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: How to improve care navigation in general practice [26/8].
- Guidance: Assessing provider capability: guidance for NHS trust boards [26/8].
- Guidance: Community pharmacy seasonal influenza vaccine service [26/8].
- Regulatory: NHS Federated Data Platform data protection impact assessment – National Data Integration Tenant minimum viable product [26/8].
- Guidance: Enhanced therapeutic observation and care: developing a local policy [28/8].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Guidance: Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) data collection [28/8].
- Guidance for councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) on how to complete the DoLS data return for the 2025 to 2026 reporting period.
- Guidance: DHSC public appointments: 2025 to 2026 [28/8].
- Press release: Free chickenpox vaccination offered for first time to children [29/8].
- A free chickenpox vaccination will be offered for the first time to children across England on the NHS from January.
- Press release: Government puts nurses at heart of DNA testing and research [28/8].
UK Health Security Agency
- Guidance: Flu vaccination: simple text information for adults and children [26/8].
- Guidance: Adolescent vaccination programme in secondary schools for 2025 to 2026 [26/8].
- News: UKHSA launches development programme for wastewater monitoring techniques which could catch pandemic threats early [26/8].
- Guidance: Outbreaks under monitoring: background and methodology [28/8].
- News: Almost 1 in 5 children starting primary school are not fully protected against several serious diseases [29/8].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- Press release: MHRA approves UK’s first new type of antibiotic for urinary tract infections in nearly 30 years [28/8].
- Press release: MHRA approves zuranolone to treat postnatal depression in adults following childbirth [27/8].
Policy, think tanks, charities, and representative bodies
The Health Foundation
- NHS reform: round in circles? [26/8].
- This blog argues that NHS reforms often repeat the same patterns without resolving core tensions like central vs. local control or competition vs. collaboration. It calls for more evidence-based, realistic approaches—especially as new reforms are considered.
The King’s Fund
- GLP-1 drugs on the NHS: Can, and should, we roll them out at scale? [27/8].
- GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide offer promising weight-loss benefits, but NHS access is limited compared to private use. The King’s Fund urges a carefully planned rollout to avoid deepening health inequalities and ensure integration with broader obesity support services.
Digital Health
- NHS scanning trucks help 113k people get liver cancer checks [29/8].
- The NHS has used mobile scanning trucks to provide liver health checks to nearly 113,000 people across England since 2022. These on-the-spot fibroscans detect liver damage such as cirrhosis or fibrosis, which can increase the risk of liver cancer. So far, around 8,500 people have been referred for further cancer checks. The initiative targets high-risk groups and aims to catch liver cancer early, improving treatment outcomes and supporting healthier lives.
Care Quality Commission
- CQC give evidence for the UK Covid-19 inquiry [28/8].
- On 7 July 2025 Mary Cridge, CQC’s Director of Adult Social Care, gave evidence as part of Day 5 of the evidence hearings in Module 6 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. This Module explores the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector in England and the devolved nations.
Ipsos
- A study of the eating habits of children aged 16 to 18 months [22/8].
- Ipsos UK, on behalf of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, invited parents/caregivers of children aged 16 to 18 months to complete a survey about their child’s eating habits. The findings are helping to fill an evidence gap around the diet and nutrition of children of this age.
- The eating habits report highlights some areas of concern in the eating habits of children aged 16 to 18 months including:
- Sugary foods as a regular part of children’s diets.
- Salt intake.
- The use of drinks other than breast milk, water or milk.
London Trusts
Barts Health NHS Trust
- Article: The success of the maternity departments was celebrated with staff members recognised for their hard work towards making improvements to their services [29/8].
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust