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.
- Statement: NHS England commissioning statement: Arrangements for access to cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators for licensed and off-label use in patients with cystic fibrosis [15/7].
- Letter: Response to Recommendations from the Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates (the Leng Review) [16/7].
- Guidance: Industrial action in the NHS [18/7].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Press release: Joe Wicks and government join forces to get children moving [15/7].
- New animated series for kids, known as Activate, will get more children across the country moving more and encouraging a healthier lifestyle.
- Press release: Patient safety boost as PA review recommendations accepted [16/7].
- Press release: Pharmacist time freed up to treat patients more [17/7].
- Press release: Patients with long-term conditions to receive help from charities [17/7].
- Press release: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection [17/7].
- Guidance: Healthcare education and training tariff: 2025 to 2026 [18/7].
UK Health Security Agency
- Guidance: Flu vaccination for children: leaflets and posters [14/7].
- Guidance: Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): use of combined vaccine instead of single vaccines [15/7].
- Guidance: Flu vaccines for children and young people for 2025 to 2026 [17/7].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- Guidance: Access, new active substance and biosimilar work sharing initiatives [15/7].
- Guidance: Clinical investigations for medical devices [16/7].
- Guidance: Register medical devices to place on the market [16/7].
- News: MHRA CEO Lawrence Tallon welcomes Life Sciences Sector Plan [16/7].
BMA
- Press release: The Leng Review exposes “catastrophic failures in NHS leadership” but fails to fully protect patients, says BMA [16/7].
Policy, think tanks, charities, and representative bodies
The Health Foundation
- 10-Year Health Plan: we need to move from ‘techno optimism’ to ‘techno realism’ [17/7].
- This blog urges a shift from relying on tech as a quick fix to focusing on real NHS service and workforce changes to make digital tools truly effective.
- NHS regulation under the microscope – where do we go from here? [16/7].
- This blog critiques the complexity and inefficiency of NHS regulation, highlighting failures by the Care Quality Commission to identify poor care. It calls for clearer, more effective oversight focused on patient safety and reducing bureaucracy.
- Prevention and the 10-Year Health Plan [15/7].
- This blog argues that the UK’s 10-Year Health Plan includes some positive prevention measures but lacks a bold, cross-government strategy to tackle the root causes of poor health, such as poverty and housing, limiting its potential to reduce health inequalities.
- Health policy moves fast: so we’re going weekly [14/7].
- In response to the fast-moving health policy landscape, the Health Foundation is shifting to a weekly newsletter. In the first edition, Chief Executive Dr Jennifer Dixon reflects on key developments, including: The 10-Year Health Plan, NHS performance, digital transformation and prevention and health inequalities.
Smart Thinking
Think tank: Resolution Foundation
- Don’t forget about us [17/7].
- This report explores how disabilities and caring responsibilities impact the lives of lower-income Britain.
Care Quality Commission
- Controlled drugs annual update report for 2024 published [15/7].
- This report includes the findings from the CQC’s inspection and engagement activity under the Health and Social Care Act as well as participating in local controlled drug intelligence networks led by NHS England.
Nuffield Trust
- Another postcode lottery? Regional variation in NHS 111 services for mental health [18/7].
- This blog highlights major regional differences in NHS 111 mental health services, with some areas offering much faster and more reliable support than others. This inconsistency raises concerns about a “postcode lottery” in access to urgent mental health care.
- An engine for economic growth? Why it won’t be a piece of cake for the NHS [17/7].
- This blog argues that turning the NHS into a driver of economic growth is ambitious but unrealistic without addressing core challenges like rising demand, workforce pressures, and limited resources.
- Has the 10 Year Plan failed to learn lessons from history? [16/7].
- This blog argues that the NHS 10-Year Plan risks repeating past mistakes by lacking a clear strategy and ignoring lessons from previous reforms. It calls for a stronger focus on practical foundations like staffing and infrastructure over reliance on technology.
- Neighbourhood health teams: a Q&A with Thea Stein [15/7].
- This blog features a Q&A with Thea Stein on neighbourhood health teams, highlighting their role in delivering joined-up, local care. Unlike traditional multidisciplinary teams, these teams involve a wider range of community partners—including social care, voluntary groups, and residents—to better address health and wellbeing at a neighbourhood level.
The King’s Fund
- Race inequalities for NHS staff: looking back on the WRES data [18/7].
- This blog reviews nearly 10 years of NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard data, showing ongoing racial inequalities for staff. While there’s been some progress, issues like discrimination and limited career opportunities for ethnic minority staff persist, calling for stronger action and accountability.
General Medical Council
- GMC response to Professor Gillian Leng’s Review of PA and AA roles [16/7].
- GMC survey reveals over a fifth of trainee doctors feel hesitant about escalating patient care and highlights pressure on educators [15/7].
London Trusts
Barts Health NHS Trust
- Article: Big improvements coming to Whipps Cross [18/7].
- They are making big changes to improve their hospital over the next year. A total of £23 million is being spent to make their buildings safer and better for patients, visitors, and staff.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- Article: An AI algorithm could help to predict which patients might develop significant heart problems years in advance, just based on ECG readings [17/7].
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust