An update from SWF Health & Social Care Group

Posted on by swfhealthsocial

We have been very grateful to Focus for keeping going during and after the pandemic. The move to monthly issues will make it much harder for us to keep readers not online up to date with key public health information. Please pass this on to anyone you know who won’t see it digitally. We welcome ideas about how to keep people not online informed. The final paragraph below gives  contact details. We will continue as best we can in the monthly issues of Focus.

The Government has launched its national consultation Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future . Full details are at NHS England » Change NHS: help build a health service fit for the future . Everyone is encouraged to contribute and there’s an online survey to start this off. In November a ‘workshop in a box’ will be provided to enable SWF Health & Social Care Group to run our own public engagement event for the Town as part of the consultation’s local engagement programme. This is described as a ‘once in a generation opportunity to set the NHS on a path for the future’.

We now know that the Budget has brought a significant boost of funding to the NHS. The NHS recognises this must be accompanied by fundamental reforms to increase productivity. 

Key points per NHS Confederation

  • The Chancellor announced a £22 billion increase in total health and social care revenue and capital funding as part of a two-phased Spending Review.
  • NHS England’s ring-fenced revenue budget will increase by 4.7 per cent this year to £181.4 bn and then another 3.3 per cent next year to £192 billion. The overall health and care budget, from which NHS England may be given further money take forward activity such as bring down elective waiting lists, will increase by a smaller 3.8 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
  • While the Chancellor said this funding would go towards funding ‘day-to-day’ NHS budget, this front-loading is, in part, to pay for previously unfunded commitments such as pay deals (estimated by the Nuffield Trust before the Budget to be around £4.8 billion) and funding existing deficits. It is not yet clear how much health leaders will be able to spend on frontline service improvements. 
  • The health and social care capital budget will increase by 9.8 per cent and 12.1 per cent (or £3.1 billion overall) this year and next. This is a big step towards our overall ask for more than £6.4 billion per year in phase 2 of the Spending Review and will help the NHS meet its annual 2 per cent productivity goal. However, this extra money cannot alone help fix the NHS capital process and the overall system requires reform to make it easier to plan and spend capital projects. 
  • HM Treasury appears to have made an allowance for public sector bodies in its employer national insurance calculations, however, we have approached the Treasury for confirmation on the exact impact for NHS employers or its overall impact on the net NHS funding increase. 

The key roles of GPs and pharmacies as the primary providers of community healthcare must be recognised and increased, not diminished.

Using Freedom of Information requests Essex Live News reported on 27 October that

the worst time to visit A&E in Mid & South Essex Hospitals, when they are attheir busiest and when waiting times will likely be the longest, on average is between 11 a.m. and midday. That is when there are most admissions to A&E. 

The new figures come ahead of the winter months with hospitals across the county monitoring the number of elderly patients needing treatment due to the cold in response to the cut to winter fuel allowance for pensioners.

Based on figures obtained between January 2019 and August 2024, there were an average of 67 admissions to A&E at Broomfield, Basildon and Southend hospital A&E departments between 11am and 2pm Monday to Sunday. That’s compared to just 21 admissions between the hours of 11pm and 2am.

At Mid and South Essex NHS hospitals, there were an average of 81 admissions between 11am and noon on a Monday morning – the most across any day and any hour-long period.

The average time to triage patients in the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust’s emergency departments (EDs) in August was seven minutes. Hospital bosses know the key periods where their departments are busiest and ensure they have the right amount of staff and skill mix to support the number of patients coming through the door.

Staff make use of Same Day Emergency Care units which reduces impact on the EDs and supports with admission avoidance. They also continue work to improve the flow of patients into hospital and the discharge of patients out of hospital, including revising their emergency care pathways and working with their wider health and care system.

Neighbourhood Health Centres are being trialled, bringing primary medical care together with a wide range of other services including dental, sexual health, urgent care and diagnostics.

Recent reports of buses not turning up in SWF as timetabled led to people missing hospital appointments. It was heartening to read that some of our District and County Councillors are trying to get other bus services re-routed to include SWF. In 2025 our group is looking to undertake another of our research projects into accessibility to all medical services in our area.

UKHSA, the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England have launched their “Get Winter Strong” campaign. Everyone is encouraged to ‘Smash’ and ‘Wallop’ flu and COVID-19 this winter. The latest National COVID-19, Flu & RSV surveillance report says:

  • COVID-19 activity remained stable or decreased slightly across most indicators and was at low levels
  • Influenza activity increased slightly across some indicators but remained at low levels
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) remained low overall with increasing activity across most indicators and more pronounced increases in those aged below 5 years of age
  • COVID-19 hospitalisations decreased to 3.91 per 100,000 compared to 4.40 in the previous week
  • COVID-19 ICU admissions increased to 0.13 per 100,000 compared with 0.11 in the previous week
  • 53 COVID-19 acute respiratory incidents were reported
  • Positivity rates were highest in those aged 85 or more years,
  • Those aged 85 years and over had the highest hospital admission rate
  • Up to the end of the week, 15.9% of those under 65 years in a clinical risk group and 43.5% of all people aged over 65 years old, who are living and resident in England had been vaccinated with an Autumn 2024 booster dose.
  • Influenza positivity increased to 2.7% based on a percentage of people who test positive among those with symptoms.
  • Overall, influenza hospitalisations decreased to 0.70 per 100,000, compared with 0.76 in the previous week.
  • Vaccine uptake against flu stands at 25.7% of those under 65 years in a clinical risk group, 24.6% in all pregnant women and 57.3% in all those aged 65 years and over. 29.9% of children aged 2 years of age and 30.1% of children aged 3 years of age have been vaccinated.
  • As of 22 October, children aged 5 to 14 years have a higher rate of confirmed flu cases than any other age group.
  • All school-aged children, up to and including year 11, are eligible for a free nasal spray flu vaccine. The vaccine usually produces a better immune response in children and evidence from last year’s flu season shows strong effectiveness for children in England with a 54% reduction in hospitalisation for those between 2 and 17 years of age.
  • Parents are strongly advised to ensure they sign and return consent forms on time so their children do not miss out. 
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) activity increased across most indicators whilst  remaining at low levels.
  • Emergency department attendances for acute bronchiolitis increased nationally.
  • RSV positivity increased to 5.2% compared with 3.2% in the previous week.
  • Overall, hospital admissions increased to 1.26 per 100,000 compared with 0.88.

There have been significant increases in RSV activity, particularly among those aged 5 years and under. This is expected to continue in the coming weeks.

Vaccinations are offered against flu, COVID-19 and RSV and we urge those eligible to take up the vaccines ahead of the peak season to ensure they are protected heading into the winter months.

Norovirus activity between 7 October to 20 October was 41% higher than the previous 2-week period. Total reports were more than double the 5-season average for the same 2-week period. Norovirus symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea but can also include a high temperature, abdominal pain and aching limbs. Norovirus infections can cause dehydration, especially in vulnerable groups such as young children and older or immunocompromised people, so if you do get ill it is important to drink plenty of fluids during that time and to isolate. 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/