News
NHS recruitment drive to help tackle loneliness and improve lives
The NHS is recruiting a growing army of social prescribing link workers to combat loneliness and isolation fuelled by coronavirus. More than 1,200 are already helping people to improve their mental health and get more exercise by taking part in activities from gardening to ballroom dancing. And now the NHS is fast-tracking recruitment of an […]
Childcare costs for doctors to be covered in drive to boost GP numbers
The NHS has launched a new scheme to encourage hundreds more doctors to return to general practice by offering help towards the costs of caring for children or family members. Qualified GPs who are interested in coming back to the NHS or joining from overseas will now able to access financial support worth up to […]
NHS England announces overwhelming take up of new primary care network contract
Millions of patients across the country are set to continue to benefit from additional action to spot cancer early, joined up care for patients with chronic disease, extra NHS support for care homes residents and easier access to medication reviews thanks to additional investment in family doctors and their teams. Almost all GP practices in […]
Millions of patients benefiting from remote consultations as family doctors respond to COVID-19
Millions of patients have been getting expert support from family doctors from the comfort of their own homes while the NHS responds to COVID-19. Remote consultations are one way in which GP practices have changed the way they work to ensure people can get expert care and advice in a safe way throughout the COVID-19 […]
NHS urges public to get essential vaccines despite coronavirus outbreak
NHS England is urging people to attend all regular vaccination appointments to prevent outbreaks of serious diseases and reduce pressure on the health service. The NHS is continuing to help people to manage illness linked to coronavirus, but is still urging parents to bring children forward for lifesaving jabs to stop killer diseases like measles […]
Thousands of former NHS staff are back on the front line in the NHS fight against coronavirus
Almost 5,000 former staff are now back on the NHS front line after coming out of retirement to support the coronavirus effort. The returning doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals in England are now helping to tackle the ‘unprecedented global health threat’. The 4,800 will be boosted shortly with another 10,300 returners having completed […]
Former docs and nurses told “Your NHS Needs You” to tackle greatest global health threat in history
More than 65,000 former nurses and doctors will today be told “the NHS needs you“, as a new recruitment drive gets underway to support the fight against coronavirus. England’s top nurse and top doctor have called on colleagues who have left the NHS in recent years to re-register and help the health service to tackle […]
Primary Care Network service specifications and the Network DES: close of engagement
In December 2019, we published five draft service specifications for engagement; these followed agreement with the British Medical Association General Practitioners Committee (BMA GPC) in January 2019 that the five specifications would form part of the Network DES for 2020/21. Huge thanks are due to the large numbers of GPs, local medical committees (LMCs) and […]
Improved NHS migraine care to save thousands of hospital stays
Headache and migraine sufferers will benefit from better diagnosis and care as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve local health services, avoiding up to 16,500 emergency hospital admissions every year. Health chiefs and other experts believe that the greater use of ‘headache diaries’ and fast access to specialist advice for family doctors […]
Public urged to act fast to avoid festive flu
England’s top doctors have urged people to protect themselves and their families from flu over the coming week amid warnings that new cases may peak over the busy Christmas period. While more people over the age of 65 have got their flu jab than this time last year – the call to action from Professor […]