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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 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."

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."

The NHS Confederation and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has published a report that demonstrated the importance of the collaboration between industry and the NHS to improve patient outcomes across the UK. Analysis from the report has shown a significant variation in access to innovative medicines for patients across the UK and showed that uptake of new treatments in these areas continues to be below the average of similar countries in Europe. The report, 'Transforming Lives, Improving Health Outcomes', has highlighted four initiatives where effective partnerships between the NHS, patient organisations and industry have helped to tackle unwarranted variation in the uptake of innovative medicines. Transforming Lives, Improving Health Outcomes also called for a systemwide secondary prevention strategy covering all parts of the health system creating a barrier to wider and consistent uptake of innovative medicine. It also noted that newly created Integrated Care Systems have the potential to improve preventative treatment. The report data also showed a 51% variation of uptake of three types of medicines related to diabetes between NHS Trusts in England.

In a remarkable turn of events, the NHS App has emerged as a financial saviour for the National Health Service, slashing costs by over £1 million in the last year alone. The revelation comes as a testament to the app's growing significance in streamlining patient communication and service delivery. Throughout the fiscal year 2023/24, a staggering 22.5 million messages traversed the NHS App, a feat previously reliant on traditional methods like text messages or letters. This monumental shift not only signifies a boon for efficiency but also heralds substantial savings, with each text message costing an average of 5p. Drastically reducing these expenses has amounted to a commendable £1.1 million in savings, marking a pivotal milestone in NHS expenditure management.

The government has unveiled its much awaited 'NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan' to tackle the staff shortage in the pharmacy sector. The plan set out an ambition to increase the training places for pharmacists to around 5,000 places by 2031/32. David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, in his open letter to pharmacy professionals said: "The NHS LTWP sets out how we can build on changes, addressing the changing needs of patients over the next 15 years, by closing the current workforce shortfall through funding for increased education and training places and a comprehensive retention strategy." The plan commits to expand training places for pharmacists by 29% to around 4,300 by 2028/29 and Grow the number of pharmacy technicians in future years. "The development of independent prescribing as part of initial education and training is a gamechanger for pharmacists, patients and the NHS, with approximately 2,800 newly registered pharmacist independent prescribers due to join the workforce every year from September 2026," said Webb. "This will be transformational for all pharmacy teams, creating improved access and quality of care for patients and, importantly, a more flexible workforce with skills that are equally applicable in all pharmacy settings, enabling multi-professional clinical teams to work in new ways."

The government has decided to refresh the NHS workforce plan, prioritising on shifting care from hospitals and into the community. The revised plan, expected to be unveiled in the summer 2025, aims to ensure the workforce is used effectively to support the delivery of the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan. Health secretary Wes Streeting explained the need to revise the plan citing Lord Darzi's report, which highlighted the dire state of the NHS, including that "too many people end up in hospital because there aren't the resources in the community to reach patients earlier." "Our 10 Year Health Plan will deliver 3 big shifts in the focus of healthcare: from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. "We will refresh the NHS workforce plan to fit the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, so the NHS has the staff it needs to treat patients on time again," Streeting said.

Pharmacies and other spaces should be able to facilitate the provision of health care to bring services closer to patients and reduce demands on general practice, suggested a report by Tony Blair Institute. In a paper 'Modern and Sustainable NHS Providing Accessible and Personalised Care for All', it has propose six areas for reform where radical-but-practical policy action will begin to transform the future of the NHS and deliver better patient care. It has proposed to create new access routes for services and providers. It added: "The range and availability of health-care services must increase to reflect citizens' demands and their increasingly complex needs. "Pharmacies, gyms, supermarkets, workplaces and other spaces should all be able to provide or facilitate the provision of health care, bringing services closer to patients and reducing demands on general practice. It suggested: "We must move towards greater community-based care and the creation of a neighbourhood health service, with more routes for direct patient access, to ensure services are available when and where people need them. These should all be accessible through a single, simple digital front door to the NHS."

A new report from the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) is calling on NHS England to commission a community pharmacy-based national Type 2 diabetes screening service, which could save the NHS £50m each year. The CCA report, titled 'Increasing Access to Diabetes Screening and Prevention Through Community Pharmacy', highlights the urgent need for a national patient pathway for diabetes detection and management. It outlines how NHS-commissioned diabetes screening in community pharmacies across England could deliver numerous health benefits each year, including: Screening 1.5 million adults and identifying 180,000 prediabetics; Detecting 45,000 undiagnosed cases of diabetes and preventing them from developing serious complications Preventing nearly 7,000 heart attacks and strokes, and thus improving patients' quality of life Avoiding severe sight loss in around 15,000 people over their lifetime Saving the NHS £50 million annually by reducing diabetes-related costs. Type 2 diabetes and its complications are currently estimated to account for 10 per cent of the NHS annual budget, and this figure is projected to rise to 17 per cent by 2035/36.

Former Health Secretary Alan Milburn has been appointed as the lead non-executive member of the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) board to support the government's ambitious NHS reform agenda. He will succeed Samantha Jones, who has served as a non-executive director since February 2023. Milburn, known for his successful track record in reducing NHS waiting lists and improving patient satisfaction, will offer advice to help rebuild an NHS fit for the future. Expressing his enthusiasm to be appointed to this role, Milburn said, "Having spent three decades working in health policy, I have never seen the NHS in a worse state. Big reforms will be needed to make it fit for the future. "I am confident this government has the right plans in place to transform the health service and the health of the nation. "I'm looking forward to working with them to achieve that mission."

In a delightful announcement, the University of Brighton has honoured NHS England's Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, David Webb with its prestigious Doctor of Science honorary degree Webb's award is a highlight of the university's graduation ceremony which celebrated the graduation of over 3,400 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 92 countries at the Brighton Centre this week. The accolade recognises Webb's transformative work in the pharmacy services within the NHS, highlighting the profound impact his contributions have had on delivery of healthcare across the UK. Under Webb's leadership, significant advancements have been made in integrating pharmacy into NHS care pathways, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing the role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the healthcare system. Webb expressed his honour stating, "I am delighted to receive the honorary award of Doctor of Science from the University of Brighton in recognition of both my contribution to pharmacy in the NHS"

Dr Amanda Doyle has been appointed as NHS England as director of primary and community care. Prior to her new role, Amanda had joined NHS England and NHS Improvement as North West Regional Director on 2 August 2021 and previously she was the Chief Clinical Officer for West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Blackpool CCG and Fylde and Wyre CCG. Amanda was also the Integrated Care System Lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria, leading a large health and care transformation programme across the patch. She has been a GP for more than 20 years, practising in a large practice in a deprived area of Blackpool, which, in addition to primary medical services, provides a range of urgent care services for patients across the Fylde Coast. Amanda was the Co-Chair of NHS Clinical Commissioners from 2013 to 2018. She was Senior Responsible Officer for the primary care component of the Long Term Plan and was involved in the leadership of the health inequalities, prevention and personalisation elements.

The new 'How to Involve and Engage Patients on Digital Health Tech Innovation' learning module has been created specifically to support the development and delivery of patient-centric technologies, at a time of critical digital transformation in the NHS. The foundation level module will be freely available at www.orcha-digitalhealthacademy.com and on the Health Education England NHS Learning Hub (learninghub.nhs.uk). No training previously exists on conducting effective patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), leading to wasted resource on unsuitable technologies at a time when the healthcare system simply cannot afford it. The module aims to educate innovators who are creating new technology, and the clinicians who are prescribing these solutions. Crucially, the module also provides valuable support to the 500 NHS clinicians who are on the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme. The module is an introduction to the first evidence-based framework for PPIE, launched by the University of Plymouth, the AHSN Network (the national voice of the 15 academic health science networks in England) and Boehringer Ingelheim UK & Ireland. It helps to fast-track learning for the EnACT principles described in the framework, outlining how to involve patients in product innovation and critical issues such as data privacy, intellectual property, inclusivity, reimbursement, useability, and recruitment of patients.

In a strategic move to enhance healthcare delivery, the NHS has announced plans to intensify the utilisation of virtual wards under the the Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan. The NHS virtual wards are aimed to reduce avoidable hospital admissions across England. This follows a comprehensive analysis revealing significant benefits from virtual wards over the past year. "Virtual wards offer a transformative approach to healthcare delivery, allowing patients to receive medical care from the comfort of their own homes," remarked NHS national director for urgent and emergency care, Sarah-Jane Marsh. "This initiative not only reduces the burden on hospital resources but also ensures that patients receive timely and personalised care."

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) made a recent announcement that the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI) and NHS England (NHSE) have joined forces in a groundbreaking move by signing a Collaboration Charter on AI. This pivotal partnership aims to equip the NHS workforce with the tools and resources to leverage AI technology for enhancing patient care, improving staff experience, and driving operational efficiency. The Charter, endorsed by Minister Burghart, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, and Lord Markham, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DHSC, signifies an important step towards integrating AI into the fabric of the NHS. Under this collaboration, the i.AI team, comprising elite technical experts within the government, will identify opportunities where AI technology can be deployed responsibly to support the NHS. This initiative is expected to streamline processes, optimize resource allocation, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes.

Several pharmacies have joined the inhaler recycling scheme in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, to support NHS England's Greener NHS programme, which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. It is part of a collaborative working initiative between the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and AstraZeneca UK Ltd, supported by the Black Country Integrated Care Board and Wolverhampton City Local Pharmaceutical Committee. Under this scheme, old and used inhalers are recycled and transformed into new products, such as coat hangers and waste bins. Simon Evans, group chief strategy officer for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, emphasised the importance of prioritising the reduction of carbon footprint while maintaining high-quality care, to protect the planet for future generations. "The Trust has already made significant achievements in several areas including the physical estate, clinical services, waste recycling, catering and medicines - with this inhaler recycling scheme from pharmacy being the latest string to our bow," he said.

In a groundbreaking move towards modernising healthcare, England's National Health Service (NHS) has successfully implemented digital prescriptions, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest regional digital health report. Since January 2024, patients across England have had access to their prescription information through the NHS App, marking a significant leap in healthcare accessibility and efficiency. With over 33 million registered users, representing 75 per cent of the adult population, the NHS App has become a vital tool in managing healthcare online. The introduction of digital prescriptions allows users to order repeat prescriptions online without the need for a GP visit. This innovation has witnessed a surge in digital requests, with over 3.1 million repeat prescriptions processed monthly.

To lead the way in modernizing the UK's healthcare, the National Health Service (NHS) digitized the prescriptions. WHO mentioned this in their current digital regional report. Since January 2024, the NHS App in England has offered patients the opportunity to see statistics about their prescriptions. This represents a gigantic step in the area of healthcare which can be categorized as another stage in healthcare accessibility and efficiency. Over 33 million residents have taken the NHS app enabling the users to be 75% of the adult population. The app helps in online management of their health. The use of digital prescriptions enables patients to order repeated prescriptions online, in which they would past getting an appointment a GP.

The Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), in collaboration with the Association of Optometrists (AOP), the British Dental Association (BDA) and the NHS Confederation has written to health secretary Wes Streeting, urging him to ensure sustainable investment in primary care to strengthen the NHS and better serve patients. In their letter, the group congratulated Streeting on his recent appointment as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and requested a meeting to provide their joint constructive input towards improving health outcomes. They expressed concern that recent administrations have failed to follow through on promises to properly integrate and fund primary care, leading to deteriorating health outcomes. "Our collective experience is that our National Health Service (NHS), and health outcomes generally, have suffered at the hands of recent administrations that have talked much about the importance of properly integrating and funding primary care but not followed through with action," they wrote. The associations emphasised the need to transition the NHS to a Neighbourhood Health Service, where more care is delivered within local communities to identify problems earlier.

The new Labour government has pledged to deliver an extra 40,000 NHS appointments, operations and diagnostics every week, equivalent to two million a year, to tackle the ongoing waiting list crisis. It aims to ensure that 92 per cent of patients start routine hospital treatment within 18 weeks by the end of this parliament - a target that has not been met for nearly a decade. However, a new analysis by healthcare consultancy CF (Carnall Farrar) and the NHS Confederation has revealed that these extra appointments alone will not be enough to achieve the 18-week Referral To Treatment (RTT) target by 2028/29. The study estimates that 40,000 extra appointments per week would deliver only about 15 per cent of the additional activity required to hit the 18-week target, assuming demand continues to grow at current rates and care delivery remains unchanged. While the report acknowledged that increasing capacity is a positive step, it stresses that further reforms and transformations in care pathways are necessary to bridge the gap.