A taskforce will urgently review maternity and neonatal services in ten hospital trusts, including our hospitals at Broomfield, Basildon and Southend, alongside immediate actions to improve care. By December 2025 it will recommend further improvements and inform a new national maternity and neonatal action plan.
The NHS plans in the next ten years to DNA test all English babies to maptheir DNA and assess their risk of hundreds of diseases. This is part of a drive towards predicting and preventing illness. £650m will be invested in DNA research for all patients by 2030.
The House of Commons vote approving the Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill to legalise assisted dying is a highly significant social shift. The House of Lords with its many experts will scrutinise the Bill carefully. Perhaps this will provide an opportunity to address the issues raised about the draft legislation before it’s finalised.
The waiting list for routine hospital treatments fell by another 30,000 in April, to the lowest level for 2 years. On 1 May the waiting list was 7.39million cases, 6.23m patients. 4m+ patients are waiting up to 18 weeks. Around 3m patients are waiting between 18 weeks and a year. Around 190,000 patients have been waiting over a year. What a very long way still to go.
The new Nimbus Covid variant arrives as the usual summer increase in infections has begun. Local people are getting Covid badly. So far, there’s no evidence to suggest this variant is more severe than previous variants, or that current vaccines will be less effective against it.
The UKHSA says that the 2025 free COVID-19 Autumn Booster vaccination will be offered to:
- adults aged 75+ years
- residents in care homes for older adults
- individuals who are immunosuppressed aged 6 months and over
This is a change from autumn 2024, when adults aged 65-74 and all those aged 6 months and over in a clinical risk group were included.
Our independent academic report about accessibility to healthcare services in the SWF, Dengie & Maldon area will be published on our website in the next few days. It reflects the difficulties patients and carers have accessing health and welfare services.
Recent discussions have been held about what additional welfare-related activities we’d like to see started/restarted for Townsfolk. Amongst the activities being considered are: a dementia café, a mental health café, therapeutic crafts, and cultural activities. Please tell us what you’d like to help SWF with more health and welfare activities.
Specialist English mental health hospital crisis centres will open during the next decade. Ten hospital trusts are piloting new assessment centres for people experiencing a mental health crisis. Patients get appropriate calm care and avoid long A&E waits; hospital overcrowding and pressure on the police reduce . The scheme is expected to expand as part of the 10-year NHS plan.
NHS England says more than 5million patients have been helped by high-street pharmacies for minor illnesses, bringing care closer to people’s homes. An SWF pharmacy is dispensing 30% more prescriptions than at the end of Covid.
More Public Health news is on our website and in our weekly e-newsletters. SWF Library provides online services and helps with internet access. For welfare information and subscription to our newsletter, email swfhealthsocial@outlook.com , or leave voicemails on 01245 322079.