NHS England is being axed

On 13 March the Prime Minister announced that NHS England will be abolished. The organisation which oversees England’s health service will be brought into the Department of Health. This brings England’s NHS back under “democratic control” and is designed to free up more money for frontline services. This process is expected to take around two years and will see 50% of the 14,400 NHS England staff and the 3,500 Department of Health staff go. The organisational changes to make this work are being developed.

This is a bold move which gives the government more control and accountability for the promised service improvements. It removes what has been described as “the world’s largest quango”. Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s Chief Executive, had already announced she will leave that role at the end of March 2025. That has now been followed by the news last week that NHS England’s National Medical Director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, will be stepping down. And NHSE announced this morning that our Chief Financial Officer, Julian Kelly, Chief Operating Officer, Dame Emily Lawson, and Chief Delivery Officer, Steve Russell, have informed the Board and their teams that they will also stand down in the coming weeks.

They lead; others will follow. All these good people deserve our thanks for all they have done in recent years to steer our NHS through the pandemic and its aftermath. Ms Pritchard says: “Ultimately the NHS exists to give patients the best possible care when they need it. Given the challenging financial context, it is right that we all do everything we can to ensure that the maximum possible amount of taxpayers’ money goes to where it can deliver the biggest impact.”

Sir James Mackey has been appointed Ms Pritchard’s transitional successor and they will work together this month to ensure there’s a smooth and effective handover. We join in thanking Ms Pritchard for all she has done to get NHSE through these terrible times, wish her well for her future and welcome Sir James and wish him well in his new role. And we will continue to do all we can to act as constructive critical friends to support the improvements needed to our health and welfare services.

Thank goodness the Tsunami of winter illnesses seems to be waning but remains high. Recently Norovirus hospital cases reached the highest level since records began in 2014. Three weeks ago an average 1,160 patients a day were in English hospitals with the vomiting bug, double the same period last year. Over 1% of beds were occupied by patients with Norovirus.  Norovirus puts added pressure on hospitals because they must isolate and clean infected wards – nearly 300 empty beds a day were taken out of action because of this.

UKHSA warns of potential second norovirus wave

Most healthy people recover from Norovirus in a few days, but it can cause serious problems in vulnerable people and young children. It spreads very easily – with just a few viral particles needed to infect someone – for example through close contact with someone who has the virus, or by eating food prepared by someone with it. It can also stick around on surfaces so it’s thought likely some patients catch it in hospital. Can you catch Norovirus twice? Yes.

If you have Norovirus

• Stay home and don’t return to work or school until two days after the vomiting and diarrhoea have stopped
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water
• Many household disinfectants don’t work well against the virus and nor do alcohol hand gels
• If you’re concerned – for example if a young child isn’t able to keep fluids down or the illness doesn’t stop after a few days – seek medical advice.

English hospitals recently had their busiest week of this winter. Over 98,000 patients, on average, were in hospital beds each day with 96% of adult beds occupied. The twin pressures of winter viruses and problems discharging patients means hospitals are close to full – even though more beds have been opened to manage increased demand. Rising pressures on hospitals have led to patients facing long delays in A&E and ambulances queuing outside.

We welcome the deal to end the GPs ‘strike’ but must be patient as it will take 6-12 months to see the benefits; there aren’t any magic wands. The Government announced this settlement will enable patients to book more appointments online and request to see their usual doctor under the new contract agreed with England’s GPs. The deal gives an extra £889m a year to general practices, as well as a reduction in red tape and targets, that frees doctors to see more patients. Under the new contract, patients should be able to arrange appointments online throughout working hours, freeing up the phones for those who need them most, and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need. The greater online offer will be to be codified in an online patient charter. The BMA GPs’ committee says this contract is a good start, but more work is needed. The “first signs of green shoots” patients might see following the new agreed measures would include being able to get to know their doctor and local staff and surgeries advertising for more staff. Patients will “potentially” begin to notice a difference in six to 12 months.

English Community pharmacies considering starting to work to rule in two weeks, unless an agreement can be reached on a new NHS contract. Pharmacies have yet to get confirmation of increased funding for this or next financial year. Action could involve reducing opening hours and cutting other services. The government said the move would cause “unnecessary disruption for patients” and a settlement with pharmacies was already being worked on. A pharmacy’s NHS contract accounts for about 90% of its revenue, on average. With increases in National Insurance, the National Living Wage and business rates, from 1 April, pharmacies say the lack of agreement over their contract is causing worry and uncertainty. This reportedly comes after a decade of cuts to funding, which has seen 30 pharmacies close since the start of this year. Our pharmacies have a vital role to play as the NHS shifts away from hospitals and back to the community; we need them more than ever.

The NHS has issued a follow up survey about their 10 year plan consultation at (1) Project: Your priorities for change | Change NHS focusing on patient choice, how to support staff to care for patients, and using technology to improve people’s experiences of the NHS. Please do have a look at this and share your views, so that the eventual plan is shaped by the voices of those who actually use services.

Mid & South Essex Hospitals, Basildon, Broomfield & Southend, had the following performances in January 2025:

• 65.6% patients seen within 4 hours in A&Es
• 43 minutes average time for ambulance handovers of patients, compared to 45 minutes in East of England and 55 minutes nationally
• 68.4% of patients received their cancer diagnosis results within 28 days.

COVID-19, flu and RSV surveillance bulletin (formally Weekly Winter Briefing). Each week, this brings together the latest surveillance data, along with the latest public health advice for COVID-19, flu and RSV. In week 10:

• Influenza activity decreased overall across most indicators and was at low activity levels.
• COVID-19 activity showed a mixed picture across indicators and was circulating at baseline levels.
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) activity decreased across most indicators and was circulating at baseline levels.

14 March marked the 5th anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak declared a pandemic. We are looking into possible ways to mark this in SWF. Over the course of the week the COVID Inquiry is taking evidence relating to the module on procurement.

NHS Dental Care Update: Over 23,500 Urgent Appointments Delivered in Essex

How to access urgent dental care

There are two simple ways to book an urgent out-of-hours dental appointment:

1. Contact your regular dental practice
2. Call NHS 111 for assessment and booking

What’s next?

Over the next two years, they will continue to increase appointment availability with more extended hours to improve access to NHS dental care.

They are also pioneering a new technology solution that enables NHS 111 to book appointments directly into dental practice systems, removing barriers for patients seeking treatment.

Common vaginal ‘imbalance’ may be an STI reports BBC Health

A common vaginal condition known as bacterial vaginosis (BV) may actually be a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to researchers.

The NHS currently says BV is caused by “a change in the natural balance of bacteria in your vagina and is not an STI”, even though it can be triggered by sex.

However, a study, external claims BV – which affects nearly a third of women worldwide and can lead to infertility, premature births and newborn deaths – is spread during intercourse and fits the definition of an STI.

The Australian trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found treating sexual partners, not just the patient, can be vital to clear the infection.

What is BV?

BV is a common cause of unusual vaginal discharge that has a strong fishy smell.

The colour and consistency may change too, such as becoming greyish-white as well as thin and watery.

Half of women with bacterial vaginosis do not have any symptoms though.

Bacterial vaginosis does not usually cause any soreness or itching.

It can be treated with antibiotic tablets or gels or creams.

In the trial of 164 couples with BV, the researchers achieved higher cure rates by treating BV as an STI, with both sexual partners – rather than just the woman – given antibiotics.

The doctors stopped the study early when it became clear that BV recurrence was halved using this approach.

One of the lead researchers, Prof Catriona Bradshaw, said: “Our trial has shown that reinfection from partners is causing a lot of the BV recurrence women experience, and provides evidence that BV is in fact an STI.

“Part of the difficulty in establishing whether BV is sexually transmitted has been that we still don’t know precisely which bacteria are the cause, but advances in genomic sequencing are helping us close in on that mystery,” she added.

In the study, run by Monash University and Alfred Health researchers at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, half of the men got an oral antibiotic and a topical antibiotic cream to apply to the skin for one week, while the control group of men were given no treatment.

Given the findings, the clinic has now changed its clinical practice to routinely treat both partners.

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV said the findings provided “valuable evidence supporting what has long been suspected – that BV-associated bacteria may be sexually transmitted, particularly in those who experience recurrent infections”.

“This research enhances our understanding of BV and offers promising insights that may help to guide treatment approaches in more persistent cases,” said a spokesperson.

If you have symptoms of an STI or concerns about BV, visit your doctor or local sexual health clinic.

Ahead of World TB Day on 24 March, UKHSA is warning of an increase in Tuberculosis (TB) cases in England.

Provisional data published earlier in the year shows cases rose by 13% in 2024, making it a serious public health threat. 81.5% of all TB notifications in 2024 were in people born outside the UK, but there was an increase in both UK-born and non UK-born populations. TB can have a serious impact on health and can often be misdiagnosed as other illness (including COVID-19).

In response to the rise in cases and the increasing public health risk this presents, UKHSA is urging stakeholders who work with groups more at risk of TB to be aware of the signs and symptoms and promote awareness of the disease amongst these groups.

Whole genome sequencing service launched to help tackle hepatitis C

Public health news is on our website and in weekly e-newsletters. SWF Library provides online services and help with internet access. For health & welfare information and subscription to our newsletter, email swfhealthsocial@outlook.com , or leave voicemails on 01245 322079.

https://swfhealthsocial.co.uk/