This weekly summary offers an overview of the system and pulls together information on waiting times in A&E, ambulance response times, daily situation reports from the NHS, and information on flu rates. Winter health check report 07 March 2014

NHS England has expanded its £16.9 million Commissioning through Evaluation programme, to enable more patients to access treatments and technologies which are not currently routinely commissioned by the NHS. Specialist hospitals are being invited to submit expressions of interest to take part in four new schemes. For more details see our Commissioning through Evaluation pages.

Prevent the spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Rising trends and outbreaks in carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae Enterobacteriaceae are a large family of bacteria that usually live harmlessly in the gut of all humans and animals, but, in the wrong place, can cause serious infections. Worldwide, a small but increasing number of strains of Enterobacteriaceae have become resistant to […]

An NHS England stage-two ‘resource’ patient safety alert has been issued today (6 March 2014) to signpost providers of NHS care to resources developed to prevent the spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Enterobacteriaceae are a large family of bacteria that usually live harmlessly in the gut of all humans and animals, but, in the wrong place, […]

Watch the NHS England Board meeting, starting at 09.30 and expected to last until around 13.00. Board papers are available to view.  

Five hundred women every year could benefit from a new drug which has been added to the Cancer Drugs Fund to treat advanced cervical cancer. The drug bevacizumab (Avastin) is already used in the treatment of other cancers, however this is the first time it will be available on the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) for […]

Public urged to help NHS England cut no-show appointments Technology is being used to cut the numbers of missed GP and outpatient appointments, NHS England will announced Monday. Figures have suggested that more than twelve million GP appointments are missed each year in the UK, costing in excess of £162 million per year. A further […]

An updated Frequently asked questions (FAQs) document relating to NHS England’s responsibilities for medical revalidation are provided. For generic queries on revalidation, please see the GMC website.

We need to increase the diagnosis rate for patients with dementia, Professor Alistair Burns said today. Speaking today on the Community Stage at Camp Expo in Manchester, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Dementia said the current rate of less than 50 per cent was not high enough. Professor Burns, also Professor of Old Age […]

Dr Kate Granger announces Awards for Compassionate Care winners at NHS Expo. Speaking alongside Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England on the second day of the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2014, Dr Granger reflected on examples of outstanding patient-centred care as well as her own experiences as a doctor and a patient. The […]