This report is a flexible summary, with the aim of sharing and highlighting a wide range of data and policy information relating to London general practice published in a given week. Where we view information to be of significant interest it is reproduced directly below the links to make the key points quicker to digest.
Please feel free to share any useful stats/links you think we could include in future reports.
Official bodies
NHS Digital
- All recent data releases can be seen here.
- Guidance: Assurance engagement of the Mental Health Investment Standard (MHIS) – briefing for integrated care boards [10/11].
- Report: The NHS in England at 75: priorities for the future [10/11].
- Guidance: Industrial action in the NHS [10/11].
- Report: Education quality assurance reports: London [13/11].
- Data: 2024/25 National Cost Collection Data Publication [14/11].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Correspondence: Letter from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to Dr Camilla Kingdon [10/11].
- Press release: Billions to be redirected back into patient care with NHS reform [11/11].
- Health Secretary announces plans to redirect billions of pounds from NHS reform back into patient care.
- Press release: Top NHS trusts given new powers to improve care [12/11].
- Speech: Secretary of State’s address to the NHS Providers Conference [12/11].
- Guidance: Public health commissioning in the NHS: 2025 to 2026 [13/11].
- Information about NHS England’s objectives and funding arrangements as it commissions public health services.
- Guidance: Medicines that you cannot export from the UK or hoard [14/11].
UK Health Security Agency
- Guidance: Mpox: affected countries [10/11].
- News: Flu vaccine providing important protection despite new subclade [11/11].
- News: New report highlights impact of climate change on mental health in the UK [12/11].
- Guidance: Changes to the built and natural environment to support mental health [12/11].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- News: MHRA-led study reveals major inconsistencies in global microbiome research [11/11].
- Guidance: Clinical trials for medicines: apply for authorisation in the UK [13/11].
BMA
- Press release: BMA responds to the Health Secretary’s plans to redirect billons of pounds from NHS reform back into patient care [12/11].
- Press release: The Government can stop these strikes even now, says BMA as resident doctors begin industrial action [14/11].
Policy, think tanks, charities, and representative bodies
The Health Foundation
- Why the government’s plans for local growth won’t work without good health [12/11].
- The government’s local growth plans—such as devolution and new towns—risk of failure without prioritising health. Poor health limits workforce participation and productivity, while widening inequalities. Evidence from global and UK initiatives shows that integrating health into economic strategies delivers better outcomes. To succeed, policies must embed health impact assessments, involve public health teams early, and define shared indicators linking health and prosperity.
- Five insights for building trust in ambient voice technologies [10/11].
- Ambient Voice Technologies (AI tools that record, transcribe, and summaries clinician-patient conversations) are gaining attention for improving productivity and patient interaction. However, trust and confidence among staff and patients are essential for successful adoption. A recent workshop highlighted five key insights:
- Consent is complex and contextual;
- Power Dynamics Matter;
- Design for Equity;
- Standardise and follow the principles of user-centred design;
- Clinician Engagement is Crucial.
The King’s Fund
- Health, care and disability – crossing the divide [14/11].
- Disabled people, carers, and those with multiple long-term conditions face overlapping challenges, yet health, social care, and disability sectors often work in silos. This disconnects stems from differing language, priorities, and limited resources, despite shared goals like holistic, dignified care and better wellbeing. Greater collaboration—combining lived experience with professional expertise—could create a more inclusive, joined-up system that addresses barriers and improves access to both health and social care.
- Is the UK becoming the ‘sicker man’ of Europe? [13/11].
- The UK is increasingly described as the “sicker man of Europe,” with life expectancy among the lowest in high-income countries and widening gaps since 2019. Poor performance on key health markers—such as high infant mortality, the highest avoidable mortality rates, and low cancer survival—reflects systemic issues like under-resourced health care, long waits, and limited diagnostic capacity. High obesity rates, binge drinking, and deep health inequalities compound the problem. Without bold action on prevention and social determinants, current plans risk failing to reverse this decline.
- Ten tests to ensure the cancer plan improves lives [11/11].
- The upcoming national cancer plan is a critical test of the NHS’s ability to turn ambition into action. It must tackle urgent performance issues like delays in diagnosis and treatment, improve patient experience, and address the needs of people with multiple conditions. The plan should drive prevention—given 40% of cancers are avoidable—reduce health inequalities, and support innovation through research and system readiness. Success will depend on strong infrastructure, workforce capacity, and bold ambition to deliver early diagnosis, integrated care, and equitable outcomes.
Ipsos
- Opposition to resident doctors’ strikes has risen significantly, Ipsos poll reveals [14/11].
- Polling by Ipsos in the UK reveals public opposition to the resident doctors’ strikes has risen significantly, from 31% in June 2024 to 45% in November 2025, while support has declined from 52% to 28%. This increase in opposition reflects a growing divide in public sentiment as resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, begin a five-day walkout. Fieldwork was conducted from the 31st October – 3rd November, before the latest wave of strike action began.
Institute for Government
- Performance Tracker 2025: NHS [14/10].
- NHS performance is improving, but a complex and haphazardly planned reform package might slow progress.
London Trusts
Barts Health NHS Trust
- Article: Three major private companies are investing up to £800m in plans to create a world-class centre for life sciences research and innovation in Whitechapel [14/11].
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- Article: Extra measures to ensure safe and high quality care this winter [13/11].