Health landscape report: 26 May – 30 May

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:Improvement framework: community language translation and interpreting services [27/5]. 
• Guidance: NHS community health services data plan 2024/25 to 2026/27 [27/5]. 
• Report:Independent patient choice and procurement panel review of a proposed contract award: Primary Care Partner (GP Services) for Urgent Treatment Centre at University Hospital Lewisham[28/5]. 
• Guidance: Guidance to support implementation of the Mental Capacity Act in acute trusts for adults with a learning disability [28/5]. 
• Guidance:Inpatient mental health: Improvement guide[29/5]. 
• Letter: Letter to system: Board oversight and staffing of NHS clinical trials [30/5]. 

Department of Health and Social Care 

• Press release: Faster cancer treatment thanks to new radiotherapy machines [26/5]. 
• Press release:Patients and pupils to benefit from school and hospital repairs [30/5]. 
  • Government investing £1.2 billion to fix crumbling hospitals and schools across England. 

UK Health Security Agency 

• Guidance: Influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses: sources of surveillance data [27/5]. 
• Guidance:Managing cases of suspected high consequence infectious diseases in adult social care [28/5]. 
  • Principles for managing cases of suspected high consequence infectious diseases in adult social care in England. 
• News: Small rise in serious yeast infections [29/5]. 

BMA 

• Press release:Resident doctors in England begin ballot for industrial action[27/5]. 

Policy, think tanks, charities and representative bodies  

The Health Foundation 

• Government must develop an NHS digitisation plan and stick to it [30/5].  
• This blog emphasises the need for the UK government to create and adhere to a comprehensive plan for digitising the NHS. Key points include: 
  • Current Challenges: The NHS faces significant challenges, including outdated technology and fragmented systems. 
  • Benefits of Digitisation: Implementing a unified digital system can improve patient care, streamline operations, and reduce costs. 
  • Consistency is Key: The government must commit to a long-term plan and avoid frequent changes in strategy to ensure successful implementation. 
  • Learning from Others: The blog suggests looking at successful digitisation examples from other countries to guide the process. 

• England’s fraying health: laying bare the latest findings [28/5].  
• This blog highlights worsening mortality rates in England, particularly in the North compared to the Southwest. It notes rising mortality among young adults, especially due to drug-related deaths in the Northeast. Economic stagnation, falling living standards, and cuts in preventative services contribute to poor health outcomes. The blog calls for a prevention-led approach and a comprehensive health inequalities strategy to address these challenges and improve health across the country. 
• The reality of change in the NHS: making the most of improvement approaches [28/5].  
• This blog discusses the challenges in implementing long-agreed healthcare changes and the importance of effective implementation for the NHS’s 10-Year Health Plan. It emphasises empowering local leaders to engage staff and use improvement approaches to boost morale, teamwork, and processes. Key areas include integrating improvement into strategic shifts, redesigning processes, developing high-performance organizations, and fostering system-wide collaboration.  

The King’s Fund 

• Desire paths: what might a landscaper see in the health system? [30/5].  
• This blog uses the idea of “desire paths”—informal trails made by people taking the easiest route—to suggest that health systems should be flexible and adapt to what people actually need and do. Instead of sticking strictly to pre-made plans, health services should listen to and learn from communities to provide better care. The main point is that health systems should be designed based on real-world use and needs. 

London Trusts    

Barts Health NHS Trust 

• Article: Since introducing their patient portal across Barts Health last month, they have seen a significant drop in missed appointments – from 12.1% in March to 9.7% April [30/5]. 

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 

• Article: The Centre for Fetal Care, based at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, played a key role in a powerful ITV documentary which was broadcast last week [27/5].