Today the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced of intention to bring the NHS’ IT system "into the 21st Century". Writing in the Telegraph (paywall), and speaking on BBC Radio 4, the Minister claimed the government would be aiming for the NHS’ IT system to become capable of total interoperability in the future. According to the Minister, a total system of interoperability …

The Chair of NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Dr Wirin Bhatiani, recently criticised the allocation of funding within the NHS. His comments at a board meeting were reported by Bolton News. Dr Bhatiani said: "90 per cent of contacts are happening in primary care but not 90 per cent of investment. "There is an imbalance, this is a national …

Today the National Health Action (NHA) Party called on NHS England to adopt a waiting time target for secondary and follow up appointments for talking therapies, as part of its programme for Improved Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT). The announcement came after it was revealed that St Helens CCG had a 100% success rate of ensuring that no patients referred …

Today government tensions have come to the fore after Theresa May rebuked Philip Hammond for claiming that a no-deal Brexit would result in an £80bn blackhole in the public finances. The rebuke is another exercise by the Prime Minister in placating the 60 hardline Conservative Brexiteers gathered around the European Research Group (ERG). And yet again it demonstrates that Theresa …

By Kane Shaw, Press and Media Officer  A recent report by the Guardian - drawing on the work of the NHS Support Federation -  has been making waves, after it revealed Richard Branson’s Virgin Care has scooped up to £2bn worth of public contracts, in the NHS, over the last few years. The report states the company managed to obtain …

Today the government has announced as part of its Rough Sleeping Strategy that it will be making £100m available to stem the rising tide of rough sleeping across England – which has increased substantially since 2009 - and that it aims to eradicate rough sleeping by 2027. Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire MP, has stated that half of the fund is …

By Kane Shaw, Press Officer to the National Health Action Party Today the Daily Mirror has reported that Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – located in the newly appointed Brexit Secretary’s constituency – has released an internal document  claiming Brexit has the capacity to negatively affect the entirety of the Trust’s services. The document contests Theresa May’s claim that the …

The NHA Party has today expressed grave concerns over the safety of a mobile healthcare app produced by Babylon Healthcare. This follows news that doctors testing the Babylon app found it was unable to correctly diagnose common and serious conditions such as a heart attack, ectopic pregnancy, meningitis, and acute limb ischaemia. The NHA Party previously welcomed news that  a …

Breaking news: following Boris Johnson's resignation from the 'Brexit cabinet', we are told that Jeremy Hunt has been shuffled into the Foreign Secretary role and will be replaced as Health Secretary by Matt Hancock. Conservative policy has stifled effective health and social care provision for nearly a decade. We know very well that it isn't just Jeremy Hunt who is …

Despite the government’s recent announcement that the NHS can expect a year-on-year funding increase of 3.3% - supposedly being paid for in part by a Brexit windfall - NHS England have announced plans to cut, or severely restrict, 17 supposedly ineffective treatments. The NHA have previously pointed out, both here and here, that the government’s claims are not to be …