The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is facing significant changes and challenges. GP leaders are warning against plans to fragment primary care services through neighborhood health teams, which could lead to a “one size fits all” approach being abandoned in favor of targeted services based on patient groups. The Royal College of General Practitioners’ chair, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, has expressed concern that this could undermine general practice as the universal healthcare gateway and lead to missed diagnoses.
Meanwhile, Joe Harrison CBE has been appointed chair of the NHS Advisory Board for Procurement and Supply, bringing over a decade of acute hospital leadership experience and expertise in digital transformation and innovation. The NHS Advisory Board works with senior healthcare leaders to shape national procurement strategy and drive system-wide improvements.
The Labour party has claimed a “massive increase” in NHS appointments, with 3.6 million additional appointments achieved in the first eight months of the year. However, new data reveals that this figure actually represents a slowing down in new NHS activity, with a larger rise of 4.2 million extra appointments over the same period the year before under the previous government. The rise in appointments represents a less than 3% increase in the number of appointments carried out in the year to June 2024.
In an effort to improve patient experience, the NHS app will now allow patients to track their prescriptions “Amazon-style”, showing when a prescription has been shipped for delivery and when it is ready for collection. This development aims to reduce the administrative burden on pharmacies and free up hardworking pharmacists.
Finally, research has found that vape shops have surged across England, rising by nearly 1,200% in a decade, with almost all local authorities now having at least one vape shop. The research reveals stark regional and economic differences, with northern England having twice as many vape shops as the south, and deprived areas containing three times more vape shops. This has raised concerns about the impact of vaping on public health, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Overall, the NHS is facing significant challenges and changes, from primary care reform to procurement and patient experience, and it remains to be seen how these developments will impact the health service and its patients.