Health Management and Policy Alert

Prescription for outpatients: reimagining planned specialist care

Royal College of Physicians -
Outpatient care is the second most used NHS service in a patient's lifetime – in 2023/24, there were over 135 million outpatient appointments – yet it is associated with delays, poor communication and confusion caused by trying to navigate services. Following engagement with patients, health care professionals and NHS England, the Royal College of Physicians – in partnership with the Patients Association – has set out a vision to transform planned specialist care over the next decade, stating that it is currently inefficient and not fit for purpose.

• Report
• Royal College of Physicians - press release

Responding to challenge

Patient Experience Library -
This report aims to demonstrate what the warning signs of harmful cultures look like. It looks at ten years of avoidable harm inquiry reports, and the organisational and professional cultures that lie at the heart of harm. It then tries to find patterns of behaviour that crop up time and again in health care disasters through the themes of teamwork, compliance, accountability, organisational learning and more.

• Report
• Patient Experience Library - publications

The direction of AI innovation in the UK: insights from a new database and a roadmap for reform

Institute for Public Policy Research -
This report analyses the AI innovation landscape in the UK to determine which type of AI deployment is and is not currently taking place. It finds that health is the second largest sector for AI activity – with most specialised innovation focussed on diagnosis, drug improvement and treatment improvement. However, public health is a burgeoning field of AI innovation. The report highlights that, to be more mission-aligned, there will need to be an increased focus on prevention.

• Report
• Institute for Public Policy Research - publications

Government response to the separate pay spine for nursing call for evidence

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The government has responded to the evidence received in relation to the commitment to consider a separate pay spine for nursing staff. This call for evidence was published by the previous government. Although the government will not be pursuing a separate pay spine for nursing staff, it acknowledges that several issues were raised through this process. They are keen to address these issues through alternative approaches, including investing in measures to improve local job evaluation practice and providing a mandate to the NHS Staff Council to improve the pay structure.

• Guidance
• More detail

The mental health of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK

Mental Health Foundation - 

This report presents evidence on the circumstances which asylum seekers and refugees in the UK can face, and how these experiences can harm their mental health and even lead to suicidal feelings and actions.

• Report
• Press release

Mental health: shifting the focus

NHS Providers - 

This briefing sets out the current state of the mental health sector and why there is a need to provide more clarity, coherence and alignment on what needs to be prioritised in the short to medium term to deliver high quality, sustainable mental health services in line with the government's three shifts (across treatment to prevention, hospital to community, and analogue to digital).

• Briefing

Kingdon review: terms of reference

Department of Health and Social Care - 

This document sets out the terms of reference for the independent review of children’s hearing services in England, to be chaired by Dr Camilla Kingdon (a consultant neonatologist and former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health). The review will consider: NHS England’s response to the service failures in paediatric audiology; how the relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care could be improved and identify lessons learned; and how NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved and identify lessons learned.

• Guidance
• Press release

 

Place-based partnerships: challenges and opportunities

The King's Fund - 

Place-based partnerships in integrated care systems aim to tackle health inequalities and improve care. This report, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, explores the key factors for success, including accountability, collaborative leadership and resources.

• Report
• More detail

NHS public health functions agreement 2025 to 2026

Department of Health and Social Care - 

This guidance sets out the arrangements under which the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care delegates responsibility to NHS England for certain public health services (known as section 7A services). The services currently commissioned in this way are: national immunisation programmes; national population screening programmes; child health information services (CHIS); public health services for adults and children in secure and detained settings in England; and sexual assault services (sexual assault referral centres).

• Guidance
• More detail

 

Lampard Inquiry background presentation

The King's Fund -

The Lampard Inquiry is investigating the deaths of mental health inpatients in Essex between 2000 - 2023. The King's Fund delivered a seminar to support the inquiry on the context of mental health policy.

• Access the presentation

Turning the tide: progress and actions to support targets of sexual misconduct in surgery

Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) - 

Sexual misconduct in the surgical profession is endemic. The Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS), supported by RCS England, has highlighted the scale of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in the surgical profession. The 2023 report, Breaking the silence: addressing sexual misconduct in healthcare, emphasised the urgent need for systemic change. RCS England is committed to a zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct and continues to work closely with the WPSMS to drive reform across surgery and healthcare. This policy paper outlines the progress made to date and sets out the critical next steps needed to ensure sustained action in addressing this serious issue.

• Policy paper
• Press release

 

Draft NHS Standard Contract 2025/26: a further consultation – proposed changes to the NHS Standard Contract for 2025/26

NHS England -
This consultation paper describes the main, material changes NHS England are proposing in the contracts. The closing date for comments is 28 April 2025.

• Consultation paper
• NHS England - publications

Charging for NHS care: guidance for obstetricians in England

Maternity Action -
Maternity Action and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gyneacologists have published a clinician’s guide on NHS charging for obstetricians who treat women who may be chargeable for their maternity care under the NHS (Overseas Visitors Charging) Regulations 2015. It sets out the charging rules in relation to maternity care, the charging exemptions and how clinicians can best work with Overseas Visitor Teams within NHS Trusts in England. It also suggests ways in which clinicians can better advocate for women who may be charged but are also destitute or have experienced domestic abuse, FGM, or sexual violence during pregnancy.

• Report
• Maternity Action - press release

International recruitment regional fund for the adult social care sector 2025 to 2026: guidance for regional partnerships

Department of Health and Social Care -
This guidance is for regional and sub-regional partnerships that deliver the international recruitment regional fund. It sets out the aims of the fund and the conditions for partnerships to access the grant. It aims to support the government priority of tackling unethical international recruitment employment practices in the adult social care sector.

• Guidance
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

Guidance for developing a healthy nursing staff bank

NHS England -
This guidance supports NHS trusts to develop and refine their nursing bank offer as one measure to reduce nurse agency use. It sets out the core elements they should consider in ensuring their bank provides high quality temporary staffing solutions in a timely fashion to support safe, effective care, and identifies resources to help them do so.

• Guidance
• NHS England - publications