The NHS delivered 280,000 more diagnostic tests and checks in January compared to the same month last year, new figures show, as staff continue to work hard to tackle long waits and COVID-19 backlogs. Monthly performance data, published today, shows despite ongoing pressures on staff – including more than three million staff sick days in […]

One of the first patients to access a ground-breaking treatment for sickle cell disease on the NHS says she is “over the moon” to have received the “lifechanging” new drug. Loury Mooruth, 62, from Walsall in the West Midlands, is one of the first people to receive crizanlizumab at Birmingham NHS Trust – the first […]

Hundreds of children are set to benefit from a ‘miracle’ treatment for cystic fibrosis, which has already changed the lives of thousands of people, the NHS has announced today. Patients here were some of the first in Europe to benefit from Kaftrio when NHS England secured a landmark deal in June 2020. Nine out of […]

Thousands of children and young people will receive a pioneering treatment for peanut allergy after NHS England secured the first deal of its kind in Europe. The treatment, known as Palforzia, helps to reduce the severity of reactions to peanuts – including anaphylaxis – making family holidays abroad, birthday parties, and Christmas treats possible for […]

The NHS is set to make a drug for the rare, debilitating disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) available to patients of all ages for the first time. A deal has been struck by the NHS to secure a non-branded ‘generic’ version of the drug, sapropterin dihydrochloride, for patients with the inherited condition, which means patients cannot eat […]

More than 20,000 strokes and 5,000 deaths could be averted after NHS England struck new agreements to expand life-saving blood thinning drugs, chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced today. The NHS will now dramatically scale up the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) with as many as 610,000 more patients set to benefit over the next […]

The first treatment for sickle cell disease in over 20 years will be rolled out to thousands of patients in England with life-saving benefits, the head of the NHS announced today. People with the condition endure severe pain during a ‘sickle cell crisis’ that can occur multiple times per year, often requiring hospital admission so […]

NHS lung cancer patients will be the first in Europe to be offered a revolutionary new drug which stops tumours growing by targeting the so-called “death star” mutation. The cutting-edge therapy Sotorasib will be fast-tracked to NHS patients after being proven in clinical trials to stop lung cancer growing for seven months. The drug’s adoption […]

A new drug to lower cholesterol will be made available to hundreds of thousands of NHS patients, thanks to a world-leading deal announced by the head of the health service today. The revolutionary new treatment, Inclisiran, is delivered as an injection twice a year and can be used alongside statins, adding to the options available […]

Children in England are set to be the first in the world to be offered a cure for hepatitis C, as part of NHS plans to eradicate the disease entirely. More than 100 children have been identified for treatment, with hundreds more set to benefit in the coming months and years. Those aged 3 to […]