Addressing health inequalities is not only the right thing to do but may help to deliver value within the NHS and across society in general. And NHS finance practitioners need to be involved.
The government must develop a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities and provide the funding to implement it, according to the Inequalities in Health Alliance.
A new programme of vaccine booster jabs is at heart of the government’s autumn and winter plan to combat the Covid-19 virus.
Vaccination has weakened the link between infection and hospitalisation, but a careful eye is being kept on the numbers. Meanwhile should all health and care staff be required to be vaccinated? And evidence is published of the pandemic’s unequal regional impact. All in this week’s suggested reading.
The additional funding announced for the NHS in England earlier this week should be enough to cover immediate Covid-related pressures, but it might fall short of the amounts needed in the medium term, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The new aligned payment and incentive (API) system will be introduced from next April under proposals from NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Reaction to the announcement of extra funding for health and social care, and social care reform, has been mixed, with experts welcoming the new money, but insisting it falls short of what is needed.
The NHS in England will receive the lion’s share of the funding announced by the government today, with the NHS England budget growing by almost £16bn by 2024/25 and adult social care allocated an extra £5.4bn.
Let’s face it, the NHS is in the middle of huge change. Change in clinical practice and healthcare provision, driven by necessity. Change in legislation driven by policy. And change in the provider/commissioner landscape. Those of us who have been around forever have seen ‘similar’ before, but not to this extent. So why is data still important?
The NHS in England is to receive an additional £5.4bn over the second half of this financial year, with around half the spending dedicated to covering Covid costs.
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Long Covid fund launched (Scotland)
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