Health and care sector latest developments
Starmer's hospital pledges risk return to ‘right drift’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to set out new targets for hospital improvement in a major speech on Thursday.
Among pledges relating to housing and education, Sir Keir will promise that the NHS target to carry out 92 per cent of routine operations within 18 weeks will be met by March 2029.
While reducing waiting times is of high importance, there is a risk that such an intense focus on elective care will lead to other areas of the NHS missing out. One source from the NHS has stated that ‘what we will see is warzone A&E departments’, along with mental health and community care being sidelined.
In his independent investigation of the NHS in England, Lord Darzi highlighted how multiple governments had pledged to shift care from hospitals to the community but, due to various political and short-term reasons, ended up increasing the share of funding received by hospitals. Plans to shift funding ‘left’ ended up with a drift to the ‘right’.
While more will be made clear in the forthcoming ten-year plan, some will be concerned that the same right drift is at risk of happening again, despite the government's strong rhetoric on shifting care to the community.
Sir Chris Wormald named as new Cabinet Secretary and head of Civil Service
Sir Chris Wormald has been named as the new Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service. This means he will now advise the Prime Minister on key policy decisions and will replace Simon Case on 16 December.
Sir Chris is currently permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, advising the health secretary on policy and managing the budget since 2016 - all through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Palliative care commission set up to improve end-of-life care
A new commission on palliative care has been set up in the wake of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill passing its second reading.
The commission, being set up by Labour MP Rachael Maskell and supported by doctors and charities, seeks to improve end-of-life care so that anyone who is dying can access high-quality support. The Guardian is reporting that the plans are being supported by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has previously raised concerns about the state of palliative care.
Ms Maskell has stated that end-of-life care ‘has been kind of left to wither’, and that the commission will ensure that it becomes ‘properly integrated into healthcare’ and optimised.
These latest developments are a key example of practical concerns which will arise if assisted dying becomes legal in England and Wales. Many campaigners, such as Ms Maskell, oppose changes to legislation due to potential impacts on palliative care.
Such concerns have been echoed by chief executive of the Nuffield Trust Thea Stein, who has highlighted that the ‘vote to legalise assisted dying has profound implications for the NHS, raising critical practical questions’. She welcomed the introduction of the commission.
Trusts sign £30 million deal for British EPR
Two neighbouring Yorkshire acute trusts have announced they will procure a British-made electronic patient record in a joint deal worth more than £30 million over ten years.
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust and Harrogate and District FT are to implement the Nerve Centre EPR in autumn 2025.
Each trust will have separate contracts but these will be ‘fully aligned’ with the same terms and conditions.
