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.
- Press release: Home testing kits for lifesaving checks against cervical cancer [24/6].
- Guidance: Neighbourhood health guidelines 2025/26 [24/6].
- Guidance: Specialised services quality dashboards metrics metadata – 2025/2026 [24/6].
- Guidance: Commissioning recommendations following the national assessment of blood glucose and ketone meters, testing strips and lancets [27/6].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Guidance: Introducing new medicines in the NHS in the UK [23/6].
- Speech: Health and Social Care Secretary speech at RCOG World Congress [23/6].
- Press release: Landmark plan to rebuild NHS in working-class communities [25/6].
UK Health Security Agency
- Guidance: Quality criteria for an effective immunisation programme [23/6].
- Guidance: Tick Surveillance Scheme (send a tick sample) [25/6].
- UKHSA’s Tick Surveillance Scheme helps to map and monitor tick distribution and associated risk of exposure to ticks in the UK.
- News: Whooping cough vaccination rates recover among pregnant women [26/6].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- Press release: UK MHRA leads safe use of AI in healthcare as first country in new global network [24/6].
- Press release: MHRA seizes 7.7 million doses of illegal medicines and removes hundreds of illegal online listings as part of Operation Pangea [25/6].
BMA
- Press release: BMA survey finds public has little or no confidence in Government plans to improve NHS standards and meet targets by end of this Parliament [23/6].
- Press release: Changes to general practice in Ten-Year Plan Health Plan must not create further disparities, warns BMA [25/6].
- Press release: BMA responds to proposed mental health care reforms [26/6].
Policy, think tanks, charities, and representative bodies
The Health Foundation
- Rhetoric versus reality in the Spending Review [26/6].
- The blog highlights the gap between political promises and actual funding in the UK Spending Review. Health and defence are prioritised, with health set to take nearly half of day-to-day spending by 2028/29. However, the increase in health spending is modest, and the capital budget remains flat. The review relies on optimistic productivity growth in the NHS and provides limited new investments for social care, public health, and local services.
Ipsos
- The NHS at a crossroads: Measuring how the 10-Year Plan will deliver on patient needs [26/6].
- The Ipsos UK and National Voices survey evaluates the NHS 10-Year Plan, focusing on three key shifts: moving care from hospitals to the community, transitioning from analogue to digital, and emphasising prevention over sickness. The survey uses “I” statements to measure patient experiences, revealing generally positive feedback but highlighting areas for improvement, such as access to care and support for managing health, especially mental health. Significant health inequalities persist, particularly for ethnic minorities and people with multiple long-term conditions. The survey provides a baseline for future assessments of the plan’s impact on integrated care and patient-centered services.
- Polling reveals ethnic minorities and people with multiple long term health conditions more likely to express dissatisfaction with NHS care [25/6].
- This Ipsos UK poll reveals that ethnic minorities and people with multiple long-term health conditions are more likely to express dissatisfaction with NHS care. Key findings include:
- Confidence in Health Management: 81% are confident in managing physical health, but only 70% for mental health. Those with multiple long-term conditions are less confident.
- Support from NHS: 67% feel supported in managing physical health, but only 50% for mental health.
- Access to Care: 75% find it easy to access care, but this is lower for those with multiple long-term conditions.
- Communication and Respect: 84% feel listened to, but ethnic minorities report higher dissatisfaction with respect and culturally appropriate care.
- Better Care Fund Support Programme (2023-2025) Findings [23/6].
- Ipsos UK, in partnership with the Institute of Public Care at Oxford Brookes University (IPC), was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to conduct an evaluation of the Better Care Fund Support Programme. The Better Care Fund (BCF) Support Programme was set up to ensure that local areas have the right support available to them as they work towards delivering their Better Care Fund plans.
Nuffield Trust
- Silence, sexism and stigma: The state of working-age women’s health in England [25/6].
- This article highlights health disparities faced by working-age women in England, including a higher disease burden, slower progress in reducing health issues, and specific conditions like chronic pain and mental health problems. Access issues, such as long waiting lists for gynecological services and lower breast cancer screening rates, are also noted. Addressing these disparities requires better healthcare investment, faster diagnosis, and treatment, and tackling sexism in medical care.
The King’s Fund
- Why children and young people’s voices matter in health and care [27/6].
- This article stresses the importance of including children and young people in healthcare decisions. It highlights the need for their active involvement in health care decisions, the design of tailored services to meet their specific needs, and the provision of improved mental health support. Effective feedback systems are essential to understand and address young patients’ concerns, and incorporating their voices into policy can enhance health services.
- ‘A life on hold’ – waiting for an NHS adult ADHD assessment in England [24/6].
- This article highlights long waiting times for adult ADHD assessments in England, with many facing years-long delays. These delays impact mental health, employment, and relationships. There is significant regional variation in service quality and waiting times. Increased investment and resources are needed to improve access and reduce waiting times.
- Moving from ambition to action: tests for the NHS 10 Year Health Plan [23/6].
- This article evaluates the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, identifying key challenges and areas for improvement:
- Funding and Workforce: Adequate funding and addressing workforce shortages are critical for the plan’s success.
- Integrated Care: Effective integration of health and social care services is essential.
- Prevention and Public Health: Emphasis on preventive measures and public health initiatives is necessary.
- Digital Transformation: Leveraging technology to improve patient care and system efficiency is a priority.
- Health Inequalities: Addressing persistent health inequalities remains a significant challenge.
General Medical Council
- Unlocking the archives: GMC reveals role in landmark moment for women in medicine 150 years ago [27/6].
- The GMC has shared archive documents from a pivotal moment that changed the course of women’s medical careers in Britain.
London Trusts
Barts Health NHS Trust
- Article: Eight weeks’ worth of patient care was achieved in one day at the first Tower Hamlets community appointment day [24/6].
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust