Health Management and Policy Alert

The right to health: people with eating disorders are being failed

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders -
This report highlights the need for a national strategy to address the growing number of people being treated for eating disorders in the UK. Key findings reveal barriers to accessing treatment, including insufficient training for health care providers, fragmented care pathways, and a lack of standardised data for research. It also emphasises the geographical variation in service provision and the practice of discharging patients at dangerously low BMIs.

• Report
• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders - publications

Communicable disease outbreak management guidance: principles to support local health protection systems

UK Health Security Agency -
This guidance and accompanying toolkits aim to provide information on principles for the identification and management of outbreaks and resources to support local health protection system response to outbreaks of communicable disease.

• Guidance
• UK Health Security Agency - publications

Maintaining public service facilities: cross-government

National Audit Office -
This report finds that maintenance backlogs across key public services including schools, hospitals and prisons are estimated to be at least £49 billion. It finds that poor condition of buildings can affect public service delivery, with 5,400 clinical service incidents occurring in the NHS every year due to property and infrastructure failures. It recommends that government should consider the best way to manage its assets alongside its long-term investment plans, in addition to the cost of ongoing maintenance, to bring property condition to a satisfactory level.

• Report
• National Audit Office - press release

Decay and delay: the state of dentistry and oral health in London

London Assembly Health Committee - 

Following widespread reports of a lack of access to NHS dentistry services, this report examines: the barriers for both adults and children in accessing NHS dentistry in London; the experiences of Londoners who have used or tried to access dentistry in London; trends related to the oral health of Londoners and related health inequalities; what preventative measures are being taken to support the oral health of adults and children; and what action needs to be taken by the NHS and health partners in London to ensure all Londoners can access an NHS dentist and support good oral health.

• Report
• Press release

New Hospital Programme: plan for implementation

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - 

Following the 2024 General Election, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chancellor set out to undertake a review of the New Hospital Programme to provide a realistic and affordable timetable for delivery. The DHSC and HM Treasury have agreed a high-level plan for the programme which has the flexibility to plan on the basis of a total spend of £15 billion in each 5-year Spending Review period. The plan for implementation details the waves of delivery for the programme and summarises the findings of the review.

• Implementation plan
• Press release

Weight loss medicines in England

House of Commons Library - 

This briefing focuses on the availability of new weight loss medications on the NHS in England. It does not discuss the clinical effectiveness of these medicines.

• Briefing
• Access more detail

Sector pulse check: adult social care sector annual review

Care England - 
This annual report provides an overview of the financial and workforce challenges facing the adult social care sector and highlights the most significant and critical issues. It follows an independent national survey with 206 small, medium and large social care providers, representing the care of 128,000 people.

• Report
• Press release

UK Health Security Agency business plan 2024 to 2025

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) - 
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) business plan for 2024 to 2025 outlines the agency’s key deliverables and activities to protect and improve the public’s health and reduce health inequalities. It is underpinned by internal plans and performance management frameworks to drive delivery.

• Business plan

Social capital 2025: the hidden wealth of nations

Demos - 
Social capital refers to the networks and trust that exist between people. This report makes the case for a greater focus on social capital in policy and practice. It argues that strengthening it will improve economic and social outcomes, improve health and wellbeing and reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.

• Report
• Demos - publications

Government’s plan for 18-week NHS waiting times: is it realistic?

The Health Foundation -
The government’s elective reform plan pledges to meet the NHS standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks for treatment by the end of the parliament. This compares with current performance of just 59%. This analysis estimates that this will require the number of people being removed from the waiting list to increase from 20.8 million a year in July 2024 to 23.5 million a year in July 2029. This corresponds to around 500,000 extra treatments in the first year, rising to 2.6 million extra treatments in the final year, an annual increase of 2.4%.

• The Health Foundation - publications

Annual assessment of integrated care boards 2023/24

NHS England - 
This report is a summary of the assessment of each ICB covering how effectively they have led their local NHS system and their contribution to each of the four core purposes of an integrated care system. It summarises an assessment of performance during the 2023/24 financial year and reflects NHS England’s views relating to that period only.

• Report
• NHS England - publications

On the frontline of the UK’s corridor care crisis

Royal College of Nursing - 
This report documents the experiences of more than 5,000 NHS nursing staff following a survey at the end of December 2024. Thousands of nursing staff responded, confirming corridor care is widespread across the UK. Almost 7 in 10 (66.8%) respondents to an RCN survey said they're delivering care in over-crowded or unsuitable places – such as corridors, converted cupboards and even car parks – on a daily basis. More than 9 in 10 (90.8%) of those surveyed said patient safety is being compromised.

• Report
• Royal College of Nursing - press release

ADCS safeguarding pressures research – phase 9

Association of Directors of Children’s Services -
This research highlights changes in safeguarding activity which have not previously been seen, or not previously seen to this extent. One of the key themes was health challenges, from the impact of delayed access to assessment or treatment plans for parents and carers, particularly for alcohol and substance misuse, to growing concerns about poor mental health among adolescents. It finds that, for the first time, poor parental mental health has overtaken domestic abuse as the most common factor in children’s social care assessments. It also uncovers concerns around poor quality housing and the long term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Report
• Association of Directors of Children’s Services - news

Mental Health Bill: House of Lords, Committee of the whole House, 14, 20, 22 and 27 January 2025

NHS Providers - 

This briefing covers amendments tabled ahead of the Committee of the whole house up to and including 9 January 2025.

• Briefing
• More detail

Mental health services: the NHS trust perspective

NHS Providers - 

This briefing provides an outline of mental health services in the NHS, the current levels of demand that NHS trusts are facing and what trusts need in order to deliver a more proactive and co-ordinated community-based model of mental health care.

• Briefing
• More detail