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: Oral care and people with learning disabilities [28/4].
- NHS Standard contract: 2025/26 NHS Standard Contract: Sub-contracts [28/4].
- Guidance:Breast screening: very high risk women surveillance protocols [29/4].
- Guidance: Guidance on the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing products in health and care settings [29/4].
- Data: NHS England high cost drugs commissioning list [30/4].
- Guidance: Clinical guidance: unscheduled urgent and non-urgent dental care [1/5].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Press release: Major NHS App expansion cuts waiting times [28/4].
- Press release:Cost of living boost for millions as prescription charges frozen [28/4].
- Guidance: Social Work Bursary and Education Support Grant information packs [30/4].
- Guidance: Independent commission into adult social care: terms of reference [2/5].
UK Health Security Agency
- Guidance: Notifiable diseases and how to report them [29/4].
- News:Resistance emerges to newest antibiotic [29/4].
- Guidance:Pre-release access lists: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports [1/5].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- Press release: Twelve arrested in MHRA’s biggest ever crackdown on organised medicines trafficking [29/4].
- Press release: MHRA authorises cancer treatment variation with an administration time of 3–5 minutes [30/4].
Policy, think tanks, charities and representative bodies
Ipsos
- Britons are open to the use of AI in the NHS, but are split on whether it presents more risk or reward [2/5].
- An Ipsos UK public opinion poll reveals that the British public is largely comfortable with the use of AI in healthcare, particularly for tasks such as reminding patients about follow-up appointments and identifying those at increased risk of chronic illnesses.
- Key findings:
- High comfort levels: Britons are comfortable rather than uncomfortable with AI being used for a range of healthcare applications.
- The highest levels of comfort are for reminding patients to book follow-up appointments (61%),
- Helping to identify potential health risks or early signs of disease via wearable devices (48%),
- Helping to identify those at increased risk of chronic illnesses (48%),
- They are most uncomfortable with AI helping to answer routine patient queries so GPs can focus on more complex cases (34% are uncomfortable with this).
- Positive impact anticipated: The public generally anticipates a positive rather than negative impact from using AI in healthcare.
- Particularly in ensuring timely disease diagnosis (49% say this would have a positive impact in the next few years),
- Improving administrative processes (49%),
- Decreasing NHS staff workload (48%).
- They are least likely to think it will have a positive impact on the quality of care provided by patients (35%).
- Opportunity vs. risk: The public is somewhat divided on whether AI in healthcare represents more of an opportunity or a risk.
- 37% see it as an opportunity for the NHS, compared with 20% who see it as more of a risk,
- 31% say it presents as much of an opportunity as a risk,
- Around a third see AI as an opportunity for NHS staff (33%) and patients (32%).
The King’s Fund
- When more isn’t more: how process shapes access to primary care [2/5].
- The blog discusses how the process of accessing primary care can significantly shape patient experiences and outcomes. Patients often face difficulties due to complex processes and administrative barriers, leading to delays in receiving care and negatively impacting health outcomes. The blog emphasises the need for streamlined processes and better communication to enhance access to primary care.
- Supporting clinical leaders to shape the future: the story of Barts Health [28/4].
- This blog by Sally Hulks highlights the efforts of Barts Health NHS Trust to support clinical leaders in navigating healthcare challenges. It discusses the leadership challenges clinicians face, such as managing backlogs and maintaining care quality, especially post-Covid-19, which highlights the positive impact of clinical leadership on staff morale and patient outcomes.
- The conundrum of clinical leadership: after your patients, who is it that you serve? [28/4].
- This article by Pramod Achan explores the complexities of clinical leadership in healthcare, highlighting the dual expectations faced by clinical leaders who must balance providing evidence-based patient care with managing financial responsibilities.
General Medical Council
- Implementing PA and AA regulation – progress so far [30/4].
- This article updates on the regulation of physician associates and anaesthesia associates since December 2024. Over 2,358 PAs and 104 AAs have been registered. Statutory regulation ensures high education standards, with 33 PA and 3 AA courses approved.
London Trusts
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust