STOP PRESS! According to the BBC on Saturday 21 June, the NHS plans to DNA test all babies to assess disease risk. Every newborn baby in England will have their DNA mapped to assess their risk of hundreds of diseases, under NHS plans for the next 10 years. The scheme is part of a government drive towards predicting and preventing illness, which will also see £650m invested in DNA research for all patients by 2030.
Gene technology would enable the health service to “leapfrog disease, so we’re in front of it rather than reacting to it”. The government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, which is set to be revealed over the next few weeks, is aimed at easing pressure on services. Genomics – the study of genes – and AI would be used to “revolutionise prevention” and provide faster diagnoses and an “early warning signal for disease”.
Screening newborn babies for rare diseases will involve sequencing their complete DNA using blood samples from their umbilical cord, taken shortly after birth. There are approximately 7,000 single gene disorders.
The health secretary said in a statement: “With the power of this new technology, patients will be able to receive personalised healthcare to prevent ill-health before symptoms begin, reducing the pressure on NHS services and helping people live longer, healthier lives.”
Streeting added: “The revolution in medical science means that we can transform the NHS over the coming decade, from a service which diagnoses and treats ill-health to one that predicts and prevents it.”
Funding for the new initiative will also support efforts by Genomics England to build one of the world’s largest research databases, with the goal of containing over 500,000 genomes by 2030.
The House of Commons vote approving the Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill to legalise assisted dying is one of the most significant social shifts in decades. The House of Lords will now scrutinise the Bill very carefully where it has many members with expert knowledge and experience to shine on the proposals. Given the freedom for votes in both Houses perhaps this will provide an opportunity to address the issues raised about the quality of the draft legislation before it is finalised?
The waiting list for routine hospital treatments fell by another 30,000 in April, to the lowest level for 2 years. The downward trend continues, but the waiting list stood at 7.39million cases, 6.23million patients, at the start of May. Over 4million patients are waiting up to 18 weeks. Around 3million patients have been waiting between 18 weeks and a year. Around 190,000 patients have been waiting over a year. There is a very long way to go.
Measles outbreaks continue with risk of holidays causing surge
| There are ongoing measles outbreaks in a number of regions in England, with 109 confirmed cases in April and 86 so far in May. The ongoing outbreaks have primarily affected unvaccinated children under 10, with London accounting for nearly half of all cases in the past month. UKHSA is warning that the upcoming summer travel season could trigger a new surge in cases, as families visit countries experiencing their own measles outbreaks. This comes amid a significant global increase, with European cases already double the number reported last year – the highest since 1997. Parents are urged to check their children’s vaccination records and ensure they’ve received both doses of the MMR vaccine, which is free on the NHS. It’s never too late to catch up on missed vaccinations. |
| With the emergence of the NB.1.8.1 COVID-19 variant – sometimes referred to as the Nimbus variant – some people are asking how this new lineage – or group of genetically similar viruses – compares to other variants. It’s normal for viruses to mutate and change over time. UKHSA is monitoring all available data relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants in the UK and abroad. NB.1.8.1 has been detected in small numbers in the UK to date, but international data suggests that it is growing as a proportion of all COVID-19 cases. Based on the available information so far, there is no evidence to suggest that this variant causes more severe disease than previous variants, or that the vaccines in current use will be less effective against it. |
At the last meeting in public of the Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Partnership on 11 June 2025 we asked the following question:
Q: Integration is a crucial aspect of the present care system. With the onset of a larger ICS (Integrated Care System), perhaps for Greater Essex, integration throughout the partnerships will be even more important. The development of the Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) and maturing of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) delivers involvement and integration at reasonably local levels. But there will be a gulf between them and the new ICP (Integrated Care Partnership). At present the Alliances/Places bridge that gap. Will that continue, and how?
Answer read out by Tom Abell, Chief Executive Officer at Mid and South Essex (MSE) ICB:
“Thank you for your question. As set out in NHS England’s Model ICB [Integrated Care Board] blueprint, the future of ICS arrangements will place greater emphasis on neighbourhood commissioning, with a strong focus on prevention, tackling health inequalities, and delivering more care closer to where people live.
While the specific design of a potential Greater Essex ICS is still being developed, we do know that Primary Care Networks and Integrated Neighbourhood Teams already play a vital role in delivering care at a local level, and their role will only grow in importance.
We anticipate that local partnerships will continue to play a key role in ensuring local needs are represented and integrated into the wider system.”
Enormous changes are going on. NHS England is being rolled into the Department of Health & Social Care. ICSs are being cut by 50% of budget and resources, mainly by staff cuts. and enlarged by October. When get a Greater Essex ICS/ICB/ICP we will need an integration bridge between the giant ICS and the small INTs and PCNs. At present there are 4 Alliances in MSE + 1 each in North East and North West Essex. They are aligned with existing district authorities but those will be altered by devolution. Will just 3, 4 or 5 such new district unitary authorities being bigger than the present Alliance areas, do the job? If bigger where will SWF live (at present in the Mid Alliance of Braintree, Chelmsford and Maldon Councils)? Sounds confusing? We just want smooth pathways for our care as patients and service users. We will continue to do our best to represent you and get the best for you whatever the system!
The report of our independent academic survey about accessibility to healthcare services in the SWF, Dengie & Maldon Integrated Neighbourhood Team area has been finished and submitted to Warwick Medical School. It will be published shortly. It seems to highlight that only a monopoly can get away with it being so difficult for its users to access its services.
At June’s carers group meeting we discussed what welfare related activities we’d like to see started/restarted in and for the Town. The relatively new SWF Community Hub is designed to provide a venue for such things. Amongst the ideas suggested are: a Dementia Café for patients and carers which was considered at a meeting this week and plans for this are now being made; an accessibility group to be able to advocate for people with special needs; a mental health drop-in group. It might be good to resurrect the ‘No Need to be Lonely Group’? Please do let us have your ideas of what you’d like as SWF is not well served with such things.
Working Group Recommendations for Community Health Services include investing to keep St Peter’s Hospital, Maldon operational for five years while funding is assembled for a purpose-built new facility, ideally on the current site. Continuity of services is exactly as we recommended. The necessary NHS business plan is being developed for July. In April performance for Broomfield, Basildon and Southend Hospitals was:
- 66.9% (68% in March) patients were seen within four hours in our emergency departments
- 36 minutes (33 minutes in March) is the average time for ambulances to hand over patients, compared to 32 minutes in the East of England and 43 minutes nationally
- 65.5% (68.1 % in March) patients received cancer diagnosis results within 28 days
Millions receive help from NHS high street pharmacies – More than 5 million patients have received help from high street pharmacies for minor illnesses, as the NHS brings care closer to people’s homes, reports NHS England.
| New data from UKHSA shows the flu vaccine prevented between 96,000 and 120,200 hospitalisations in England during last winter’s severe flu season. The figures reveal a mixed picture of vaccine uptake across different groups. While there was record uptake among secondary school children and high coverage in those aged 65 and over (nearly reaching the World Health Organization’s 75% target), concerning declines were observed in young children, primary school pupils and people with long-term health conditions. The statistics show that many vulnerable individuals who declined vaccination ended up seriously ill in hospital unnecessarily. Vaccination remains our strongest defence against flu and UKHSA continues to work with partners to develop initiatives to boost vaccine uptake. |
UKHSA has published the latest data on sexually transmitted infections. The data shows:
- Syphilis cases continue to rise
- Gonorrhoea cases fell but too soon to tell whether trend will continue
- Concerning jump in antibiotic resistant strains of gonorrhoea, with more diagnoses of ceftriaxone resistant gonorrhoea to date in 2025 than the whole of last year
Despite the declines in some STIs, cases still remain high and STIs continue to significantly impact young people aged 15 to 24 years; gay and bisexual men; and some minority ethnic groups.
UKHSA is reminding everyone having sex with new or casual partners to use a condom and get tested regularly, whatever their age or sexual orientation. STI testing is free and confidential and can be accessed through local sexual health clinics, university and college medical centres or through self-sampling kits sent discreetly through the post.
Specialist mental health crisis centres will be opened across England over the next decade to reduce crowding in accident and emergency departments. Ten hospital trusts have been piloting new assessment centres to deal with people experiencing a mental health crisis. The aim is to get these patients into appropriate care in a calm environment, avoiding long waits in A&E. This will reduce overcrowding in hospitals and relieve pressure on emergency services, including the police. The scheme is expected to be expanded nationally to “dozens of locations”, the government said, as part of its 10-year NHS plan. These clinics will be open to walk-in patients as well as those referred by GPs and police, with specialist staff present to treat people in acute mental distress. More Public Health news is on our website and in our 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.
SWF Health & Social Care Group 