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: Strengthening public health expertise within integrated care boards [18/5].
- Policy: Specialised commissioning service development policy [19/5].
- Guidance: NHS England guidance: using the Friends and Family Test to improve patient experience [19/5].
- Guidance: National infection prevention and control [19/5].
- Guidance: Measles guidance for healthcare services [21/5].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Guidance: Social Work Bursary and Education Support Grant information packs [18/5].
- Press release: Maternity Adviser to champion safer care for mothers and babies [19/5].
- Press release: Age checks to stop children using sunbeds under new laws [22/5].
UK Health Security Agency
- Guidance: High consequence infectious disease: country specific risk [21/5].
- Guidance: Ebola and Marburg: returning workers scheme (RWS) [18/5].
- Guidance: Find public health resources [18/5].
- Use this service to find resources that can help you learn more about immunisation and public health programmes.
- Guidance: Notifiable diseases and how to report them [19/5].
- Guidance: Notifiable diseases poster for registered medical practitioners [20/5].
- Guidance: One Health vector-borne disease surveillance [21/5].
- News: UKHSA and partners publish first One Health annual Vector-Borne Disease surveillance report [21/5].
- Guidance: Heat-Health Alert action card for health and social care providers [21/5].
- Guidance: Report an outbreak of acute respiratory infection in an adult social care setting [21/5].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- News: Professor Joann Rhodes: The Rules Need to Bend – Why Flexible Policies and Real Partnership are the Keys to unlocking Life Sciences Potential [18/5].
- Press release: MHRA to support local life sciences sector in Wales [19/5].
- Press release: MHRA consults on new regulatory framework to make UK a global leader in rare disease therapy development [21/5].
- Press release: Landmark new plans bring treatments for rare diseases a step closer [21/5].
Policy, think tanks, charities, and representative bodies
The Health Foundation
- Healthy life expectancy: interpreting an imperfect but important measure [22/5].
- This blog explains that although healthy life expectancy (HLE) is an imperfect measure—combining life expectancy with self‑reported health—it remains a vital indicator of how the nation’s health is changing. Recent data shows HLE in the UK has fallen by around two years over the past decade, with widening inequalities between richer and poorer areas, and sharper declines among women and disadvantaged groups. While some debate whether changes reflect real health deterioration or shifts in how people report mental health, the evidence suggests a genuine decline driven by rising chronic illness, worsening mental health, and broader socioeconomic pressures. Despite limitations in measurement and data, HLE is still valuable because it captures people’s lived experience of health, highlighting that more people are spending longer in poor health and that urgent, cross-sector action is needed to address the underlying causes.
- The Health Bill can put health at the heart of government [21/5].
- This blog argues that while the new Health Bill (to be debated in 2026) aims to streamline the NHS by abolishing NHS England and increasing ministerial control, it risks missing the bigger goal of improving population health and reducing inequalities. It warns that focusing on NHS reorganisation could distract from the broader, cross-government action needed to tackle the social and economic drivers of poor health, especially as national health outcomes are worsening. The Health Foundation suggests the bill could be a starting point for a stronger framework that places health at the centre of all government policy, including new duties on ministers, a cross-government health strategy, clear targets, independent oversight, and health impact assessments. Overall, the piece emphasises that improving health and tackling inequalities requires coordinated action across all sectors—not just the NHS—and that without this, meaningful progress is unlikely.
The King’s Fund
- What would it take for the NHS to treat violence against women and girls as a public health emergency? [19/5].
- This blog argues that violence against women and girls (VAWG) should be treated as a public health emergency by the NHS, given its widespread impact and the fact that most victims come into contact with health services yet often do not receive adequate support. Despite strong intent, systemic issues—including fragmented commissioning, inconsistent data, under-resourced specialist services and lack of staff training—mean opportunities to identify and help victims are frequently missed. To address this, the blog calls for clearer national leadership, better data sharing (including through a single patient record), consistent and sustainable commissioning of support services, mandatory training, and stronger collaboration with voluntary organisations. Overall, it emphasises that the NHS already sees the consequences of VAWG daily, but must now be empowered and resourced to play a central role in preventing and responding to it.
- Five tests for the NHS Modernisation Bill 2026 (Health Bill) [18/5].
- This blog argues that the NHS Modernisation Bill—one of the biggest restructures in over a decade, including abolishing NHS England—should be judged against five key tests, particularly whether it genuinely improves patient care rather than simply reorganising structures. While proposals like a single patient record could enhance care by reducing fragmentation, there are concerns about whether the reforms will truly cut bureaucracy, strengthen patient voice after abolishing Healthwatch, and improve patient safety without undermining trusted systems. The Bill also risks destabilising the NHS by centralising power and increasing political control, with no clear evidence that such restructuring leads to better outcomes. Overall, the analysis warns that success will depend less on structural change and more on implementation, culture and leadership—and notes significant gaps, particularly the lack of focus on prevention and social care reform.
Nuffield Trust
- Too old for paediatrics, too young for adult services: the problem that must be solved [21/5].
- This blog highlights a major gap in NHS care for older teenagers, who often fall between paediatric and adult services due to inconsistent age cut-offs and poor coordination, with some treated as adults from 16 while others remain in paediatrics until 18. This fragmented system can leave young people confused about who is responsible for their care, lead to delays in treatment, longer waiting times, and even serious harm. There is growing consensus among patients and professionals that change is needed, with a proposed solution to standardise paediatric care up to age 18 to align with legal adulthood and provide clearer, more consistent support. However, challenges remain, including capacity pressures, differences in clinician expertise, and gaps in equivalent adult services, meaning broader system reform will also be required.
YouGov
- What do Britons think about weight loss drugs – in their own words [21/5].
- Britons are divided on weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, with similar proportions believing their benefits outweigh the risks as those who think the opposite (35% vs 36%). Overall, attitudes are mixed: many people highlight significant health benefits—such as improved mobility, reduced obesity-related conditions, and better mental wellbeing—particularly for those who struggle to lose weight, while others are concerned about unknown long-term effects, side effects, and potential over-reliance. A common theme is that these drugs should be used alongside lifestyle changes rather than as a “quick fix,” with worries that they don’t address underlying habits and may lead to weight regain. Broader issues raised include social pressure, unequal access, and the impact on body image, reflecting a nuanced public debate rather than a clear consensus.
Care Quality Commission
- Setting out how we work with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) (22/5}.
- The Care Quality Commission and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services have updated our Joint Working Protocol agreement that sets out how we work together to share information and promote quality and safety.
- Our annual report and accounts 2024/25 published [21/5].
London Trusts
Barts Health NHS Trust
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- Article: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has been awarded Pathway to Excellence with Distinction designation for nursing at its Hammersmith Hospital site [22/5].
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust