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Thousands of cancer patients in England are set to gain fast-tracked access to personalised cancer vaccine trials through a new National Health Service(NHS) initiative, the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad. This groundbreaking service aims to find new life-saving treatments by matching eligible patients with clinical trials across the country. The first patient to receive a personalised vaccine for bowel cancer is Elliot Phebve, a 55-year-old lecturer, treated at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Phebve, diagnosed through a routine health check, underwent surgery and chemotherapy before joining the trial. Sponsored by German biotech company BioNTech SE, the colorectal cancer vaccine trial is one of several taking place across NHS trusts.

NHS England delivered 358 million general practice (GP) appointments, including Covid-19 vaccinations, in the 12 months to October 2023, an increase of 50.9 million compared to October 2019. This equals to 44 more appointments per practice per working day, with over 70 per cent of these taking place within two weeks of booking, data published by NHSE on Thursday (30 November) showed. Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom, thanked GPs and primary care teams across the country for making it possible to deliver around 32,500 more appointments every day, which clearly demonstrate that "more people are getting the care they need, when they need it." "While this is positive news, we know that there is more to do to make it easier and quicker for patients to contact their general practice and continue to focus on delivering the Primary Care Recovery Plan," she added. The Primary Care Recovery Plan published earlier this year is focused on improving access to primary care. It provided GPs in England with £240 million to support them to embrace the latest technology to tackle the 8am rush, and handle more appointments. As of August 2023, more than 1,000 general practices had signed up to digital upgrades to make booking GP appointments easier.

After receiving approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the NHS is preparing to roll out a new combination treatment for brain tumours in children and young people in England. Dabrafenib with trametinib would be the first ever targeted treatment for children (aged 1-17) with gliomas that have a specific genetic mutation, the health service said. The treatment, which can be taken at home, has been found to slow the progression of the disease by over threefold compared to standard chemotherapy in children with low-grade gliomas that have a BRAF V600E mutation. Clinical trials have shown that it causes fewer side-effects than chemotherapy. NICE approved the combination treatment on Wednesday 24 April. It will be available on the NHS in the coming months.

The National Health Services England (NHSE) is poised to revolutionise diabetes management with the introduction of the 'artificial pancreas', also known as the Hybrid Closed Loop system, to treat type 1 diabetes. This pioneering initiative, endorsed by the National Institute of Health Care and Excellence (NICE), represents a global first in healthcare innovation. With 269,095 individuals grappling with type 1 diabetes in England, the Hybrid Closed Loop system is set to cater to tens of thousands of children and adults across the nation. This cutting-edge device operates by seamlessly monitoring blood glucose levels and autonomously adjusting insulin dosage through a pump, by eliminating the need for regular insulin injections. Furthermore, it holds the promise of averting life-threatening hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemia episodes, mitigating significant risks associated with the condition. To facilitate the identification of beneficiaries, NHSE has allocated a substantial sum of £2.5 million, ensuring that those who could benefit from this innovative solution receive the necessary support.

NHS England is rolling out a range of tech and data solutions, including an artificial intelligence (AI) system, across the health service to tackle winter pressures. The AI system will be used to identify patients at risk of hospital admission so community NHS teams can get to them first and reduce pressures on A&E departments. On a trial basis, four GP practices in Somerset have started using the innovative technology which can highlight registered patients with complex health needs. Health coaches, nurses, or GPs will then reach out to the people most at risk, and provide them with a range of preventive care such as monitoring, food parcels, cleaning, shopping, as well as escalating care to specialist doctors.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has submitted evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB), emphasising on the recruitment and retention of NHS pharmacists. It has urged the PRB to help the NHS achieve two important objectives - ensuring that pharmacists can achieve well-rewarded and the service is viewed as an a ppealing alternative by student pharmacists. The PDA suggested that for the NHS to remain competitive, the PRB should focus its pay approach on employees within Bands 5-8 this year. It recognised that the last recommendation from the PRB was a "flat rate increase" and it left those working in the above-mentioned bands feeling "unhappy", which led to the CSP taking strike action over pay for the first time in their history.