Health Policy

Wales and England NHS bodies get new cross-border healthcare regulations

13.11.18:  Lord O’Shaughnessy has announced a new set of arrangements on the delivery of healthcare across the border between Wales and England. The government said that whilst healthcare across the border is “collaborative and high...

People must take more responsibility for their own health to take strain off NHS, says Hancock

05.11.18: The health secretary has urged people to take more responsibility for managing their own health and improve their lifestyle choices in a speech launching plans to prevent ill health. Matt Hancock, speaking to the International Association o...

Landmark mental health law will protect patients against excessive force after tragic death

01.11.18: A new law restricting and monitoring the use of force against patients in mental health units has today been given royal ascent after an eight-year battle by the family of a young man who died after being excessively restrained. The Mental...

Public Health England launches efficiency tool to target cost-effective CVD prevention

25.10.18: Public Health England (PHE) have unveiled a new return on investment (RoI) tool to help local commissioners decide the best cost-effective approach to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of the leading causes of death and disability in the...

Mandatory interoperability standards on the way as DHSC slams ‘inexcusable’ trust systems

11.10.18: There is no excuse for a provider to have systems that don’t talk to each other and, in the future, there will be no excuse for systems that do not talk outside of a trust, the health and social care secretary has declared. Speaking t...

Current NHS efficiency methods ‘no longer sustainable’ as 75% of trust leaders believe NHS 'wastes too much money'

10.10.18: The current way of driving efficiency in the NHS is “no longer sustainable” and the 10-year plan is an opportunity to provide a solution, according to a new report. A new report from NHS Providers has said that the current way o...

Local NHS needs more powers and ‘reimagined’ relationship with national leaders

09.10.18: Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, has urged the government to avoid a Brexit that would damage the NHS and called for greater powers to be devolved to local system leaders. Speaking to delegates in Manchester during the openin...

NHS England sued for failing to provide fertility services to transgender patients

26.09.18: NHS England is being taken to court by the UK’s national equality body over its failure to offer fertility services to transgender patients. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is taking the public body to court in respons...

Government agrees to bail out £335m Royal Liverpool Hospital after Carillion crisis

25.09.18: The government is set to bail out the £335m Royal Liverpool Hospital (RLH) after the collapse of Carillion earlier this year, following in the same footsteps as the stalled Birmingham hospital. Sky News has reported that the governmen...

NHS wins landmark drug ruling which could save millions of pounds

21.09.18: The NHS has won a landmark legal battle which could save the health service “hundreds of millions a year” after defeating two international pharmaceutical companies. Novartis and Bayer were trying to stop NHS doctors from prescr...

Struggling ambulance trust to send occupied vehicles to emergency calls

17.09.18: The East of England ambulance services trust will send ambulances with stable patients already on board to new, more life-threatening emergencies in a bid to improve response times. Ranked in the worst 10 ambulance trusts in England for cat...

NHS IT systems ‘costing lives’: Hancock unveils £200m digital fund and five app trials

06.09.18: Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock has described the NHS’s IT systems as “stuttering,” arguing that they are putting lives at risk and are in need of a serious upgrade. “It’s time to bring the health...

Hospital serving Dominic Raab’s constituency warns Brexit ‘will break NHS’

02.08.18: A hospital serving the constituents of Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has published a damning Brexit impact report, in which it warns Brexit “will break the NHS.” The paper from Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, obtained by...

Hancock won’t rule out cuts to previous Hunt commitments, considers ringfencing transformation

25.07.18: The health secretary has not yet evaluated whether previous NHS commitments from predecessor Jeremy Hunt will fit into his future plan, arguing you have to spend the money “as far as possible.” Speaking to MPs at the Health Sele...

Anti-NHS charity with financial links to new health secretary to be investigated

13.07.18: The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which donated thousands of pounds to the new health and social care secretary Matt Hancock and openly supports NHS privatisation, is to be investigated after concerns were raised over its status as an edu...