Care Pathways

GMHSC laments ‘limited’ integrated organisation forms and floats new care trust vehicle

19.09.18: Beyond short-term funding arrangements and traditional organisational boundaries, there are other systemic barriers that hold back the pace of health and social care integration – including a limited option of integrated organisational for...

Hancock confirms NHS will not need to stockpile vital medicines for ‘no-deal Brexit’

23.08.18: NHS organisations will not need to spend extra cash stockpiling on medicines in the event of the UK leaving the EU with no deal in place, the health and social care secretary has said. In a letter released today, Matt Hancock said local sto...

Medication without harm

15.08.18: The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Third Global Patient Safety Challenge, ‘Medication without harm,’ is ambitious, but it must not detract from the ongoing work of healthcare professionals, writes consultant pharmaci...

Stepping up the fight against AMR

15.08.18: Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Guidelines at NICE, explains what the organisation is doing to support the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the challenges that lie ahead. The global risk of AMR is clear. It...

We need to take personal health budgets seriously

08.08.18: Don Redding, director of policy at National Voices, and its communications & engagement officer Laura Bell, look at the voluntary sector’s role in helping to deliver personal health budgets (PHBs). “As hard as it is to watch...

Proposed drugs legislation changes could threaten Stevens’ £300m savings drive

07.08.18: The government’s proposed changes to medicines legislation could threaten Simon Stevens’ objective of saving £300m over the next three years and keep manufacturers from launching products, pharma bosses have said. In respo...

NHS England reveals its agenda ahead of July board meeting

02.07.18: NHS England has released the topics of discussion for their 4 July public board meeting at Skipton House in London. The board will focus on reducing ineffective and wasteful clinical procedures, primary care reform, GP services, the NH...

Two-thirds of STPs report drop in bed numbers – with some losing 20% of capacity

27.06.18: The number of beds available across the NHS has reduced by an average of 140 per sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) footprint since 2014-15, representing a fall of over 6,000 nationally. Eye-watering figures published...

NHS will convert space technology into health solutions in £4m scheme

26.06.18: Up to four lucky applicants will have the unique chance to work alongside the UK Space Agency to turn technology originally designed for extraplanetary discovery – from exploration to satellite communications – into medical solutions...

NHSI boss wants ‘radical change of thinking’ about ageing population akin to MH approach

13.06.18: The chief executive of NHS Improvement (NHSI) has argued the industry needs to adopt a “radical change of thinking” in dealing with demand from an ageing population, similar to that of the approach to mental health. Speaking at...

The work of the vanguards can help overcome the challenges of integrated care

29.05.18: Following the announcement of the second wave of integrated care systems (ICSs), NHS Providers, the NHS Confederation, NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHSCC) and the Local Government Association (LGA) reflect on how lessons learnt by members from ac...

Lord Carter finds ‘critical variations’ in community and mental health review

24.05.18: Provision and efficiency of community health services need to be “significantly strengthened,” alongside a greater and stronger workforce to meet the needs growing demand for mental health, are amongst the findings in the latest revi...

NMC ignored families and police evidence in ‘incompetent’ handling of Morecambe Bay scandal

16.05.18: The conduct of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) during the Morecambe Bay scandal did not act on concerns raised against midwives suspected of providing dangerously poor care, a major report commissioned by Jeremy Hunt has argued. In...

A different kind of medicine

02.05.18: Could literature improve the quality of life of those with mental health conditions? According to Jane Davis, founder and director of The Reader, the evidence for this is clear – and the NHS stands to benefit the most. Medicine wasn&r...

The difference NICE is making for cancer patients

28.03.18: Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health & social care at NICE, describes the efficiency work taking place as part of the organisation’s new cancer impact report. Over the years, NICE has been involved...