Ambulance crews and A&E staff have slashed handover delays by more than 7 minutes this winter – even as they ferried the highest number of patients to hospital in half a decade. Figures out today show that more than 1.2million patients were handed over (1,234,731) to A&Es by ambulances so far this winter. This is […]
Ambulances handed over patients more than 2 minutes faster last month despite facing their busiest January since before COVID-19. Provisional figures out today show there were 420,324 ambulances handovers with known times in January, the highest number for the month since 2020 and a 5.2% increase compared to 399,415 in January last year. Despite this, […]
Hundreds of thousands of families with young children will be offered protection against chickenpox as part of their routine childhood vaccinations from today. The NHS’s vaccination programme is being expanded to include chickenpox (also known as varicella) for the first time to help shield young children from getting seriously ill. From now on, GP practices will start to offer children a […]
Flu cases have begun to steady but hospital cases still surpassed 3,000 in the week before Christmas, a slight fall on the week before, according to new figures published today. Thanks in part to NHS staff ramping up vaccination efforts with half a million more people protected against flu compared to the same period last […]
The NHS is urging patients not to put off coming forward for care, with thousands of resident doctors expected to walk out on strike for five days from today. Industrial action begins at 7am today (Wednesday 17 December) – lasting until 7am on Monday 22 December – and hospital teams across the country are working […]
NHS teams across the country are ramping up their winter flu vaccine offer in the lead up to Christmas – hitting the high street and local shopping centres in a bid to bring the vaccine closer to patients across the Black Friday sales. The country-wide vaccination drive kicks off this weekend with those eligible for […]
The NHS is urging patients to continue coming forward for care with thousands of resident doctors expected to go on strike. Industrial action begins at 7am today (Friday 14 November) until 7am on Wednesday 19 November and hospital teams across the country are working round the clock to ensure disruption is minimised for patients. Plans […]
The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter. The overall waiting list for September was 7.39 million (an estimated 6.24 million patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July […]
The NHS has issued a ‘flu jab SOS’, with England’s top nurse warning people to get protected now, with only weeks to go before the worst of the flu season typically bites. Eligible adults are being urged to come forward now, so they are fully protected ahead of the usual flu season peak in the […]
The flu season has hit the NHS more than a month earlier than usual, with cases three times higher than this time last year. The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA’s) latest surveillance data published today shows cases have increased this week from 6.1% up to 8.2% – largely driven by a spike among school-aged children […]