Health Management and Policy Alert

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

Workforce and patient safety: primary and community care co-ordination for people with long-term conditions

Health Services Safety Investigations Body -
This report finds that a lack of co-ordination of care for people with long-term health conditions is taking a toll on patients and carers, leading to burnout, distress and harm. It also outlines the impact of being unable to navigate the health and care system. A focus of the investigation was on the role of the ‘care co-ordinator’ – someone who is able to connect patients/carers with the right care and support.

• Report
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body - news

Unheard voices: understanding the challenges faced by Black people living with HIV in primary care

National AIDS Trust -
This report, which surveyed 142 Black-heritage people living with HIV in London, identified distinct barriers to receiving adequate care. It finds that these communities have lower levels of engagement in HIV care, poorer health outcomes and higher rates of HIV-related morbidity and mortality.

• Report
• National AIDS Trust - publications

Ten actions the government can take to improve children’s health

The King's Fund -
Children in the UK experience some of the worst health outcomes in Europe. What steps should the government take to address this?

• Read the briefing

Electronic patient records: why the NHS urgently needs a strategy to reap the benefits

The Health Foundation - 

To explore the challenges in realising the benefits of electronic patient records (EPRs), The Health Foundation conducted interviews with leaders in five acute NHS trusts in England, and also looked at an example from a leading US medical centre. This analysis presents insights from these interviews and recommends next steps for unlocking the potential of EPRs.

• Analysis

Nursing associates in maternity settings: position statement

NHS England - 

Nursing associates are members of the nursing team in England who help bridge the gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses. This position statement outlines challenges to deploying nursing associates in maternity settings, including issues with profession-specific education and training, delegation of tasks, accountability, and scope of practice. It concludes it does not support nursing associates working in maternity services. The Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwifery have also published separate statements in support of this position.

• Position statement
• More detail

Invest in childhood: priorities for preventing mental ill health among children and young people

Centre for Mental Health - 

Mental health is a critical issue for babies, children and young people, and addressing mental ill health is essential for their overall wellbeing. The government can help to create the conditions for them to thrive, with better mental health, improved life chances, and a brighter future. This report explores the available evidence about how government can use its powers to boost children’s mental health, investing in what works, and stewarding its resources wisely.

• Report
• Press release

National mandatory learning people policy framework

NHS England - 

This policy is for NHS organisations to adopt and adapt to help them meet their statutory obligation to ensure a safe and inclusive work environment. It is intended to reduce or prevent incidents, near misses, risks and connected loss of productivity. It also aims to increase efficiency by ensuring learners do not need to repeat learning unnecessarily.

• Policy framework

GP contract 2025/26 explained: funding, incentives and the workforce

The King's Fund - 

Delve into the detail of the 2025/26 GP contracts, what they mean for the workforce, funding and incentives.

• Long read