Health and care sector latest developments
NHS still feeling winter pressures despite welcome fall in seasonal viruses
Figures released today show that there were 1,491 patients in hospital with flu on average each day last week, down from 1,987 the week before.
Overall, virus levels continued to drop, with 3,264 beds closed or occupied due to COVID-19, flu, norovirus and paediatric RSV last week. The figure the previous week was 3,781, and for the same week last year it stood at 4,563.
Meanwhile, 29.3 per cent of ambulance handover delays took longer than 30 minutes and 9.4% were longer than an hour – this compares to 30.2 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively for the week before.
NHS England said the improvement in performance amid high demand is a sign of the positive impact of NHS planning and preparation for winter, as services focused on keeping more ambulances on the road and improving patient flow through hospitals.
Responding to this week’s figures, acute and community care director speaking on behalf of NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation, Rory Deighton warned there is “no doubt that NHS services are still incredibly busy and under immense pressure, and it is too early to say whether the worst of winter is now over”. He added that it seemed the “extensive planning ahead of winter and extraordinary effort of staff is resulting in more timely care – particularly with quicker ambulance handover times”.
Health secretary expected to boost resident doctors' pay
Health secretary, Wes Streeting, is expected to offer resident doctors a greater pay rise in an attempt to avert further strike action.
According to reports, he is considering at least doubling the 2.5 per cent pay offer for 2026/27.
Mr Streeting is also expected to guarantee that hospitals will face fines if they do not ensure good working conditions.
There is increasing optimism among NHS leaders that the deadlock over pay will be broken and the mandate for industrial action will not be used.
Ministers overclaimed impact of ‘crack’ elective teams
Elective activity has ‘barely increased’ at the hospitals targeted with ‘crack teams’ to cut waiting lists contrary to ministers’ claims that the work has ‘turbocharged activity’.
That’s according to new analysis by the Health Foundation which has found that, despite a recent NHS England evaluation which said trusts in the Further Faster 20 (FF20) programme saw a 4.2 per cent waiting list reduction year-on-year, compared to a 1.4 per cent fall in trusts not involved in the pilot, this was not because of increased activity.
Rather, list reductions at the FF20 trusts appeared to be ‘primarily achieved through lower rates of referrals (per case on the waiting list)’.
The Health Foundation analysis said: ‘One of the aims of the FF20 programme is to increase productivity and capacity in trusts. If this aim is achieved, we would expect to see treatment volumes, and therefore completed pathways, growing more in FF20 trusts… It does not appear this aim is being achieved’.
New national mental health director revealed
Chief executive of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB and Frimley ICB, Dr Nick Broughton has been appointed the new national director for mental health and learning disabilities, pending final Treasury approval.
Dr Broughton has also previously been chief executive of Oxford Health Foundation Trust and, before that, of Southern Health Foundation Trust, which, during his time, improved its Care Quality Commission rating from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’.
He has also been chief executive of another mental health provider, Somerset Partnership Foundation Trust.
According to the Health Service Journal, he will continue as BOB and Frimley ICB cluster chief executive alongside the national role, with the two organisations expected to become the Thames Valley ICB in April 2026.
Medical training (prioritisation) bill starts passage through Lords
The medical training (prioritisation) bill has had its second reading in the House of Lords.
It will now proceed to committee stage which is scheduled to begin on Thursday 12 February.
Lords call for leadership on medicines supply
The House of Lords Public Services Committee has called for medicines supply to be treated as a national security issue.
In a report published yesterday, the committee raised various concerns about medicines shortages, arguing that the government is currently not proactive enough in protecting the UK from fragile supply chains and that the Department of Health and Social Care lacks oversight of medicine stocks.
Several recommendations are set out, including improved information sharing, clearer accountability, boosted UK manufacture of generic medicines, and the publication of a Critical Medicines List.
Committee chair, Baroness Morris of Yardley, urged the government to “follow our recommendations to ensure the UK has the vital, strong, resilient medicines supply chain it needs to keep people healthy”.
NHS England to take greater risks on data sharing
NHS England is increasing its ‘risk appetite’ for sharing performance and care quality data around the service and with the public, and claims that in future it will seek ‘legal and governance advice’ less often.
According to a paper published ahead of its board meeting which took place today (5 February), it is promising ‘a more permissive environment for sharing of aggregate data across the NHS, where legal and governance advice is sought where there is specific legitimate cause for a potential exception’. NHS England will, in future, ‘release all (aggregate/non-disclosive) data by default’, it says.
This follows a private board discussion that reconsidered ‘the risks balanced against the mitigating safeguards’ of greater sharing.
