.
This funding forms part of a larger £3.8 billion parliamentary investment in employment support for sick and disabled people, addressing the UK's 2.8 million people currently out of work due to ill-health.
The programme offers personalised employment specialist support to help participants secure sustainable employment while supporting the Government's Plan for Change goals.
NHS App usage grows, but remains limited across England
Only 6 per cent of patients now use the NHS App to contact their GP practice, representing a modest 2 percentage point increase from last year, with significant regional variations ranging from 3 per cent to 11 per cent between different health systems.
The Health Service Journal reports, patient satisfaction with GP practices has slightly improved to 75 per cent rating their experience as ‘good’, recovering from pandemic lows but still below pre-2018 levels, with up to 14 percentage points difference between the best and worst performing regions.
Phone calls remain the dominant contact method at 62 per cent of all patient interactions, while practice websites are used more than twice as often as the NHS App, despite government plans to make the App the main gateway to NHS services.
Resident doctors’ 29 per cent pay claim is non-negotiable, BMA chair says
Resident doctors will not negotiate over calls for a 29 per cent pay increase.
According to The Guardian, the union's chair, Dr Tom Dolphin, said the number is not up for negotiation, since a smaller pay rise "wouldn't achieve pay restoration."
Dr Dolphin added that the forthcoming five-day strike is the fault of the health secretary for only delivering a 5.4 per cent pay increase this year, following a 22 per cent rise last year.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said these remarks demonstrate the BMA (British Medical Association) is "unreasonable and irresponsible". They added that it "is not too late to step back from the brink and work with the government to avert strikes and continue the work we've been doing together to rebuild our NHS."
