URGENT: Wheelchairs at Crouch Vale Medical Centre are still missing. They seem to have been stolen. One has been donated. If you have a wheelchair that’s no longer needed, please donate or loan it by taking it to the ground floor Reception where they will be accepted gratefully. In future they will be kept in the office so people needing one will have to ask for one. If you’ve used one and accidentally forgotten to return it please do so urgently as patients need them to get to our GPs, and the out-patient sessions on the 1st Floor.
Our virtual public AGM will be held on Thursday 25 September from 1900-2030. If you want to attend please email swfhealthsocial@outlook.com or leave a voicemail on 01245 322079. The agenda and papers will be published on our website between now and 25th .
Latest news:
Students returning to or arriving at universities and other further education institutions are being reminded to ensure they are up to date with their free NHS vaccinations, including for MMR (measles, mumps & rubella), whooping cough, and TB. University freshers should use condoms to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections as STI cases remain high. Gonorrhoea and syphilis remain very high in England. Recent data shows encouraging declines in infectious syphilis cases (dropping from 2,320 to 2,030) and gonorrhoea diagnoses (falling from 18,250 to 15,920). Those aged 15-24 are most infected with more than 350 diagnoses every day in this age group in 2024. STIs are usually easily treated with antibiotics, but many can cause serious health issues if left untreated, including infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease. Testing is free and confidential through sexual health services.
NHS staff delivered a record number of cancer checks and treatments in July, despite 5 days of industrial action. 236,263 people got a cancer diagnosis or the disease ruled out within 28 days in July – meeting the Faster Diagnosis Standard – while 21,633 patients started cancer treatment within 62 days, the highest since the standard was introduced in October 2023.
The number of students taking up nursing degrees in England has risen for the first time since the post-pandemic surge in 2021. The increase is being driven by 11,530) students aged under 25 accepting a place on a nursing degree – 6% higher than in 2024, when 10,850 students were under 25. Overall, 18,640 people have so far accepted a place on an undergraduate nursing degree this year – up 1% on the same period last year. Midwifery degrees have also seen a 3% rise in acceptances so far this year with 3,390 students, compared with 3,290 in 2024. The number of 18 to 24-year-old students increased by 10%, from 2,140 in 2024 to 2,360 in 2025.
This week our Chair, as a Patient Partner, welcomed 160 new entrants to the ARU Medical School in Chelmsford. He encouraged them that when they graduate in 5-years’ time the NHS will be improving and asked them to stay to work in Essex and the UK. His brother in Australia has more than enough ex-NHS staff looking after him there.
RAAC removed from 7 more NHS hospitals. Amongst those hospitals now eradicated of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is our own Broomfield Hospital. Backed by around £440 million in funding this year, a further 12 hospitals are on track to complete removals by the end of March 2026.
The Government is rolling out the first neighbourhood health services in 43 places backed by £10 million. This includes North East Essex and West Essex which will be part of our Greater Essex Integrated Care System from April 2026.
- The services will target working class areas with lowest life expectancy, longest waits and health inequalities.
- Plan for Change sees care shifting from hospitals to the community.
Millions of people will benefit from improved care closer to home. Each of the 43 areas will be allocated a programme lead who will work with existing local services to set up a new neighbourhood health service. GP practices will be the cornerstone, drawing together a range of professions to develop a neighbourhood health team consisting of community nurses, hospital doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, paramedics, social prescribers, local government organisations and the voluntary sector. Neighbourhood health will provide end-to-end care and tailored support, looking beyond the condition at wider causes of health issues, helping to avoid unnecessary trips to hospital, prevent complications and avoid the frustration of being passed around the system. They will initially focus on supporting people with long-term conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, angina, high blood pressure, MS or epilepsy in areas with the high deprivation. As the programme grows, it will expand to support other patients and priority cohorts.
New Covid strain Stratus infections are surging, often with distinctive early warning indicators, an initial symptom that individuals might dismiss rather than recognising it as an ailment. Stratus’ most frequent early warning indicator is a hoarse or gravelly voice, which subsequently gives way to the typical Covid signs like a temperature or a cough.
Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Borad’s meeting in public on 18 September had 337 pages of papers covering huge ranges of subjects. Some highlights:
- 2025-26 winter plans are developing earlier than for previous years. The trouble is the weather and other seasonal factors can’t be predicted in advance.
- Finance, as always, is a major subject: whilst basically on track to break even at the year end, there was concern about an unexpected month 4 deficit of £7.1m.
- The recent ‘league table’ (see next para) of the performance of NHS trusts has raised a number of questions. Our hospital trust is rated at Level 4 (Level 1 being the top and Level 4 the bottom), 123rd out of 133 acute trusts, but cannot be higher than Level 3 because any trust not in a good financial position cannot be higher than Level 3 despite however good its clinical performance may be.
- Like many others, our hospitals and ambulances do not meet present performance targets, but how much are we patients and public concerned about financial aspects? Do we ‘just’ judge performance by the way we are treated? Are the financial constraints and lack of past investment part of the reason for the unsatisfactory performance against performance targets? How much more
“Landmark” NHS league tables have been launched. This new system aims to lead to patients getting better care and value from the NHS. Critics say the tables are too complicated and are capable of manipulation. No service with financial challenges can be rated in the top 2 of 4 levels of assessment. Aren’t we patients and public ‘just’ interested in the performance of the services we use? The NHS prides itself on being free at the point of need. However, we must also look at our part in this. The wastage from unused medicines, missed appointments and inappropriate use of things like the 999 and A&E services now amount to a few £billions. We must look at the serious increase in demand now we are three years on from the end of the pandemic. We must give the NHS 10-year plan a chance to rebuild our NHS.
Continuing Items:
Martha’s Rule enables patients, families and carers in hospitals to ask for an urgent review if a loved one’s condition deteriorates and they are concerned that this is not being responded to. Staff can also ask for a review of a patient by a different team if they are concerned appropriate action isn’t being taken. This follows a pilot across 143 sites from May 2024.71.9% of calls were from families, with 720 leading to changes in care. 794 calls led to clinical concerns being addressed.
Removal of red tape will allow doctors and pharmacists to prescribe flu medicines throughout the year to reduce winter pressures and protect the NHS.
A baby whose mother was not vaccinated against whooping cough while pregnant has died after contracting the infection. (UKHSA) The death, which occurred between January and June 2025, is the first fatal case of whooping cough in the UK this year. It follows government warnings about low vaccine uptake, including among children, as well as an increase in vaccine hesitancy. None of the main childhood vaccines in England reached the uptake target of 95% last year, recent data from the health agency showed. Whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the lungs and airways which can be fatal, particularly for babies. Eleven infants died of the illness in 2024. Pregnant women, as well as infants and young children, are advised to get vaccinated against it. The uptake among pregnant women currently stands at 72.6%.
NHS launches winter vaccine roll out with flu vaccines for children and pregnant women – The national flu immunisation programme has commenced, with vaccines now available for children (age 2 to 16) and pregnant women (any stage of pregnancy). The NHS National Booking System has also opened for all eligible individuals to book their winter flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, with appointments starting from Wednesday 1 October.
Vaccines help protect what matters most. Back to school vaccination drive – UKHSA reveals that 18.6% of children (almost 1 in 5) have not received their pre-school booster vaccination, leaving them vulnerable to serious diseases including polio, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria when starting primary school.
Government has announced that, starting next January,a free chickenpox vaccination will be offered for the first time to children across England on the NHS. Young children in England will get a combined vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox. Expected to be given to around half a million children each year across England, the vaccination will be given to eligible children during routine GP appointments as part of the infant vaccination schedule.
Broomfield, Basildon & Southend hospitals’ latest performances in July:
- 77.6% (75.4% in June) of patients were treated, admitted or discharged within 4 hours in their emergency departments;
- 25 minutes (22 mins) is the average time for ambulances to hand over patients, compared to 26mins (26) in East of England and 32mins (37) nationally;
- 56.9% (58.8%) of patients received cancer diagnosis results within 28 days;
- This month included the 5-day resident doctors strike and the start of holidays;
- We want steady improvements; scrutiny of these and other vital services by commissioners is stringent.
The NHS performed a record number of checks for treatments, cancer checks and other tests in June, as 18-week performance hit its best level in 3 years. The 2025 national Patient Survey says 77% of the Dengie & SWF Primary Care Network’s patients rate their overall GP experiences as Good. Seven million appointments were delivered in mid and south Essex GP practices in 2024, 5% more than 2023.
Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) now provide vital tests, scans and checks 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, in evenings and at weekends for busy working people. Braintree CDC will open early 2026, Southend mid-2025, Thurrock later this summer, and Pitsea late 2026. Clacton CDC is already working.
The opening of a new £1.3m procedure room at Braintree Community Hospital brings nearly 1,500pa extra procedures, freeing up main operating theatres for more complex surgeries, reducing waiting times and improving patient care.
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SWF Health & Social Care Group 