Health and care sector latest developments
Skin cancer patients could join vaccine project
Patients with advanced skin cancer could be fast-tracked to take part in a ‘revolutionary’ trial of a new cancer vaccine, according to BBC News Online.
The needle-free injection boosts the immune system's response and helps it attack and recognise cancer cells to help stop the disease returning.
The trial is being coordinated by the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, which is based at the city's university, and is aiming to expand the number of patients able to take part.
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and accounts for about 4 per cent of all new cancer cases, but research shows it is on the rise.
The NHS will work with Oxford-based life sciences company Scancell to widen access for patients at seven sites across England, including in Southampton, with the first patients set to be referred in May.
The work is being done as part of the NHS's Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP), which is a trial to help find treatments for patients at their nearest participating NHS site.
Almost 3,000 children end up in A&E due to tooth decay as Lib Dems call for an end to ‘dental deserts’
2,800 children attended A&E due to issues related to tooth decay last year, data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats has revealed, up a fifth on five years ago.
In total 16,100 patients attended A&E due to tooth decay last year, the data obtained through Freedom of Information requests shows. The research found that 2,784 under 18s attended A&E due to tooth decay, slightly down on the previous year but up 18 per cent compared to 2019. 61 of the 141 NHS trusts provided data, meaning that the actual number across all trusts is likely to be far higher.
The figures come after a report this month from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the national dental plan set out by the former government had ‘comprehensively failed’.
Crucial emergency care system to be scrapped by NHS England within months
An IT system that prevents 999 call-handling services from being overwhelmed is set to be withdrawn by NHS England in an effort to save money, says the HSJ.
NHS England has confirmed it will not renew the contract for the Intelligent Routing Platform (IRP), and that the service will cease to be available within three months.
The IRP has been a key pillar of the NHS’s urgent and emergency care service since it was implemented in November 2022, as demand on ambulance services reached record levels following the pandemic. It automatically redirects 999 calls to another trust if the patient’s local ambulance service is subject to high demand.
The most recent urgent and emergency care recovery plan, published in January 2023, pledged to ‘further develop’ the IRP.
Key recovery target hit
Ambulance services hit a crucial ‘interim’ target for responding to the bulk of emergency calls last month, and showed marked improvements for the most serious category of incidents.
Offering a glimmer of hope after another winter of long ambulance waits, average category 2 performance in March was 28:34 (minutes, seconds) – more than five minutes better than March last year. It is only the third time it has dipped below 30 minutes, which has been set by the government as an interim recovery target, since December 2022.
Health secretary commissions independent review of children's hearing services
The health secretary has commissioned an independent review of children’s hearing services, which will consider:
- how NHS England responded to service failures in paediatric audiology
- how governance arrangements between NHS England and DHSC can be improved
- how the handling of any future service failures can be improved.
Previous assessments of audiology services found issues with the conduct of hearing tests for children and how they were followed up.
Dr Camilla Kingdon has been appointed to chair the review. She is a consultant neonatologist and a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
