Following careful review of all feedback and the evidence presented, on 17 July NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (MSE ICB) approved the following:

Summary of key decisions:  

• Community outpatient and ambulatory care services at St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon will remain for up to five years while local NHS works to develop a new local health hub. 
• A split-site stroke rehabilitation model will be introduced to improve access and reduce travel burden, with services based in Rochford and Brentwood. 
• The freestanding midwife-led birthing unit previously at St Peter’s will be permanently relocated to Braintree, with antenatal and postnatal outpatient care remaining in Maldon.

The decisions reached reflect the ambition to improve health services for everyone who lives in mid and south Essex.  MSE ICB listened carefully to feedback received on these proposals, and thanked everyone involved, including the members of the community and the staff involved who gave up their time to give their views, which have informed these decisions.   

There will be a period of implementation, during which staff and local communities will be actively involved as their expertise will be critical in ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients are delivered by these changes. The Decision-Making Business Case on community services in mid and south Essex and accompanying papers are at:

mid and south Essex and accompanying papers are at:

The first death in the UK from measles for over a decade, in Liverpool, has sent shockwaves around the country. Despite recent warnings the dangerous decline in MMR vaccination rates continues. Several seriously ill children are in Merseyside hospitals. Public health experts fear a potential outbreak could “spread like wildfire” across Merseyside. 95% vaccination uptake is the threshold for herd immunity (World Health Organisation). England’s present rate is 84%, with the lowest uptake in the London area being under 73%. Please get full vaccinations for measles and all other serious conditions as we are seeing increases in so many life-threatening illnesses because of reduced immunity.

Resident (sic) – previously Junior – Doctors have announced strike dates in England from 0700 on Friday 25 July to 0700 on Wednesday 30 July 2025. Both the BMA (British Medical Association) and the Health & Social Care Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, said talks on 17 July to try to avert strike action were “constructive”. It appears unlikely the Government will move on pay but may offer other solutions to tackle the cost of living for Resident Doctors.

‘Resident’ may be a misnomer for ‘Junior’ doctors if they do strike again. Polls already suggest they don’t have patient and public support this time. This strike should not take place. The joint priority must be working hard to deliver the necessary changes set out in the NHS 10-year plan.

The 10 Year Health Plan for England sets out steps to make the NHS fit for the future. We hope it will work. The three ‘shifts’ are: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from treatment to prevention. These are welcome. Delivering as much as possible locally is a reminder of the 2008 plan; let’s hope it is delivered this time. We must remember that the oldest, frailest patients are more analogue users than digital users. Prevention is definitely preferable to cure. Our full article about the Plan, the local implications from it, what the Government has said about it, and the King’s Fund’s analysis is at: https://swfhealthsocial.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/nhs-10-year-plan-july-2025.pdf .

Independent academic report into “Accessibility to Healthcare Services in South Woodham Ferrers (SWF), the Dengie & Maldon” published by SWF Health & Social Care Group

Read the full report at accessibility-to-healthcare-services-report-swf-hscg-warwick-medical-school-vf.pdf . Details of the challenges of accessibility from places in the area to get to the three local acute hospital services are in Appendix 7 to the Report.

The waiting list for routine hospital treatments fell by another 30,000 to 7.36m, the lowest level since March 2023. 60.9% were waiting 18 weeks or less for planned care, the highest proportion since July 2022. What a very long way still to go. But good that progress is being made – we earnestly hope that won’t be damaged by a strike by Resident Doctors.

On average, 75,009 planned treatments were delivered each working day in May – the highest number on record – with a total of 1.5m treatments across the month (up on 1.45m in April and higher than 1,437,914 in May 2019, pre-pandemic).

The busiest May ever saw 2.5m tests & checks carried out (up 23% on 2m in May 2019).

June was the busiest month ever for A&Es with average daily attendances of over 78,300; despite this, the highest proportion of patients were seen within 4 hours since August 2024 (75.5%) and it was the best June performance since 2021.

Ambulance services also faced the busiest June since 2021 with 759,635 incidents, teams reached patients faster with category 1 response times 26 seconds quicker on average than June 2024 at 7:55, and category 2 responses 5 minutes faster than last year at 29:37.

Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs), who assist doctors in GP surgeries and hospitals, should be known as “Assistants” to avoid confusing patients, an independent review says.

The review recommends Physician Associates should:

• be renamed “Physician Assistants” to reflect their supportive role in medical teams
• not see new patients in primary or emergency care until they have been triaged and deemed to have a minor ailment
• have at least two years’ hospital experience before working in a GP surgery or mental health trust
• be part of a team led by a senior doctor
• wear badges, lanyards and clothing to set them apart from doctors

Anaesthesia Associates should be renamed “Physician Assistants in Anaesthesia” or PAAs.

In addition, patients should be given clear information about the role of a PA and there should be a faculty to represent PAs and set standards for training.

“Physician Assistants, as they will now be known, will continue to play an important role in the NHS. They should assist doctors but they should never be used to replace doctors.”

Cases of Salmonella and Campylobacter are the highest in a decade after another significant increase in the last year. Diarrhoea and vomiting bugs spread easily. These infections are usually caught from contaminated food, including poultry meat, eggs, raw fruit or vegetables and unpasteurised milk products. Infections also spread with close contact and cross-contamination in the kitchen, for example when utensils are used for both cooked and uncooked foods. Follow the 4Cs when preparing food to protect everyone from food poisoning:

• cook food correctly following guidance on time and temperature
• chill food below 5*
• clean equipment and surfaces thoroughly
• avoid cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods via re-useable bags, knives, chopping boards, cloths and work surfaces.
• Use food and drink by ‘use by date’
• Good personal hygiene is essential.

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 map their 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 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 Department of Health & Social Care has accepted the advice of the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation) 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.

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.
https://swfhealthsocial.co.uk/