Asthma is now so common that in every classroom there will be, on average, at least two children who have the condition. But such familiarity seems to have bred complacency. In 2014 the National Review of Asthma Deaths: Why Asthma Still Kills warned not enough was being done to reduce unnecessary admissions and deaths. The findings were shocking, but perhaps not surprising.
The role of the key worker for children with cancer has been much talked about over the years. Back in 2005, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended the post be used to co-ordinate care in recognition of the complexities involved for children, parents and professionals
Ten years ago the UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC) was established to improve outcomes for people diagnosed with the disease. In this respect, it seems to have succeeded because one-year and five-year survival rates have increased
Hospital staff are bracing themselves for a surge in emergency admissions this winter, but a new report claims the effect of the rise could be mitigated if financial savings are made elsewhere in the NHS
Arguably, the greatest challenge faced by the UK’s health and care sectors in the 21st century is trying to meet the needs of the country’s ageing population. However, if a report by Age UK is accurate, services in England are failing to meet them.
The NHS could not be better prepared for winter. At least that was the message when the Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England launched their Stay Well This Winter campaign.
News that the British Medical Association has agreed to renegotiate the clause in consultants’ contracts that allows them to opt out of non-emergency weekend duties makes seven-day services in the NHS even more likely
When the Cancer Drugs Fund was launched in 2010, it was hailed as the solution to getting patients access to innovative drugs. It has since become a fixture in the health service in England.
The recently rejected bill on legalising assisted dying has triggered passionate debate, says Nick Triggle
Creating a seven-day NHS has emerged as one of the key health issues since the general election. And now that the doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, has agreed to discuss how the consultant contract could be altered – it allows consultants to opt out of non-emergency care at weekends – change seems likely
Hospital care for children and young people is good, but ‘worrying’ gaps remain in how some of the most vulnerable are treated, according to the first official national children’s survey
Much has been made by government and policymakers of the need for the NHS to become efficient in return for the extra investment being made during this parliament. But there is another element that NHS England’s Five-Year Forward View flagged up last year – the need for people to live healthier lives