£4bn ‘unusable’ PPE to be burnt ‘for power’ as modern slavery probe ongoing
The Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC) lost 75 per cent of the £12 billion it spent on personal protective equipment (PPE) in the first year of the pandemic to inflated prices and kit that did not meet requirements. This included £4 billion of PPE that will not be used in the NHS and […]
PMQs: PM comes under fire for ‘wanting and inadequate’ NHS
During prime minister’s questions, Boris Johnson came under pressure from Labour leader Keir Starmer on the state of the NHS. Meanwhile, the PM’s unpopularity on both sides of the House of Commons remained a theme. Starmer referred to the large reception received by Johnson as he walked into the House, telling the House, “I couldn’t make […]
Government ‘unlawful’ for discharging Covid patients into care homes
The High Court has ruled that the Government broke the law by failing to protect 20,000 care home residents who died of Covid-19. Judges said the government policy of discharging patients to care homes from hospitals during the initial Covid-19 pandemic was “unlawful”. Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Garnham ruled that the policies, detailed […]
It is shocking that LGBTQI+ couples do not have equal access to IVF treatment
Starting a family for any couple is an exciting new adventure, but for LGBTQI+ couples it is a hugely costly process, both financially and emotionally. Dubbed the LGBTQI+ fertility tax, it is significantly harder for a lesbian, bi-women or some trans people in a same-sex relationship to access NHS fertility treatment even though they are […]
Nationalising GPs is not the solution to an overwhelmed NHS
Speculation has recently arisen over the “nationalisation of general practice” after a letter leaked to the Times stated that health secretary Sajid Javid is planning “an independent review of the future of primary care”, to look at “workforce, business models and how GPs work with the other parts of the NHS such as hospitals”. GPs […]
NHS backlog to ‘get worse before it gets better’, admits health secretary
Health secretary Sajid Javid has warned that the NHS backlog could worsen before improvements are made, ahead of the delayed publication of the government’s recovery plan. This morning Javid told Sky News that the threat of the omicron variant had delayed the plans, amid claims tension between Boris Johnson and the Treasury were to blame. […]
Beveridge’s legacy eight decades on
The historical context Amidst the emergency of World War Two, in 1942 the social reformer Sir William Beveridge proposed a wide-ranging bipartisan agenda for welfare reform that offered glimpses of a brighter domestic future for the war-weary population once the prolonged conflict was over. 2022 marks eighty years since the Beveridge Report was published, a […]
5.8 million NHS appointment backlog could double by 2025, warn MPs
Government plans to deal with a record 5.8 million waiting list for elective care risk being overturned by a crisis in emergency care. The Health and social care committee’s report on clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic finds that the elective recovery plans are threatened by pressure on emergency care with a record number […]
Covid passports pass despite Conservative rebellion
“Scientists have never seen a covid-19 variant that’s capable of spreading so rapidly.”
Hunt urges govt to redirect ‘counterproductive’ NHS spending toward training
Chair of the health and social care committee Jeremy Hunt, whose amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill is set to be debated by MPs this afternoon, has said the current investment in the NHS is “counterproductive” due to its lack of long-term strategy for training. The former health secretary’s amendment proposes that the […]
