It had been hoped that NHS services would return to pre-pandemic levels early next year. Cancer services were to be expanded by 30% in 2024/25. But a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) now paints a bleak picture of the NHS backlog. It concludes that the health service would need to experience “a rate […]
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Nurses have voted for the biggest strike in NHS history after a decade of paycuts that has seen their pay fall 20% since 2010. The first ever national strike by members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will be held before Christmas, the Observer reports. While disruption to services is inevitable, the government said […]
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Liz Truss has appointed her close friend, Thérèse Coffey, as the new health and social care secretary. Pay disputes and growing waiting lists are but a few of the system’s problems she will have to tackle. Known for her forceful nature, Coffey has already laid out her plan to steer the NHS out of crisis. […]
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With daily coronavirus infection rates as high as ever, the positive tones uttered by the NHS on the effectiveness of antiviral treatments should indeed be good news. Patients have reported a relief in symptoms only hours after taking them. The trouble is only high-vulnerability patients are eligible, and some doctors are having difficulty accessing the […]
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The Ockenden report on maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust is damning. Nearly 300 babies died or were born brain-damaged and over a dozen mothers died due to poor care. The Trust often blamed mothers for the avoidable deaths. The report also found that many women were made to have natural births […]
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The NHS has been instructed to “urgently secure” private resources for patients whose treatment has been delayed by the pandemic. Staff shortages and rising numbers of Covid patients has seen a growing number of hospital trusts declaring “critical incidents” and Sajid Javid has told the NHS to boost capacity by making “use of the independent […]
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Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak is under fire for being “missing in action” in California while British businesses battle against the Omicron variant’s devastating impact on Christmas spending and the UK’s economy. The Bank of England shocked markets with an unexpected hike in interest rates today (December 16) to 0.25%, increasing the cost of […]
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the UK economy is entering a “new age of optimism” as he delivered a budget that Labour said only benefitted “bankers on short haul flights sipping champagne”. Sunak said the government’s tax and spending plans – details below – are focused on the “post-Covid” era and will pave the way for […]
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced almost £26 billion of public spending commitments ahead of Wednesday’s (October 27) budget and spending review. Strong investment in public services, business support and help for working families will be at the heart of Sunak’s third budget with big spending planned for infrastructure projects, innovation and skills training. Digitalising the […]
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The Labour party has overtaken the Conservatives in the polls as voters react to this week’s tax hike to pay for social care. The latest YouGov/Times poll shows support for the Conservatives has fallen 5% in the last week with Keir Starmer’s Labour party gaining 1%, the Liberal Democrats up 2%, Reform UK up 2%( to […]
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