More than 50,000 people have taken charge of their own care after being handed control of how their NHS funding is spent. Personal Health Budgets can be used to purchase personalised wheelchairs, assistance dogs and respite care to manage complex health problems, as well as tech devices that can control curtains, lighting, heating and door […]

NHS doctors and nurses are using Skype to help older people get faster care, reduce avoidable ambulance call-outs and help people stay out of hospital. The on-call Skype NHS team takes around 8,000 calls a year from wardens working in sheltered accommodation, care home staff and community teams looking for expert support for their residents. […]

The NHS 111 urgent care advice line has saved over 12 million unnecessary A&E visits, new figures from NHS England and Improvement have revealed. There were 80 million calls to 111 between its foundation in April 2011 and September 2018. Analysis of calls over that time shows that more than one in four people, 28%, would […]

The NHS should roll out online booking, out of hours appointments and text reminders to boost the uptake of breast, cervical and other screening services, leading expert Professor Sir Mike Richards said today. Sir Mike, who was the first NHS cancer director and is a former CQC chief inspector of hospitals, is leading a major […]

The NHS has today announced that an additional £5 million will fund reviews to improve care for people with a learning disability and committed to renewed national action to tackle serious conditions. The world’s first programme to review the deaths of everyone with a learning disability is being expanded to speed up the spread of […]

NHS chiefs have urged family doctors to enlist in a scheme improving care for thousands of armed forces veterans and their families. GPs and their teams have been sent a comprehensive package of resources covering how to identify veterans and make sure their service is recognised by hospitals and other services, as well as how […]

NHS England will provide a promising new treatment which can prolong the lives of children with a rare genetic condition after negotiating a deal with the manufacturer. Nusinersen, also called Spinraza and made by Biogen, is the first treatment that targets the underlying cause of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The condition affects the nerves in […]

An innovation that can reduce the side-effects of radiotherapy for prostate cancer patients by over 70 per cent will be rolled out across the NHS, as part of the Long Term Plan to put cutting-edge treatments at the heart of people’s care. Thanks to a deal struck by the NHS with manufacturer Boston Scientific, hospitals […]

An army of experts have been recruited by NHS England to help prevent care home residents being given too many medicines as part of a package of measures to improve older people’s health and care in the NHS Long Term Plan. Care home residents are prescribed an average of seven medicines a day, with many […]

A resource Patient Safety Alert has been issued to help organisations ensure any injuries to an accidentally dropped baby are detected and treated as quickly as possible. Patient Safety Alert – Assessment and management of babies who are accidentally dropped in hospital The risks of accidentally dropping a baby are well known, particularly when a parent […]