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: National external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for Bowel Cancer Screening Histopathology [6/10].
- Guidance: Commissioning recommendations following the national assessment of blood glucose and ketone meters, testing strips and lancets [6/10].
- Regulatory: NHS provider directory and registers of licensed healthcare providers [8/10].
Department of Health and Social Care
- Guidance: DHSC public appointments: 2025 to 2026 [6/10].
- Press release: Matthew Hood appointed as senior adviser to Secretary of State [7/10].
- Guidance: NHS injury costs recovery scheme: tariff and charges from 1 October 2025 [7/10].
- Press release: Crackdown on rogue traders selling vapes to children [8/10].
- Press release: Patients in poorer areas to get better access to GPs [9/10].
- Press release: £50 million boost for groundbreaking mental health research [10/10].
- People with mental health issues to benefit from groundbreaking research, backed by £50 million in government funding
UK Health Security Agency
- News: Stay strong and get vaccinated before celebrating Diwali [6/10].
- News: HIV diagnoses fall in England [7/10].
- Guidance: Management of tuberculosis in secure settings in England [9/10].
- Guidance: Pre-release access lists: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports [9/10].
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
- Press release: MHRA patient safety essay competition 2025 [6/10].
- Press release: UK clinical trial approval times twice as fast with AI and reforms [7/10].
- Press release: Patients to benefit as UK and US regulators forge new collaboration on medical technologies and AI [8/10].
- Enhanced collaboration with the US on med tech regulation, with accelerated innovation, strengthened patient safety, and reduced transatlantic barriers to market access.
Policy, think tanks, charities, and representative bodies
The Health Foundation
- The winds of change [9/10].
- This blog reflects on the evolving landscape of health care and the organisation’s role amid growing economic and political challenges. Dr Jennifer Dixon highlights recent transitions, including the appointment of Sir David Behan as chair and the relocation of the Q community to the NHS Confederation, reinforcing a commitment to quality improvement. The Foundation is also preparing to launch a new five-year strategy in 2026, with a notable shift toward technological innovation, especially in artificial intelligence (AI). Dr Dixon expresses enthusiasm about joining the National Commission on AI regulation in health care, where the Foundation will serve as a research partner, aiming to support safe and effective AI integration within the NHS.
Ipsos
- 39% of adults aged 18+ appear to be aware that it is possible for a person to reduce their risk of developing dementia [9/10].
- An Ipsos survey for Alzheimer’s Research UK found that 39% of UK adults aged 18+ are aware it’s possible to reduce the risk of developing dementia—up from 33% in 2021. The research, based on over 2,300 respondents, also explored public attitudes toward dementia and participation in related research.
- UK health service ratings fall faster than any other country [7/10].
- Public ratings of the UK health service have dropped from 73% in 2018 to 54% in 2025, the steepest decline among 24 countries. Most Britons (79%) say the NHS is overstretched, with mental health seen as the top issue. Awareness of obesity drugs like Ozempic is high, but nearly half expect obesity to worsen. While some optimism is returning, concerns about access and waiting times persist.
Nuffield Trust
- The tough choices at the heart of the government’s dispute with big pharma [8/10].
- This article explains the UK government’s dispute with pharmaceutical companies over NHS drug pricing. At issue is a rebate system that limits how much the NHS spends on branded medicines. Pharma firms argue these controls hurt investment, but the government insists they protect NHS budgets and ensure value for patients. The article urges the government to stand firm, noting that investment decisions are driven more by science and workforce quality than by drug prices.
The King’s Fund
- Rethinking pain: can a ‘do with’ approach prevent complex multiple conditions? [10/10].
- This blog explains how pain from conditions like arthritis can lead to more serious health problems like diabetes and heart disease. The Rethinking Our Health project aims to prevent this by working with communities to design better support. Instead of doing things to patients, it focuses on doing things with them—making care more local, joined-up, and based on real-life needs. The goal is to help people manage pain early and avoid long-term illnesses.
- The digital generation – young people’s thoughts on health and care technology [9/10].
- Young people say digital health tools often don’t meet their needs. Apps can be confusing, use hard language, and aren’t designed with young people in mind. They want simpler booking systems, clearer information, and tools that reflect their real lives. Involving young people in designing these tools would make them more useful and easier to trust.
- Health, work and the economy: can tackling waiting lists get Britain’s economy moving again? [7/10].
- This article discusses how reducing NHS waiting lists could help more people return to work and boost the UK’s economy. New analysis links health data with employment records to explore this connection. While the government is pushing to meet the NHS’s 18-week treatment target, challenges like strikes and winter pressures raise doubts. The article also warns against prioritising treatment based on economic potential and stresses that improving health should go beyond just boosting economic growth.
London Trusts
Barts Health NHS Trust
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust