Neighbourhood teams must be central to improving access to primary care for patients, a new review has said today. The teams, evolving from Primary Care Networks, should bring together general practice with other parts of the health and care system to improve access and offer regular support to those with complex needs such as elderly […]

The NHS has today set out new ambitions for patients to have timely access to community mental healthcare, following a consultation on proposed new standards, as it faces record demand following the pandemic. Patients, clinicians, and the public have welcomed the proposed mental health access standards which include ensuring people in the community receive help […]

The NHS will set out the next steps for how primary care networks will work with partners across newly formed integrated care systems to meet the health needs of people in their local areas. NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard has asked Dr Claire Fuller, senior responsible officer of the Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System, to […]

Patients will have better, more joined up care as Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), which require all parts of the NHS to work with each other and their partners, are rolled out across the country from next month. NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens today confirmed that the final 13 areas, serving 14.9 million people, will […]

NHS organisations will need to intensify partnership working with local authorities and the voluntary sector to tackle health inequalities resulting from COVID-19, the head of the NHS has said. Sir Simon Stevens confirmed 11 more parts of the country will be formally designated “integrated care systems” (ICS) from December 2020 serving a combined population of […]

The NHS is set to radically overhaul the way MRI, CT and other diagnostic services are delivered for patients, a major report to NHS England recommends today. Community diagnostic hubs or ‘one stop shops’ should be created across the country, away from hospitals, so that patients can receive life-saving checks close to their homes. The […]

The NHS and its partners will be able to ‘lock in’ improvements to their work by putting whole-system planning at the heart of coronavirus recovery plans, the NHS’s Chief Operating Officer said today. The comments came as NHS England and NHS Improvement confirmed four new ‘integrated care systems’, together serving more than six million residents. […]

Expert rapid response teams will be on hand within two hours to help support older people to remain well at home and avoid hospital admissions, under new plans outlined by the NHS today. Local health service and council teams will begin the roll out of Urgent Community Response teams from April, as part of the […]

NHS England and Health Education England have today launched ActNow, an e-learning tool developed for health service and care staff to help them reduce hospital delays for patients. Nearly 350,000 patients currently spend over three weeks in acute hospitals each year. Many of those are older people who are often frail, and while a short […]

People living with brain and nerve conditions like Parkinson’s could benefit from quicker diagnosis and better coordinated care as part of a new NHS initiative, which is also set to free up millions of pounds to reinvest in patient care. NHS experts have joined forces with seven leading charities to produce a toolkit that will […]