@HealthwatchNEL 
@HealthwatchNEL
News
Emergency readmissions are rising
25/03/2019
NHS Digital has published data for emergency readmissions for hospitals in England between 2013/14 and 2017/18. These figures show that emergency...
NHS England publishes response to consultation feedback on Integrated Care Provider (ICP) Contract
25/03/2019
NHS England has now published the response to the 12-week consultation, which ran from August to October 2018, on the proposed contracting...
Review of the wider public health workforce
22/03/2019
Public Health England has published a review of what it calls the wider public health workforce – which includes sectors that influence but do not...
College of Optometrists issues eye health tips for winter
01/02/2019
As we are about to enter a cold snap, the College of Optometrists is urging the public to take steps to protect their vision and eye health. The college has developed a winter eye health poster to highlight the different ways winter can affect vision and exacerbate eye conditions. The infographic,...
Army of workers to support family doctors
30/01/2019
An army of advisers will be recruited to help patients live fitter, healthier lives and combat anxiety, loneliness and depression under NHS plans to ramp up social prescribing. Around half of GP appointments are not directly related to medical conditions, according to experts. The blueprint for...
The NHS long-term plan explained
28/01/2019
The NHS long-term plan sets out key ambitions for the service over the next ten years. An explainer from the King’s Fund sets out the main commitments in the plan and provides a view of what they might mean, highlighting the opportunities and challenges for the health and care system as it moves to...
UK strategy for antimicrobial resistance
25/01/2019
he plans outline the UK's contribution to containing and controlling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in health, animals, the environment and the food chain. The government has published a 20-year vision and five-year national action plan for how the UK will contribute to containing and controlling...
13-24 year olds with cancer in England: incidence, mortality and survival
25/01/2019
This report from Teenage Cancer Trust examines the latest trends in the incidence, mortality and five-year survival rates for cancer among young people. This is the first time a detailed analysis has been conducted of cancer rates for the 13 to 24-year age group and shows an encouraging increase in...
Reducing the burden of ‘high intensity users’ on A&E departments
23/01/2019
Dr Foster carried out a detailed analysis of accident and emergency attendances to uncover common characteristics of high intensity users (HIUs) - people who attended ten or more times in a 12-month period - and patterns of HIU attendance. More....
Benefits of electronic prescribing for GP practices
23/01/2019
Electronic prescribing services (EPS) can help save the NHS millions of pounds each year as well as time spent on administration, according to NHS Business Service Authority. EPS also improves patient satisfaction through reduced waiting times and reduces use of paper, it says. More….
Mixing with older people is good for the young
23/01/2019
This report talks about the benefits to the young of mixing with older people. It can boost children's skills, confidence and opportunities while tackling ageism and loneliness, the report says. It calls on every nursery and school, every children’s and young people’s organisation and every local...
Elective care transformation handbooks
23/01/2019
NHS England’s elective care transformation programme has published handbooks and case studies featuring diabetes, dermatology and ophthalmology. They feature learning from the 100 Day Challenge in which rapid testing was used to explore innovative approaches and interventions over 100 days, aimed...
Social care assessors failing older people
16/01/2019
Social care assessors often fail to understand the disabilities and support needs of older people, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The authors spoke with older people and their relatives in 12 towns across England. In some cases assessors announced that services would be cut regardless...
Handbook to the NHS Constitution for England
16/01/2019
Information about the rights and pledges in the NHS Constitution and what these mean for NHS patients and staff. Updated with 2019 edition of the handbook to the NHS Constitution.
Government consultation on restricting unhealthy foods
16/01/2019
The government is seeking views on its plans to restrict promotions of food and drink products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS). This consultation closes on 6 April 2019.
HIV prevention trial to double in size
15/01/2019
Implementation of the PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) impact trial has been a huge success with over 10,000 participants already enrolled. Researchers now want to double the number of places made available on the trial before the rollout of the national programme. This could see 26,000 people...
New chief inspector of primary medical services and integrated care
15/01/2019
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has appointed Dr Rosie Benneyworth as the new chief inspector of primary medical services and integrated care. Dr Benneyworth will take over from Professor Steve Field in early March. She is currently director of strategic clinical services transformation for...
New migraine drug not cost-effective says NICE
15/01/2019
A new drug for preventing migraine is not a good use of NHS resources, according to draft guidance from NICE. The guidance looks at erenumab (also called Aimovig and made by Novartis) for preventing chronic and episodic migraine in adults who have four or more episodes of migraine a month.
Welcome focus on primary care but NHS plan also raises difficult questions
15/01/2019
The NHS Long Term Plan includes a promise of £4.5bn of ring-fenced funding for primary care and community services. Among its bolder ambitions are that integrated care systems (ICS) will cover the country within two years and that all GP practices will be members of primary care networks by this...
Hundreds more eligible for cochlear implants on the NHS
09/01/2019
Hundreds more people with severe to profound deafness are expected to be eligible for cochlear implants each year, due to updated NICE guidance. The update comes after a review of the definition of severe to profound deafness which is used to identify if a cochlear implant might be appropriate.
Flash glucose monitoring
09/01/2019
NHS England recently announced that flash glucose monitors will be available on prescription for every patient who qualifies for them, in line with NHS clinical guidelines. This action will end the current variation some patients with type 1 diabetes are facing. Currently, it is estimated that...
Government publishes the long term plan for the NHS
08/01/2019
The much anticipated long term plan is out. Entitled simply the NHS Long Term Plan, the document is a 134 page list of priorities for the next decade. As expected, the document has a lot to say about prevention and self-care and restates long-running ambitions to see more care provided out of...
Have your say on a national patient safety strategy for the NHS
07/01/2019
NHS Improvement is seeking views on proposals for a national patient safety strategy for the NHS. The strategy is being developed alongside the NHS long term plan and will cover all parts of the NHS including physical or mental health care in or out of hospital and primary care. A consultation is...
New campaign to boost cervical screening
07/01/2019
In March 2019 Public Health England will launch a new national campaign to help increase participation in the national cervical screening programme. Cervical screening is estimated to save 5,000 lives a year and yet coverage is at a 20 year low. More....
NHS better equipped for winter with £420 million funding
07/01/2019
Hospitals and social care services across England are using the funding to improve their resilience this winter. Hospitals across England are delivering 81 projects to provide improvements this winter using money from a £420m winter fund. Social care services also received funding and are using it...
Missed GP appointments costing NHS millions
07/01/2019
More than 15m general practice appointments are being wasted each year because patients do not turn up and fail to warn surgeries that they will not be attending. There are around 307 million sessions scheduled with GPs, nurses, therapists and other practice staff every year and 5% – one in twenty...
Government promises to improve maternity care
07/01/2019
Mothers and new babies will be offered better support as part of plans designed to make the NHS one of the best places in the world to give birth, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. The measures will improve safety, quality and continuity of care to halve stillbirths, maternal...
NHS England wants to see new year boost to numbers getting health check
07/01/2019
Making a new year resolution to take up a free NHS health check could stop people developing dementia as well as catching physical conditions, NHS England says. The national health check – a 20-minute, pain-free assessment carried out by a GP or nurse and involving tests on blood pressure, weight...
