The NHS has signed the first-of-its-kind subscription deal for two antimicrobial drugs - cefiderocol and ceftazidime-avibactam, manufactured by Shionogi and Pfizer respectively - that will help around 1700 patients per year with severe bacterial infections.
Under this deal, pharmaceutical firms will receive a fixed yearly fee - capped at a level that represents value to taxpayers - in order to incentivise funding for innovation that can generate a pipeline of new antibiotics for NHS patients.
NHS said the deal will help patients with serious infections that have evolved so much that antibiotics and other current treatments are no longer effective can be
given a potentially life-saving alternative. The drugs will provide a lifeline to patients with life-threatening infections like sepsis, hospital or ventilator pneumonia and blood stream infection.
Announcing the deal at NHS ConfedExpo, NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard called the revolutionary subscription deal a game-changer and the latest NHS success in using its commercial power to benefit NHS patients in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.
"Superbug-busting drugs on the NHS will save lives and strike a blow in the global battle against antimicrobial resistance," Pritchard said.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has reminded community pharmacies (its members) to update their NHS Profile Manager information.
Ahead of the NHS contract quarter deadline- 30th June 2023, the committee has urged its members to ensure that their pharmacy's NHS website and Directory of
Services (DoS) profile information is kept up-to-date.
The Pharmacy Terms of Service requires pharmacy owners to verify profile information at least once per quarter, however the new NHS Profile Manager has been
introduced to make the process as quick as possible and it can be done on either a smartphone or computer.
PSNC said: "We continue to work with NHS England and the NHS Profile Manager team to make the process as easy as possible and to improve the management tool. Our
feedback has led NHS England to automatically set pharmacy opening hours to 'closed' for many bank holidays (however these can be reset to 'open' if required)."
The National Health Service (NHS) retention programme has benefitted 23 NHS Trusts since it launched in April 2022, with thousands fewer staff leaving
frontline roles.
NHS data showed that 14,000 fewer staff left the service in the 12 months up to August 2023 (108,890) compared to 122,970 the year before.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NHS England said it is expanding the pilot programme across the country to benefit 42 more NHS trusts.
The programme is part of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan ambition to retain up to 128,000 more staff over the next 15 years in addition to training record
numbers of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Under this new initiative, NHS staff are being offered extra flexibility with working hours, clinical 'support squads' have been introduced to help menopausal
women at work, and HR 'stay advocates' are designated to identify ways to keep staff on the brink of leaving.
In its response to NHS England's consultation on 'the future of vaccination services', the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has suggested
that a wider range of NHS vaccinations being available from community pharmacies could support the achievement of increased vaccination levels.
PSNC said: "Any additional services that contractors could provide can only be considered with additional remuneration above the current global sum in the community
pharmacy contractual framework to ensure that the services are adequately resourced."
Alastair Buxton, director of NHS Services at PSNC, said: "We've always known, and the evidence supports this, that community pharmacies are one of the most popular
and accessible places for people to receive a range of vaccinations.
"The NHS was slow to take advantage of this at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we welcome this consultation from them to bring together a wide range of views
on the topic.
"In the longer-term, if the right funding and support is in place, many pharmacies could help deliver a much wider range of NHS vaccination programmes - giving the
public the convenience and service that they want, and taking pressure off our general practice colleagues. It makes perfect sense, and we look forward to the NHS
response to this consultation."
The new data from NHS England has revealed that more than 100,000 patients were treated for minor illness by their high street pharmacist in just one month.
According to new NHS figures, in June, 118,123 people with minor illnesses such as a sore throat or constipation, or those in need of medicine urgently, received
a same-day consultation with their local pharmacist after calling NHS 111 or their GP practice - an increase of more than four-fifths (83%) on the number in the same
month last year (64,512).
The data comes alongside expanded roles for community pharmacies ahead of winter, announced at the NHS England board meeting today.
"From this week, NHS 111 online can directly refer people to their high street pharmacist for a same-day consultation, rather than patients needing to call the
phone line," said NHS England.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: "Our local pharmacies ensure hundreds of thousands of people every week get the support and medication they need and
today's figures show that in just one month, over 100,000 patients have also had consultations with their local pharmacist for minor illnesses - this means patients
are getting the care they need quickly but also in a convenient way that can fit in with their busy lives.
The NHS claims that it's been able to save taxpayers £1.2 billion in just three years by procuring hundreds of hospital medicines at a better price.
The adoption of cheaper versions of a single drug - adalimumab - which is used to treat more than 45,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel
disease and psoriasis, has accounted for about one third of the savings.
After the exclusive patent on the drug - originally known as its brand name Humira - expired in 2018, the NHS struck cost-saving deals to bulk-buy generic versions,
which have the same quality, safety and efficacy of a branded one.
Since then, tens of millions of pounds have been saved by buying cheaper generic versions of other medicines for conditions ranging from severe skin infections to
aggressive blood cancers.
Four in five medicines prescribed in the NHS are now non-branded, helping the NHS to achieve significant savings while ensuring the continuity of high-quality
patient care.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: "Smart deals by the NHS mean patients are getting the best medicines and taxpayers are getting best value.
The National Health Service said that over 425,000 patients have utilised its new national online service to complete GP registration within its inaugural year.
The GP surgery registration service, managed by NHS England, has granted NHS patients efficient and user-friendly access to GP registration since its inception in
August 2022.
According to the NHS, more than 1,400 GP surgeries, a fifth of the national count, have joined the NHS online registration service as part of a new plan to improve
access to primary care. "This aligns with a new strategy to enhance primary care access, with a target of enrolling 2,000 practices in the Register with a GP
surgery service by December 2023."
Many GP surgeries still use paper forms, requiring patients to visit surgeries to collect paperwork. However, the new online service has been shown to save GP
surgery staff up to 15 minutes per registration by helping to reduce paperwork and admin time, the NHS said.
The NHS said that this service enables patients to register with a local GP online at any time, eliminating the need for in-person visits and simplifying the
process for both patients and GP surgeries.
The UK government on Wednesday (7 February) announced a new plan to ensure faster, simpler and fairer access to NHS dental care across England.
Supported by £200m of funding, the plan aims to deliver more than 1.5 million additional NHS dentistry treatments or up to 2.5 million NHS dental appointments
for patients over the next 12 months
NHS dentists will be offered a 'new patient' payment of between £15-£50, depending on treatment need, to treat new patients who have not seen a dentist in two
years or more.
Additionally, one-off payments of up to £20,000 will be given to around 240 dentists for working in under-served areas for up to three years.
This is to "attract new NHS dentists and improve access to dental care in areas with the highest demand," NHS England said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The government has earmarked £200 million to enhance NHS resilience and expedite patient care during the upcoming winter season. This extra amount will
bolster the health service during its busiest period, while protecting elective care so we can keep cutting waiting lists, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.
On August 13, the Prime Minister and Health and Social Care Secretary met with clinical leaders and NHS Chiefs to strategise and refine planning for urgent and
emergency care, while prioritising the preservation of waiting list targets for the upcoming winter season.
"Patients can be reassured that I will always back the NHS, so that those who most need help and support will get the care they need," Sunak said. "Winter is
the most challenging time for the health service, which is why we've been planning for it all year - with huge government investment to fund new ambulances, beds
and virtual wards."
"This £200 million investment, assured by the Department of Health and Social Care as new and additional funding, should aid NHS leaders in their preparations and
mitigation for what will be a seriously difficult winter period," said Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of NHS Confederation. "The priority now is swift allocation
of funding to local systems for optimal utilisation."
The National Health Service (NHS) has said that the roll-out of blood-thinning drugs has helped save thousands of lives.
In January 2022, the NHS launched a drive to rapidly expand the use of life-saving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in people who are at increased risk of strokes.
Since then, more than 24 million prescriptions have been given to such patients and around 460,000 more people have started taking the drugs.
This prevented an estimated 17,000 strokes and 4,000 deaths in the last 18 months, as revealed by the new NHS data.
Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, hailed the "lifesaving NHS rollout" at the King's Fund annual conference.
It is part of a major NHS drive on "prevention" - to catch more killer conditions earlier and save more lives.
Health leaders have said that delivering faster and more productive patient care would be difficult unless NHS capital budgets are nearly doubled to
at least £14.1 billion from the current spending of £7.7 billion.
The NHS Confederation has highlighted the impact that low levels of capital investment have had over the last decade in its report published today (29 November).
The report, 'Investing to save: The capital requirement for a more sustainable NHS in England', revealed that the UK has lagged behind other comparable countries
in terms of health capital investment for more than five decades, resulting in less productivity.
It revealed that the NHS now has the sixth lowest number of CT and MRI scanners per million people of the OECD countries.
The results of a national NHS staff survey, published recently, revealed that frontline healthcare workers are facing record levels of discrimination at
work, with 58,000 respondents reporting that they experienced "unacceptable" levels of unwanted sexual behaviour from the public last year.
Concerningly, 8.67 per cent of 675,140 NHS workers who responded to the poll said they suffered sexual harassment from patients, patients' relatives, or other
members of the public in 2023.
Particularly, ambulance staff were affected, with nearly 25 per cent of staff reporting unwanted sexual behaviour from the public last year.
According to the survey findings, 3.84 per cent of staff also encountered unwanted sexual behaviour from their colleagues.
Dr Navina Evans, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer, described the survey results as "very distressing" and said that "such conduct should not be
tolerated in the NHS."
On the positive side, more NHS workers reported being happier at work and experiencing less burnout than before. Over half of the participants stated they look
forward to coming to work, the highest number since 2020, as per the NHS.
Dr Evans attributed this improvement to initiatives such as flexible working hours, clinical support squads to help menopausal women at work, and human resources
stay advocates.
The latest NHS data showed that 487,432 individuals in England were diagnosed with dementia in June, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Although dementia diagnosis rates have reached 65 per cent, the NHS still aims to meet its target of diagnosing 66.7 per cent of the estimated total number of
people living with a form of the disease.
NHS stated that their staff across the country are actively assessing care home residents to identify more individuals who may have dementia.
Dr. Jeremy Isaacs, National Clinical Director for Dementia at NHS England, praised the efforts of NHS staff in increasing diagnosis rates but acknowledged that
more work is needed.
"Getting a diagnosis of dementia is the first step in supporting people, with a wide range of NHS services able to help.
NHS cancer check has set a new record, despite pressures on hospitals due to Covid-19, the number of people being treated for the cancer remained higher than
before the pandemic, revealed NHS.
Over the last 12 months almost three million people were referred for cancer checks which is up by over a tenth on the 2.4 million people referred before the
pandemic.
"Even at the peak of the Omicron wave, referrals for suspected cancer were at 116 per cent of pre-pandemic levels with around 11,000 people getting checked every
day over the last year," said NHS.
In order to meet increasing demand for cancer checks, NHS services across the country are expanding their diagnostic capabilities through one stop shops for tests,
mobile clinics and cancer symptom hotlines, ensuring people are diagnosed and treated as early as possible to give them a much better chance of beating the disease.
More than 30,000 people every month are being invited for lung cancer checks through NHS mobile trucks visiting at risk communities across the country, as part of
the biggest programme to improve early lung cancer diagnosis in health service history.
The NHS is going to launch a new campaign using the iconic Beatles song 'Help!" to encourage people to take better care of their mental health.
The campaign, being launched today (January 17), is backed by some of the UK's biggest artists, urging people to seek support for their mental wellbeing.
Since the beginning of the pandemic around 2.3 million people have come forward for NHS talking therapies, with over 50 per cent being concerned about their mental health last year.
The NHS is encouraging anybody experiencing anxiety, depression, or other common mental health concerns to experience how talking therapies can help them.
NHS mental health talking therapies are a confidential service run by fully trainedexperts that can be accessed through self-referral or GP practice.
Starting from January 2024, it will be compulsory for medicine suppliers in the NHS supply chain in England to submit an Evergreen Sustainable Supplier
Assessment each year.
Suppliers who fail to submit the sustainability assessment will not be placed on medicines contracts, said NHS England.
The NHS has taken this move as part of its ambition to reach carbon net zero by 2045.
The Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment is a self-assessment and reporting tool for suppliers to share sustainability information with the NHS.
Chris McAleer, medicines net zero project delivery manager at NHS England, announced this new rule at the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists' Procurement and
Distribution Interest Group Autumn Symposium held in Birmingham on 2 November 2023.
The National Health Service (NHS) is embracing new technology and innovations like artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the number of missed hospital
appointments and improve waiting times for elective care.
Following a successful pilot in Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, the health service is set to roll out AI software to 10 more trusts across England in
the coming months.
The software, developed by Deep Medical in collaboration with a frontline worker and NHS clinical fellow, helps reduce the number of missed appointments by
offering patients convenient time slots and backup booking options.
Since the AI programme was piloted six months ago, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has seen a 30 per cent fall in non-attendances.
During the pilot period, a total of 377 did not attends (DNAs) were prevented and an additional 1,910 patients were attended.
NHS England has secured a deal for 'Dexcom ONE Real Time-Continuous Glucose Monitoring' device which will help type 1 diabetes patients to keep track of their
glucose levels at all times without having to scan or take a finger prick test.
Once the patients receive their starter pack - which will include information on the product and usage, a sensor and transmitter - from the hospital or GP surgery,
they can go to the community pharmacy for their repeat prescription.
The wearable arm gadget sends information to a mobile app and allows diabetes patients to keep track of their glucose levels.
"Traditionally, continuous glucose monitors are more expensive than their flash monitor counterparts - which record glucose levels by scanning a sensor - but thanks
to the NHS agreeing on a new cost-effective deal with manufacturers DEXCOM, they will now be available for NHS patients on prescription at a similar price," said NHS.
Dexcom ONE Real Time-Continuous Glucose Monitoring, uses a sensor no bigger than a bottle cap that attaches to the arm for up to 10 days and measures glucose levels
from just under the skin.
The wider rollout of the technology will help diabetes patients manage their condition better - reducing hospitalisations and associated diabetic illnesses which will
ultimately ease pressure off the NHS.
Karen Baxter, vice president, UK & Ireland, Benelux, France and Spain at Dexcom: "The addition of Dexcom ONE to the NHS England drug tariff is enormous progress
towards improving the choice of diabetes tech, providing an alternative to burdensome finger pricks and scanning.
In what could be the longest consecutive strike action ever taken in the history of the National Health Service (NHS), junior doctors are set to begin their
six-day walkout from tomorrow (Wednesday 3 January) at 7am, until 7am on Tuesday 9 January.
As the record industrial action has come in the middle of growing winter pressures, the NHS England has warned that this week could be one of "the most difficult
starts to the year" for health services across the country.
With consultant busy covering urgent and emergency cases, the strikes could have a significant impact on almost all routine care.
NHS National Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis said: "This January could be one of the most difficult starts to the year the NHS has ever faced.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting reiterated his commitment to reducing NHS waiting lists during his visit to Frimley Health NHS Foundation
Trust's Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot on Friday.
Streeting toured the Berkshire hospital, which is helping tackle backlogs of planned operations with dedicated surgical services, thereby cutting local waiting lists.
The health secretary spoke to staff and patients at the hospital before meeting regional health representatives to discuss the issues facing services at a town
hall event.
His visit follows his recent call for an independent investigation into the NHS, pledging to be honest about the state of the health service and serious about
fixing it.
"The NHS is broken. Millions of patients are waiting too long for treatment, often in pain and discomfort," Streeting said.