Health Management and Policy Alert

Pharmacy: government response

House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee - 

In its report in May 2024, Pharmacy, the predecessor Health and Social Care Committee said that the government must urgently reform the funding framework for community pharmacy if more clinical services are to be delivered and increasing demands for medication are to be met. In this response, the government says that NHS England is currently undertaking an economic analysis of the sector, which will inform future proposals for funding and contractual arrangements. The government will take the committee’s recommendations on the complexity of current arrangements into consideration in developing any future proposals for consultation with Community Pharmacy England.

• Response
• Press release

Becoming a national leader in supporting the armed forces

NHS Employers - 

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) serves a diverse population over 1,211 square kilometres, operating five hospitals and various community services. Since signing the Armed Forces Covenant in 2017, ELHT has taken deliberate steps to support Reservists and the wider armed forces community. These efforts align with the trust’s values of providing safe, personal and effective care, and its mission to improve community health through partnership, innovation and excellence.

• Case study

Preventive and proactive care: research report

Local Government Association -
This research was commissioned by The Better Care Fund Support Programme to collect and synthesise existing publications and reports, related to local prevention or proactive targeted support initiatives which enable people to stay well, safe and independent at home for longer. The aim was to better understand what preventive and proactive care initiatives local areas have invested in, and the extent to which these initiatives have been effective and value for money.

• Report
• Local Government Association - publications

Fairer funding for general practice in England: what’s the problem, why is it so hard to fix, and what should the government do?

Nuffield Trust -
This briefing outlines how general practice funding is inequitable: it concludes that the Carr-Hill formula, which decides the distribution of funding, is outdated and fails to take account of socioeconomic deprivation. This briefing, produced in collaboration with the Health Equity Evidence Centre, proposes replacing Carr-Hill with a modern, needs-based formula.

• Briefing

How primary care used community outreach to support the Armed Forces community

NHS Employers - 

Ashfields Primary Care Centre is a GP practice in Sandbach in Cheshire with nearly 28,000 patients. Ashfields has emerged as a leader in supporting Reservists, Veterans and their families. Through its adherence to the Armed Forces Covenant, the practice transformed its approach to healthcare and reinforced its role as a pillar of the Sandbach community.

• Case study

Key interventions to transform eye care & eye health

Primary Eyecare Services -

This analysis, conducted by PA Consulting and commissioned by Primary Eyecare Services, the Association of Optometrists (AOP), Fight for Sight, and Roche, reveals the often-overlooked clinical and socio-economic benefits of primary eye care. It outlines strategic interventions designed to enhance eye care services, improve patient outcomes, and optimise the use of resources within the NHS. 

• Report
• More detail

Investigation into the NHS dental recovery plan

National Audit Office -
The dental recovery plan was published in February 2024 under the previous government and aims to increase access to NHS dentistry services. The £200 million plan was intended to deliver more than 1.5 million additional NHS dentistry treatments in 2024-25. This report sets out information on the current delivery of NHS dentistry services and the development and progress of the plan for 2024-25. It finds that the dental recovery plan is not on course to fulfil this ambition – even if the target was reached it would still be 2.6m fewer treatments per year than pre-pandemic levels.

• Report
• National Audit Office - press release

 

Medicines shortages: solutions for empty shelves

Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - 

This report from the RPS and backed by charities and patient groups, calls on the government to create a national strategy to manage medicine shortages and to change legislation to allow community pharmacists to amend prescriptions when medicines are in short supply. The report explains how medicine supply chains are global and complex, with shortages caused by manufacturing problems and disrupted, less resilient supply chains.

• Report
• Press release

 

Access to NHS dentistry: new polling findings, 2024

Healthwatch -
This report contains research on people’s understanding of NHS dentistry and what they want from the service as the government develops its ‘Dental Rescue Plan’. It reveals that most people in England have misconceptions about their 'right' to an NHS dentist and want changes to how they access dentistry.

• Report
• Healthwatch - press release

Providers deliver: shifting care upstream

NHS Providers - 

This report shows how in the face of a very challenging environment trusts are innovating and adapting to deliver the three key shifts called for by the government (hospital to community, analogue to digital and treatment to prevention).

• Report
• Press release