Health and care sector latest developments

Exhausted hospital staff putting patients at risk, says HSSIB 

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has warned that extreme tiredness and exhaustion among NHS staff poses a significant risk to patients. 

The watchdog said in a new report that medication errors, impaired decision-making, reduced attention and rude and disrespectful behaviour were the most common problems associated with fatigued staff in hospitals. 

It said there was limited data on the scale of the problem but cited evidence from staff surveys and information provided by safety experts that it was a contributory factor in safety incidents, including where mistakes have been made with pregnancy scans and chemotherapy drugs. 

Technology upgrades helping GPs to manage rising demand 

GPs are providing millions more appointments to people in England and better access through upgraded technology, the NHS has said. 

Figures published today show that there were 31.4 million GP appointments in March 2025 – up 6.1 per cent on the same period last year, and a fifth (19.8 per cent) higher than pre-pandemic. 

The new GP contract will modernise general practice by requiring GP surgeries to allow patients to request appointments online throughout working hours from October, freeing up the phones for those who need them most and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need. 

99 per cent of GP practices in England have also upgraded their phone tech with the move meaning that phone lines can be expanded. 

Responding to the news, Ruth Rankine, primary care director at the NHS Confederation, said: “The rollout of new technology to prevent the 8am rush for appointments and streamline how patients access primary care is very welcome…but, even with this new technology, GPs and their teams are still facing an enormous demand for care, often from patients with multiple or more complex conditions.” 

Government launches call for evidence on men’s health  

The government has launched a 12-week call for evidence that will gather vital insights from the public, health and social care professionals, academics and employers so the government can properly consider how to prevent and tackle the biggest issues facing men from all backgrounds.   

People will be asked for their views on what is working and what more needs to be done to close the life expectancy gap between men and women, as men in England die nearly four years earlier than women, on average. 

It will inform England’s first ever men’s health strategy which the government aims to launch later this year. 

Rise in violence against ambulance staff 

New data collated by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) has shown that UK ambulance services now have the highest rate of reported incidents of violence, aggression and abuse directed at their people ever recorded – with 22,536 incidents across the 14 UK ambulance services in the 2024-25 financial year, an increase of almost 15 per cent on the previous year. 

On average, at least 62 ambulance people will be abused or attacked – almost three an hour – with reported incidents including kicking, punching, slapping, head-butting, spitting, verbal abuse and sexual assault, and ranging from common assault to significant serious attacks involving a multitude of weapons. 

Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, described the rise in incidents as ‘deeply concerning’ and ‘unacceptable’ and said that the safety of all NHS staff is ‘non-negotiable’. 

RNID survey finds NHS ‘routinely failing’ deaf patients in England 

A report by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) and SignHealth has found that deaf patients face systemic discrimination when it comes to learning about their own health due to NHS failings, with some not understanding that they might have a terminal illness. 

The survey of more than 1,000 people in England who are deaf or have hearing loss found that almost one-in-ten had avoided calling an ambulance or attending A&E due to their disability, and a quarter had avoided seeking help for a new health concern. 

The survey also found that about half of sign language users reported not having understood their diagnosis, or how their treatment worked. 

NHS staff said a lack of training, time and a poor IT system were major factors in being unable to provide these accessibility requirements for deaf people. 

NHS Confederation and Local Trust launch programme aimed at building community-led approaches to health and wellbeing 

The NHS Confederation and Local Trust are working together to launch a new 18-month programme of action research. 

The initiative will explore how to support more community-led, hyperlocal approaches to health – putting power in the hands of the people who know their neighbourhoods best to drive change and co-design solutions in partnership with local health systems.  

It will be supported by Innovation Unit, as the action research delivery partner, and Health Innovation South West to help capture and share learning.   

More information about the programme is available on the NHS Confederation website. 

IPPR report finds voters of all parties want bold action on health 

A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research and Public First has found that there is widespread public support for stronger government interventions to improve health. 

The research found especially strong support for government action in four critical areas from those surveyed: 

• Housing standards: 80 per cent of respondents support tougher rules for landlords to ensure healthier living conditions.
• Workplace health: 71 per cent believe employers should be held accountable for staff wellbeing.
• Food and drink regulation: 65 per cent back banning junk food advertising in public spaces.
• Children and schools: 70 per cent want to see more investment in early childhood programmes like Sure Start and 67 per cent support free school meals for all state school pupils. 

The IPPR has said that the findings reveal how voters really feel about public health, and how thoughtful, decisive action could deliver not only a healthier nation, but a winning strategy at the ballot box. 

Government written statement on 2023 Agenda for Change deal non-pay workstreams

Health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, has delivered a written statement on five outstanding commitments made as part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal which was agreed between the then government and the NHS Staff Council. 

The commitments included: identifying ways to support the fair and consistent application of the NHS Job Evaluation Scheme (JES), ways to improve nurse career progression, options to tackle violence and aggression against NHS staff, ways to reduce agency spend through the NHS terms and conditions, and options to improve support for newly qualified healthcare registrants. 

Streeting announced that he is taking forward 36 out of the 37 recommendations put forward by representatives from DHSC, the NHS Staff Council, NHS Employers and NHS England. He said that this will have a which will have “a considerable and positive impact on the NHS workforce.” 

He has instructed department officials to work with NHS England, the NHS Staff Council, the Social Partnership Forum (SPF) and NHS Employers to agree an implementation plan to phase the delivery of the non-pay measures over the next two years. 

The secretary of state’s statement can be read in full on the Parliament UK website and the full list of recommendations is available on the NHS Employers website. 

Paramedics told to listen to podcasts while queuing for A&E handovers 

Paramedics have complained of a ‘disrespectful’ instruction to listen to podcasts while queuing to hand over patients to A&E, the Health Service Journal has reported. 

Staff at South Western Ambulance Service made the claim to an NHS England review of the trust, which also heard concerns about ‘a lack of effectiveness’ in the executive team, ‘fragile relationships’ at senior levels, and a ‘punitive culture’ against speaking up. 

The report does not make clear who ‘asked’ the paramedics to listen to podcasts during handovers, but CEO John Martin said neither he nor the executive teams had given such an instruction. 

NHSE’s ‘well led’ review of the trust, released to HSJ following a freedom of information request, said: ‘We heard examples of staff being asked to read [internal trust communications] or listen to podcasts when they were queuing for handover. Staff were not keen on this, as they felt it was disrespectful towards patients, and they preferred engaging with the patients whilst waiting.’ It appears to refer to podcasts featuring internal updates. 

£5million spent on deaths inquiry still years from completion 

An inquiry into deaths linked to a mental health trust is not expected to report for another two years and has already cost more than £5 million, the Health Service Journal has revealed. 

An Essex mental health inquiry was first launched in early 2021 to explore at least 2,000 deaths over a 20-year period, but the initial exercise was abandoned in autumn 2023. A new chair was brought in to lead an inquiry on a statutory footing that had been called for by families of people who died. 

£5.1million had been spent on the work in total by September 2024, including £2.2million on the previous inquiry before it was abandoned. 

Before the overhaul in 2023, the inquiry team had previously indicated it would consider at least 2,000 deaths over a 20-year period. It will now cover a further three years and more deaths, although the exact number has not been established. 

ICB points to lack of government support after teenager’s suicide 

Long waits for autism diagnosis and treatment – implicated in the suicide of a 17-year-old – will continue unless addressing them is given greater priority by government, Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB has said. 

The ICB was sent a ‘prevention of future deaths’ report by a coroner in relation to Joshua Weavers, a 17-year-old boy who had autism and took his own life while waiting for therapy. 

In its formal response, the ICB said: “It must be acknowledged that despite all the efforts [being made by the ICB], it is expected that long waits for assessment will remain without wider national support, given the ongoing rises in demand that are persisting.” 

Separately, the ICB said it was looking to the government’s ten-year health plan, due in June, ‘to understand whether the government will further prioritise the timely diagnosis and treatment of [autism spectrum disorder] through targeted support for mental health services for people with ASD’. 

CEO steps down from system with £305 million budget hole 

Kevin Lavery, chief executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB – one of the country’s most financially challenged systems – is stepping down after three years in the role. 

Chief finance officer Sam Proffitt, who was set to retire in August, has agreed to become interim CEO pending recruitment. 

Mr Lavery’s departure also comes as ICBs have been told to focus on strategic commissioning, rather than performance managing provider trusts, and to make 50 per cent cuts to their staffing spend. 

Drug that cuts risk of breast cancer returning is approved for use in England 

Thousands of women with early breast cancer could be offered a drug to stop the cancer returning, after the medicines watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), approved its use in England. 

Up to 4,000 patients a year could be given ribociclib alongside hormone therapy, for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, which despite initial treatment has a higher risk of returning. 

NICE said the drug, known under the brand name Kisqali, would be available to NHS patients with cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes and met at least one of these criteria: 

• Cancer present in at least four lymph nodes
• Cancer present in one to three lymph nodes that is either grade 3 (more advanced), or has a primary tumour at least 5cm in size.

In the UK, breast cancer rates are expected to rise a fifth to 71,006 cases a year in 2050. The most common type of breast cancer – accounting for about 70 per cent of cases – are hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative tumours.