Health Management and Policy Alert

Women’s reproductive health conditions

Women and Equalities Committee -
This report finds that women experiencing painful reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and heavy menstrual bleeding are frequently finding their symptoms ‘normalised’ and their ‘pain dismissed’ when seeking help. It found that despite such conditions being highly prevalent in the UK, accessing diagnosis and treatment can take years, leaving women and girls to endure pain and discomfort that interferes with every aspect of their daily lives, including their education, careers, relationships and fertility, while their conditions worsen. Additionally, many are resorting to expensive private health care.

• Report
• Women and Equalities Committee - news

Impact report 2023-24

Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley -
This report outlines how the 15 health innovation networks (HINs) benefitted patients, addressed NHS challenges and supported economic growth. It highlights progress led by HINs across the country in addressing cardiovascular disease, patient safety, health inequity and more in 2023/24. It finds that HINs collectively made a difference to the lives of more than 1 million patients, and leveraged £467 million investment through innovator support.

• Report
• Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley - news

A new dawn for the NHS: a manifesto for putting personalised care at the centre

Personalised Care Institute - 
This report, based on research of 2,000 people and 500 health and care professionals, shines a light on the current state of personalised care in England. It argues that, rather than being a “nice-to-have”, personalised care is central to good care as the inevitable consequence of not practising it is advice that isn’t suitable for the individual, that can’t or won’t be followed which adds to service pressures.

• Report
• Personalised Care Institute - projects

Are intermediate care services stretched too thin?: insights from linked data in England, Scotland and Wales

The Health Foundation -
Intermediate care refers to short-term care intended to maximise people’s independence. It aims to improve quality of life and reduce pressure on acute hospitals by preventing admissions and facilitating timely discharge from hospital. This briefing presents analysis from the Networked Data Lab (NDL). Led by the Health Foundation, the NDL is a network of five analytical teams across England, Scotland and Wales. These teams accessed, linked and analysed local data sources to explore access to and journeys through intermediate care services.

• Briefing
• The Health Foundation - publications

Healthcare provision in prisons: continuity of care

Health Services Safety Investigations Body -
This report raises concerns over female prisoners privacy and dignity after an investigation found they are often taken to outpatient appointments by male prison officers. The finding came during a wider investigation exploring how prisons maintain continuity of care, both for internal (GP, dentist) and outpatient (hospital, specialist clinic) appointments.

• Report
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body - news

Maternity survey 2024

Care Quality Commission -
This survey looked at the experiences of pregnant women and new mothers who used NHS maternity services in 2024. It shows some areas of improvement over the past year, particularly regarding access to mental health support during pregnancy. However, there remain other aspects of maternity care where people report a poorer experience and where analysis indicates a longer term decline in positive feedback over time, including communication during labour and birth, information provided during care in hospital after birth and involvement in postnatal care.

• Survey results
• Care Quality Commission - press release

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

 

Knowledge is power: a survey of 2,000 UK adults using the Ipsos Knowledge Panel

Patient Information Forum -
This report contains research into health information access across the UK. It aims to offer insights on information access, trusted sources, communication with healthcare professionals and the impact of misinformation. It is based on a cross-sectional, nationally-representative survey of 2,003 adults in the UK from May to June 2024 using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel. It reveals the demand for the NHS to signpost trusted information and wide support for the verification of health information.

• Report
• Patient Information Forum - publications

Mental health inpatient settings: out of area placements

Health Services Safety Investigations Body -
This report finds that patients experience harm with the continued use of out of area placements for their mental health inpatient care. It explored what drives the need for out of area placements, and the impact on patients and families when they are placed far from their homes.

• Report
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body - news

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