Health and care sector latest developments
Starmer issues ultimatum to BMA
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has told the British Medical Association (BMA) it has 48 hours to reconsider the latest deal from the government to end the resident doctor strikes.
The union rejected the government’s deal last week and will go on strike from 7 to 13 April.
Sir Keir said that the deal refused by the BMA would have led to an above-inflation pay rise, reforms to pay progression, reimbursement for Royal College exams, and 4,500 additional specialty training places.
On this final point, Starmer has warned that applications for 1,000 of those places would have opened this month and, if the deal is not accepted, those positions “will be gone”.
BMA announces ballot for senior doctors
The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced it will ballot senior doctors in England for potential industrial action after limited progress in talks with the government and dissatisfaction with a recent pay award.
They claim that consultants and SAS doctors have raised concerns about pay, working conditions, and career progression.
The BMA’s consultants committee said they had seen “not anything like enough progress” in negotiations and warned that the latest pay decision “does nothing to reverse pay erosion”.
Some medicines could run out in weeks or even days, NHS England chief warns
NHS England chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, has said that he is “really worried” about medicine supply issues.
It follows a number of experts raising concerns about cost implications and supply disruption arising as a result of the warn in Iran.
Sir Jim said that “In every area, we’ve got enough to get through for a reasonable period …so generally, a few weeks” and that a team is in place to “focus on where the risks might be through the supply chains”.
A spokesperson for the government responded to say that there are “no reported medicine shortages as a result of conflict in the Middle East” at the moment, but that situation is being monitored closely.
Interim report outlines progress of independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism
The interim report of the independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism has been published, setting out evidence reviewed so far and the questions that remain.
The report highlights that the prevalence of common mental health conditions has risen from 15-16 per cent in the early 1990s to around 23 per cent in the mid-2020s, with the clearest increases in young adults.
It also explains that waiting lists for assessment and recorded diagnoses for ADHD have risen sharply in recent years, especially among adolescent and young adult females.
The report also suggests that while autism diagnoses have increased in recent years, underlying prevalence appears more stable. It is suggested that this may be due to public recognition and identification of autism increasing.
Community mental health care is struggling to meet people’s needs – CQC survey
Many people are still facing significant barriers to appropriate mental health care, according to the Care Quality Commission’s annual community mental health survey which was published earlier today.
As part of the survey, over 12,000 people aged 16 and over were asked about their experiences of community mental health care.
One in three respondents reported waiting three months or more for an appointment, while 51 per cent of people who contacted crisis services for children and young people said they didn’t get the help they needed. The survey also found that 67 per cent of people are reporting being treated with care and compassion – 65 per cent in 2023 and 2024.
Rebecca Gray, Mental Health Network director speaking on behalf of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said that while the findings offer some grounds for encouragement, “too many people face long waits for help” and the “findings for disabled and autistic people are particularly worrying”.
Hold chief executive accountable on cyber security, says Milburn
The Department of Health and Social Care’s lead non-executive director, Alan Milburn, has said that trust chief executives should face stronger “personal consequences” if their organisation’s cyber security fails.
His comments came as he endorsed a report by King’s College London that said there was “insufficient accountability or personal consequences for senior executives who fail to fulfil their responsibilities to ensure a minimum level of cyber security and resilience”.
The report called for a new “cyber leadership framework” for the NHS and acknowledges that resources for cyber security in the NHS are meagre, unevenly distributed and not centrally tracked.
Trust and ICB ‘digital maturity’ scores revealed
Scores rating the ‘digital maturity’ of all trusts and integrated care boards for the past two years have been published by NHS England.
The average overall digital maturity of the NHS has improved in the past three years, with previously poor-performing integrated care boards now some of the highest-rated.
