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Being able to access high-quality healthcare at the times you need it most is vital. Regardless of whether this is a simple check-up, a medical review or complex surgery, having a suitable healthcare package designed according to your medical needs will be beneficial in the long run. The NHS has recently come under significant strain. Factors such as an increase in the number of patients, reduced funding and increased life expectancy have led to long waiting times and limited treatments. As a result, more individuals are now seeking private healthcare which, while it may be more expensive, offers faster and more effective treatment. Here we'll discuss some of the main benefits of private healthcare and why it is becoming the ideal choice for healthcare in 2023. Reduced waiting times One of the main issues faced by the NHS is waiting times, with some patients being made to wait up to a year for routine hospital care. Currently, ambulance services and A&E units are under unprecedented pressure and it is estimated that hundreds of deaths each week are associated with admission delays. Understaffing has been a chronic issue in recent years in the NHS and is a major threat to the welfare of patients. This has been one of the major concerns that has led to nurses and ambulance staff taking strike action. As nurses and hospital workers are put under higher strain, they are more likely to make mistakes, which could well lead to patients coming into harm and making a claim. Opting for private healthcare guarantees that you are able to access your appointments, surgeries and treatments much quicker, with some flexibility offered to align with your lifestyle. The capacity to bypass the painfully long waiting times ensures you receive the necessary medical attention much sooner and could prevent the emergence of other health complications.

Despite being the most common genetic disorder in the UK, sickle cell disease (SCD) remains significantly underfunded and underserved compared to other genetic disorders, according to a new report published by the PDA BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Pharmacists' Network. The report also reveals that the disease is poorly understood within the healthcare system, including amongst pharmacists, pharmacy students, and foundation pharmacists in the UK. It emphasises the urgent need for increased awareness, funding, and improved healthcare access for SCD amongst these healthcare professionals. "A lack of education about SCD within the wider healthcare community, including pharmacy, greatly contributes to disparities in care. "Though the importance of SCD education for pharmacists and allied healthcare professionals is acknowledged, it remains unclear whether this topic is adequately addressed within the MPharm curriculum," the report said. The report further noted that in the absence of explicit guidance from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and without more comprehensive education surrounding SCD embedded within the pharmacy curriculum, pharmacists and future pharmacists may remain "ill-prepared to manage patients with this complex condition." As per the report, sickle cell disease is the most prevalent genetic disorder globally, impacting millions, including around 17,000 people in England.

A new report has highlighted that while NHS trusts are well placed to drive the new Labour government's desired healthcare transformation, additional resources are essential to fully realise this vision. Published by NHS Providers, the report explored how trusts are innovating and adapting to deliver the three key shifts outlined by the government: from hospital to community-based cafe, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. Titled "Providers Deliver: shifting care upstream," the report cited some successful approaches trusts have taken to ensure patients can get the care they need in the right place at the right time. Examples include: Tackling the wider determinants of health to improve patient flow - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Reducing demand for emergency care by providing support at home - East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Improving mental health crisis care from the ground up - North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust Harnessing a culture of continuous improvement to deliver care in the right place - Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust Taking the next step from hospital at home to early intervention - Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

The Health and Social Care Secretary has announced over £175 million funding to boost genomics research in the UK. Through this funding, the government aims to create the most advanced genomic healthcare system in the world. "Patients with cancer and children born with treatable rare genetic diseases are set to benefit from earlier diagnosis and faster access to treatment, following a £175 million boost to cutting-edge genomics research announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary today (Tuesday)," said DHSC. The funding will enable research which could deliver world-leading genomic healthcare to patients, which involves the study of people's DNA. "£105 million to be funded to kickstart a world-leading research study, led by Genomics England in partnership with the NHS, to explore the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to find and treat rare genetic diseases in newborn babies," said DHSC. "An initial £26 million to support an innovative cancer programme, led by Genomics England in partnership with the NHS, to evaluate cutting-edge genomic sequencing technology to improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis for cancer patients and use artificial intelligence to analyse a person's DNA, alongside other information such as routine scans.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) on Wednesday confirmed that several MPs have come forward to support their campaign for fair funding for pharmacy students, as well as announced their plan to take the campaign to Wales. The campaign that began last year is focussed on the issue of pharmacy students being left out of the scope of the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF), which provides supplementary funding for healthcare students in England. MPharm students and PDA Student Reps have been sending letters to their MPs requesting them to escalate the issue to the health minister, and they have been able to gather considerable support. "There appears to be some cross-party support for the campaign, with welcome responses coming from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs," the PDA said.

In a bid to revolutionise healthcare in the UK, the Reform Party has announced ambitious plans to offer tax incentives to pharmacies. This move comes despite record extra funding in recent years, which has failed to halt a decline in NHS healthcare outcomes. The party argues that while healthcare remains free at the point of delivery, significant reforms are essential to enhance results and eliminate waiting lists. Central to the Reform Party's strategy is a set of critical reforms aimed at addressing NHS challenges within the first 100 days. The implementation of tax breaks for pharmacies is intended to enhance accessibility and alleviate pressure on NHS resources.

Alliance Healthcare UK team members Nick Atkins, Swansea Service Centre Manager, and Karl Goodall, Swansea Driver Team Manager, have climbed Pen y Fan in South Wales to support the Alzheimer's Society and raise money for dementia. The pair raised over £1,500, a cause close to Nick's heart, as his mother is a dementia patient. Dementia mainly affects people aged 65 and over, with 65 per cent of the 944,000 individuals living with dementia in the UK being women. Nick and Karl, dressed as 'glamorous grannies' with wigs, tights, and dresses, completed the mountain trek in six hours, carrying an Alliance Healthcare medicines cool box weighing over 35 kg. Alzheimer's Society supports people with dementia and their carers through national care and research efforts. Alzheimer's Society Cymru is the sole UK dementia charity funding both biomedical and care research.

Accord Healthcare is set to expand its manufacturing and production capabilities for high-quality medicines at its Fawdon plant in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, following a new multi-million-pound investment deal with the government. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves launched the new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) and announced the unlocking of a joint £50 million investment deal during her visit to the Fawdon plant on 1 November. Unveiled as part of a new budget, the LSIMF will distribute up to £ 520 million in capital grants aimed at drug and medical technology production. Accord stated that it will allocate the funding towards developing new product lines, including a novel prostate cancer drug and two autoimmune injectables for treating rheumatoid arthritis and gastroenterology indications, as well as expanding its medicines for adjunctive therapy in cancer. With this investment, Accord also plans to create over 50 new skilled jobs to "safeguard the facility's long-term future." Paul Tredwell, executive vice president of Accord Healthcare EMENA, welcomed the announcement and described it as positive news for the medicines manufacturing industry across the UK.

The wholesale supplier and distributor, Alliance Healthcare has successfully raised over £100k for three charities following a series of events in the last three months. The healthcare company hosted a Sports Championship event in October to raise funds for Action Medical Research, Vitamin Angels UK, and the Theodora Children's Charity. The following competition saw colleagues competing against each other in various football and netball tournaments. Last month, two teams of seven members participated in a thrilling 2023 Tour D'Alliance cycle challenge to pedal and cover over 300 miles from Great Yarmouth to Swansea Service Centre.

Trade bodies have reiterated the call for more funding in response to the reports that ministers are considering a Pharmacy First scheme amid the NHS strike. The Sunday Telegraph reported that pharmacies could be drafted in to help the NHS to cope when other healthcare workers take industrial action. But, a PSNC committee member has warned on Monday that the government suggestions are "categorically impossible" without extra funding. The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has echoed the sentiment, saying pharmacy network is on the brink of collapse. "We welcome plans for a Pharmacy First scheme in England. However, after eight years of funding cuts, the pressures on community pharmacies are simply untenable," Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said.

Representatives from the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) presented their preliminary evidence to the Inquiry, which is examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems in the UK. The UK COVID-19 Inquiry began on 28 June 2022 to examine the UK's preparedness and response to the pandemic, aiming to draw insights for the future. Its investigations are organised into modules, gathering evidence from witnesses, experts and core participants through a series of corresponding hearings throughout each module. A preliminary Module 3 hearing for its investigation into was held at Dorland House, 121 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6BU on Wednesday 10 April at 10.30am. NPA calls for funding to boost pharmacy resilience Presenting its evidence before the inquiry, the NPA highlighted the unsung contribution of pharmacies nationwide in combatting COVID-19 and maintaining health services throughout the pandemic while calling for funding to create greater resilience in community pharmacies.

Digital transformation is sweeping across the healthcare landscape. Fuelled by ambitious government policy, exciting innovation and huge injections of funding, it's hard for anyone in the sector not to catch a dose of digitisation fever. But digitisation is not a universal tonic, and it certainly isn't always a 'good thing'. In fact, there's a real danger to digitising healthcare. Such a fundamental change to the very nature of care delivery is an inevitably high-risk process: sometimes things or people get forgotten, vital processes stall, or new systems fail to replicate the strengths of those they replace. Take, for instance, the digitisation of pharmacies. Over recent years, the public's use of online-only pharmacies have boomed: in March it was reported that the number of items dispensed from distance-selling pharmacies in England, UK quadrupled between 2016 and 2021. These online providers offer an attractively convenient way for patients to receive their medicines; replacing a trip to a high street pharmacy with a package delivered straight to their door. On the surface, this digital solution seems perfect not only for young patients with busy schedules, but also for older patients or for those with restricted mobility who may struggle with in-person collection.

The government on Wednesday (March 2) announced an investment of £260 million to support research, development and manufacturing of new drugs, devices and diagnostics. Of the total funding, up to £200m has been allocated for research to better access NHS data through Trusted Research Environments and digital clinical trial services, enabling availability of crucial data with the highest levels of privacy. This will allow the NHS to deliver new life-saving treatments to patients, tackle health inequalities and improve patient care, a government release stated. The remaining £60m will support commercial-scale manufacturing investments by companies at the leading-edge of innovation, from cell and gene therapies and earlier and better diagnostic technologies, to medical devices. The funding for manufacturing investments will be distributed through the new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), following the success of the earlier Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) is gearing up to conduct a vital Pharmacy Advice Audit, calling on pharmacy owners and their teams to help measure the increasing reliance on pharmacies within communities. With years of financial strains impacting the sector, despite the much-needed £645 million recovery plan funding, the sector finds itself on the edge. The launch of Pharmacy First sparked a notable surge in people seeking advice from community pharmacies, both within and beyond the funded service, as revealed by recent sector polling. To accurately assess this trend and advocate for sustainable funding, CPE is initiating an audit to gather data crucial for showcasing the extent of unfunded care provided by community pharmacies. Scheduled to commence this week, the Pharmacy Advice Audit will entail pharmacy teams documenting informal healthcare advice dispensed over a single day.

Healthcare is one of the most crucial sectors in the UK accounting for over £290 billion, around 10% of the GDP for the entire country. Despite this, however, many businesses operating in the healthcare sector are currently in favour of an urgent cash injection from the government. The figures make for sobering reading with over 65% of pharmacies operating at a loss and a bleak forecast that one in six might shut their doors for good within the next year. Business costs have soared in the last two years and combined with a funding cut of around 30% in real terms over the last decade this has left many pharmacies struggling to make ends meet. In real terms, these issues affect those who we wish to help the most - our patients. As the expenditure rises, income doesn't always follow meaning that pharmacy staff have to work even harder. However, despite their best efforts they report that this has an impact on some of the valuable face time that they can give to their patients. Longer prescription dispensing times have been an issue across the board as this then creates a domino effect on responding to patient enquiries. This then means that when a patient is actually in store there is less time for a pharmacist to spend with a patient discussing their health issues.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is calling for scrapping unfair benefit rules for migrant nursing staff, warning that these policies risk triggering a mass exodus from the UK's healthcare workforce. A recent RCN report indicated that two-thirds of internationally educated nursing staff are considering leaving the UK and returning to their country of training due to the high cost of living. The report, which is based on survey responses from more than 3,000 international nursing staff, also revealed that those from overseas are "twice as likely as domestic colleagues to report being in financial difficulty" and are "almost three times as likely as UK counterparts to withdraw from their pension due to the cost of living." It also highlighted the impact of the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) rule, which prevents migrants on temporary visas, such as the Health and Care Worker visa, from accessing essential benefits. In response to this report, the union has urged the government to immediately end these restrictive rules and reduce visa fees, including Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) application costs.

The government has responded to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's report on community pharmacy, acknowledging 17 of the 19 recommendations. In its report published on 29 May 2024, the Committee recommended, among other things, an overhaul of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF), closing the funding gap, tackling medicines shortages by introducing generic substitution, and establishing an integrated and fully funded workforce plan for pharmacy. In its response, released today, the government stated that NHS England is currently conducting an economic analysis of the sector, which will inform future proposals for funding and contractual arrangements. On medicine shortages, it mentioned that the Department of Health and Social Care, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve their ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen resilience. Additionally, the government has stated that it will "publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan" this summer and is "committed to growing the pharmacy workforce."

MP Steve Brine, the chair of the health and care committee, said that the healthcare in the UK "doesn't work without pharmacy". The inquiry focuses on addressing current issues, particularly around the "funding model, digital infrastructure and workforce recruitment, training and retention." Brine said at the Sigma annual conference on Sunday, that he wants to "focus on the sector", and "drill down into some of the challenges and potential" that lies ahead. "The Health and Social Care Committee, we think about much of our work through the lens of pharmacy, what role it plays, the quality of care that it delivers, and the potential for it to do more," said Brine. He further said that he wants to "build on the groundwork" and to "cover as many of the different pharmacy services within the pharmacy sector as we can, so pharmacy in our communities, in hospitals and general practice".

National pharmacy bodies have welcomed two VAT changes related to community pharmacy services announced in the Spring budget on Wednesday (15 March) but were disappointed that the budget brought no further relief for the sector in a crippling funding crisis. It was announced that from 1 May 2023, VAT exemption on healthcare would be extended to include medical services carried out by staff directly supervised by registered pharmacists. The government will also extend zero rate on prescriptions to medicines supplied through Patient Group Directions. This measure will be introduced in autumn 2023. HM Treasury said these measures were being introduced to ensure that the VAT system keeps up with changes to how the NHS operates and how healthcare is delivered across the country. More widely, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt promised to halve inflation and said that the NHS would soon publish its long-term workforce plan.

Rising chronic illnesses and an aging population are threatening to bankrupt the National Health Service, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said on October 11. Streeting announced a substantial £1.1 billion injection to strengthen the NHS with the goal of clearing the backlog and introducing additional clinics on evenings and weekends. The frontbencher outlined a reform agenda to ensure NHS is back on its head for the future of healthcare in the UK. Streeting said that a Labour government will not waste "money we don't have"- instead aims to revolutionise the NHS by shifting its focus from hospitals to communities. "Our emphasis is on transitioning from an analogue to a digital framework and prioritising prevention over sickness-oriented healthcare," he noted.