Number of repeat prescriptions ordered via NHS App up by 92% in the last year

More than 500,000 repeat prescriptions are now booked through the NHS App every week. New figures released by NHS England show that since the NHS App’s launch in December 2018, more than 42 million repeat prescriptions have been ordered through the app.

Tackling the crisis in general practice

The Health Foundation’s report on the Commonwealth Fund’s 2022 international health policy survey of primary care physicians in 10 countries makes for sobering reading.1 Illustrating some worrying trends, its standout findings include rising workloads, higher levels of burnout, and worsening job satisfaction. Strikingly, UK general practitioners score lowest of all countries in terms of satisfaction with the amount of time they spend with patients. Most (71%) find their work extremely or very st

NHS progress on waiting list despite busiest winter on record

The number of people waiting longest for elective treatment has dropped for the third month in a row as services dealt with the busiest winter on record, new figures show. The NHS has continued to progress against its elective recovery plan, with the number of people waiting more than 18 months for elective care dropping by a third between January and February to 30,000 (29,778), while the number of patients waiting more than one year dropped by 17,000 to 362,498.

Health Education England and NHS England complete merger

NHS England and Health Education England have legally merged to create a new, single organisation to lead the NHS in England. This follows the merger of NHS Digital and NHS England on the 1 February 2023, and brings the NHS’ people, skills, digital, data and technology expertise together into one national organisation to deliver high-quality services for all in England.

Leaked NHS workforce plan predicts worsening staffing crisis

Without significant investment in training and recruitment there could be as many as 44,000 fewer community nurses working in the NHS in England by 2036, according to details of a workforce plan leaked to the media over the weekend.

NHS rolls out specialist medical care centres for women during pregnancy

Pregnant women with serious medical problems will now have access to specialist treatment centres across the country. The 17 new centres of excellence will help women with pre-existing medical conditions, or conditions that arise during pregnancy to quickly get the extra care they might need.