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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 Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has secured the right to negotiate and agree on proposed changes to the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) terms and conditions for its members. This milestone follows an agreement with other NHS trade unions, enabling the PDA Union to join the NHS Staff Side. As part of this group, the PDA can now actively participate in the NHS National Joint Council, which oversees changes to AfC. Participation in the NHS Staff Side brings significant benefits for PDA members, especially those employed in the NHS under AfC. In addition to providing the PDA the right to negotiate and agree proposed changes to AfC, it empowers the trade union to advocate for pharmacists at the highest levels in the NHS, participate fully in the NHS Social Partnership Forum, and collaborate with other unions on critical issues such as NHS pay. It also gives PDA members the right to be represented at local trust level on matters handled by local staff sides.

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 government has received thousands of ideas to fix the NHS as the biggest ever conversation about the future of the health service reached the Midlands last week. More than 100 people from across the Midlands participated in the public debate in Wigston in Leicestershire on Saturday (23 November), sharing their experiences, views and suggestions for delivering an NHS fit for the future. Public health minister Andrew Gwynne and NHS England's national director for urgent and emergency care Sarah-Jane Marsh attended the debate, inviting attendees' opinions on NHS reform and how the government's 10 Year Health Plan can help tackle disparities in the region. Addressing the event, Gwynne said: "We can't change the NHS and make it better without you." "When we say that the NHS is broken but not beaten, it's not beaten because the staff are incredible, it is because the NHS is not where we need it to be."

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.

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

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 NHS has made major improvements across long waits, urgent and emergency services, and cancer care, latest performance figures published on Thursday (11) have shown. The number of patients waiting more than 18 months fell to 10,737 by April - down by more than 90 per cent from 124,911 in September 2021 and by more than four-fifths since the start of January when there were 54,882. Around half of NHS trusts in England have no patients on their elective care waiting lists apart from those who have chosen to wait longer. More than one in five (21%) trusts had completely eliminated 18-month waits. However, the overall waiting list has risen to over 7.3 million entries in England. "I promised I would cut NHS waiting lists and we are delivering," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. "Reducing 18-month waits by over 90 per cent is huge progress, and it is testament to the hard work of NHS staff who have achieved this despite one of the busiest winters on record. "We still have work to do, but backed by record government investment and the ongoing efforts of the NHS, I am confident we will get patients the care they need more quickly." Ambulance response rates have improved to their fastest in two years, with average category two response times now at 28.5 minutes and category one at 8 mins. The 62-day cancer backlog has fallen for the first time since before the pandemic, with those waiting two months or more down from 21,823 at the end of the last financial year (March 2022) to 19,248 at the end of this March (2023). This is down almost 15,000 from a peak of 34,000 in July 2022.

As Health Secretary Wes Streeting initiates a national conversation about the future of the NHS, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has stressed the importance of increasing investment in medicines to fix the 'broken' NHS. Streeting is inviting the public, NHS staff, and experts to share their experiences and contribute to shaping the government's 10 Year Health Plan to build an NHS fit for the future. The government aims to implement three big shifts to transform the NHS: hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. Richard Torbett, chief executive of the ABPI, has highlighted the vital role medicines and vaccines can play in achieving these priorities. He said: "Wes Streeting is spot-on in identifying three strategic shifts necessary to fix the broken NHS. Medicines and vaccines have a vital role in all three of these priorities, but we are not currently realising their potential."

A recent Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) survey revealed that 80 per cent of its member working in the NHS in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland rejected the NHS pay award. "For the first time in the history of our union, members have told us they are so angry that they would not rule out industrial action in conjunction with other NHS unions," said Paul Moloney, PDA Union national officer. "It is important that, whoever is to lead the government, they listen to this message and act now to ensure our members and others in the NHS do not face swinging cuts to their standard of living." PDA members were asked whether they would support industrial action if they had rejected the award and if other NHS unions would be taking industrial action. 58 per cent of those responding said they would support the PDA Union taking industrial action if members of other unions were also planning to take action on this issue. For now, however, the PDA Union will wait for other unions to publish the outcomes of their own consultations. As a union dedicated to representing the needs of only pharmacists, the PDA has been able to quickly survey members immediately after the pay award was announced.

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 Labour government has launched the biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS since its birth, calling on the entire country to share their experiences of the health service. The feedback will be used to shape the government's 10 Year Health Plan to fix the "broken" health service and deliver its mission to build an NHS fit for the future. Members of the public, as well as NHS staff and experts, are invited to share their experiences, views and ideas for the future of NHS via a new online platform that goes live today. The Change NHS online platform, which will be live until the start of next year, is also available via the NHS App. The public engagement exercise will focus on three shifts in healthcare - hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a public consultation to gather feedback on government proposals to eliminate modern slavery from the NHS supply chain. This initiative follows a recent government review which revealed that over 21 per cent of NHS suppliers are at high risk of involving modern slavery in the procurement of medical equipment, particularly surgical instruments, gloves, gowns, uniforms, and face masks. The proposed measures would require public bodies procuring goods and services for the NHS to work with suppliers to identify risks and put forward solutions. These new regulations would apply to all public bodies procuring health goods and services, including NHS trusts, integrated care boards, and local authorities. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "The NHS is a public service built on compassion and equality, values which are completely antithetical to the heinous evil of modern slavery." "These new measures will ensure vital checks are made and public bodies act to stamp out the crimes of slavery and human trafficking." He also stated that his government will ensure the NHS leads the fight against modern slavery.

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 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.