Tag: Department of Health and Social Care

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 20 July 2023.

Measures to be taken on a national level to further improve safety standards in maternity care.

• Comes as government responds in full to the independent review into East Kent maternity services led by Dr Bill Kirkup
• It follows unprecedented levels of funding to grow the maternity workforce and boost neonatal services

Further action will be taken on a national level to improve safety for mothers and their babies within the NHS to ensure maternity and neonatal care everywhere is of the highest standard.

The government has published its full response to an independent review – led by former Regional Director of Public Health Dr Bill Kirkup CBE – into maternity failings at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust. The review was launched because of concerns about the quality of care being provided by the trust.

Minister for Women’s Health, Maria Caulfield, has announced she will now personally chair a new group overseeing maternity services nationwide.

The maternity and neonatal care national oversight group will bring together key people from the NHS and other organisations. It will look across work being carried out by a range of programmes set up to improve maternity and neonatal care, including the implementation of Dr Kirkup’s and other recommendations, to ensure they are joined up and effective.

Minister for Women’s Health Maria Caulfield said:

Every woman deserves to feel confident in the care they and their baby receive. I’d like to thank Dr Kirkup and all those involved in investigating the circumstances behind what’s happened in these horrendous cases.

In particular, I’d like to thank the women and their families, who have gone through so much pain, for engaging with the investigation and helping it reach its findings.

I’m determined to see safety standards in maternity and neonatal care improve across the country. While this invaluable report focuses on the situation in East Kent, I want to see its recommendations implemented nationwide.

This government will continue investing in the maternity workforce and working with the NHS to raise standards.

In East Kent in particular, the minister will chair a local forum bringing together local NHS representatives, the Care Quality Commission and local MPs to share information and updates on the improvements being made to maternity services.

The Minister for Women’s Health has also appointed Dr Kirkup to lead work with healthcare partners in response to 2 of the key recommendations, helping to ensure teams in maternity and neonatal care across England can work together more collaboratively so the best quality, compassionate care is provided.

Organisations from across the health and care system – including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) – have been asked by the government to support its efforts to promote and improve team-working in healthcare settings.

Royal colleges, professional regulators and employers have also been asked to investigate how they can improve workplace culture so standards of professional behaviour in maternity and neonatal settings are high. They’ll consider what appropriate action can be taken if high standards fail to be met.

Dr Bill Kirkup said:

I see the government’s response to ‘Reading the signals’ as an important step forward in addressing the issues that I identify.

I welcome the opportunity to lead this significant work. I look forward to drawing together an action group to advise me in doing so.

Following Dr Kirkup’s report, the below actions are being or have been taken:

• a special data taskforce has been set up by NHS England to better monitor patient safety in maternity and neonatal care nationwide
• relevant bodies will work with DHSC to investigate how teamwork in maternity and neonatal care spaces can be improved
• relevant bodies will work with DHSC to investigate how doctors in training can be better trained to improve teamworking and their own personal development
• trusts will have to ensure there is proper representation of maternity care on their boards
• the government will continue to work with NHS England on its approach to poorly performing trusts and their leadership
• East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust will continue working to address the problems identified and improve standards

Dr Matthew Jolly, National Clinical Director for Maternity Review and Women’s Health at NHS England, said:

We welcome the government’s response to Dr Bill Kirkup’s report – the failings in care for women, babies and their families using East Kent Hospital must not continue to be repeated.

NHS England has installed an improvement director at the trust alongside a senior advisor, and both are providing expert practical advice to the organisation on the actions it needs to implement to improve its maternity and neonate care, while senior national NHS clinical leaders are regularly visiting both maternity units to monitor progress.

In March, we published a delivery plan for maternity and neonatal care, which sets out what the NHS will do over the next 3 years to make care safer, more personalised and more equitable for all women, babies and families.

The government has taken steps to improve the quality of care for mothers and babies within the NHS, including £165 million of additional investment a year to improve maternity and neonatal services.

The NHS recently published the first ever Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion in government funding to deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history to help meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population by recruiting and retaining hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years.

The government also continues to build on the Maternity Transformation Programme, and continues to work closely with NHS England to implement the 3 year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services that was published in March 2023. This plan looks to guide services towards safer and more personalised care for women, babies and families.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 13 July 2023.

Most eligible dentists and doctors will receive at least a 6% pay rise. Pay for junior doctors will be increased by an average of around 8.8%.

• Most eligible dentists and doctors will receive at least a 6% pay rise
• Pay for junior doctors will be increased by an average of around 8.8%. Pay will be uplifted by between 8.1% and 10.3% depending on where they are in their training
• Government accepts the independent pay review bodies’ pay recommendations in full, recognising the vital contribution that NHS staff make to our country
• This pay rise recognises the need to recognise, recruit and retain NHS staff while protecting the taxpayer and bringing down inflation
• Announcement follows nurses, paramedics and midwives also receiving a pay rise and one-off payments

Pay scales for most doctors and dentists to increase by at least a 6% this year after the government accepted the recommendations from the independent pay review bodies in full.

Around 130,000 full-time equivalent doctors and dentists, including junior doctors and consultants, will see their pay rise in line with the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s (DDRB) recommendations. Pay for junior doctors will be increased by 8.8% on average. The agreement means pay for a first year junior doctor will increase by 10.3%. Pay for the most experienced junior doctors will increase by 8.1%. For consultants, this means a rise of 6%.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

We hugely value the work of all NHS staff.

That’s why we’re giving junior doctors, consultants and senior NHS staff a fair and reasonable pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review bodies.

But it also balances the need to keep inflation in check while giving some staff significant pay increases.

We’ve made it clear this pay award is not up for negotiation and urge those unions still in dispute with the government to end their strikes immediately.

As recommended by the DDRB, most dentists and doctors will receive at least a 6% pay rise. Junior doctor pay will be increased by 6% plus £1,250.

Average basic pay for a first year junior doctor will increase from £29,300 to £32,300 and for a junior doctor in core training with 3 years’ experience it will increase from £40,200 to £43,900. For consultants and SAS doctors on pre-2021 contracts, this is on top of the 4.5% pay rise they received last year. Some staff will also benefit from performance pay, overtime, pay progression and pay rises from promotion, alongside the pay uplift.

The government has been clear about the need for pay awards to recognise the hard work of the public sector while meeting the Prime Minister’s priority to halve inflation and managing public spending effectively.

More borrowing would add pressures on inflation at exactly the wrong time, risking higher interest rates and higher mortgage rates. The government plans to increase the main rate of the immigration health surcharge – to ensure it covers the full healthcare costs of those who pay it, having been frozen for the last 3 years despite high inflation and wider pressures – to at least £1,035, and the discounted rate for students, their dependents, those on Youth Mobility Schemes and under-18s to £776. The government will fund this pay award through prioritisation within existing departmental budgets, with front line services being protected.

Last month one million NHS staff, including nurses and paramedics, received a 5% pay rise worth at least £1,065 to full-time staff as well as 2 one-off payments worth at least £1,655.

Today’s announcement comes weeks after the NHS published its first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion government funding, which will deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history and recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years.

Background information

The pay review bodies considered a range of evidence from various organisations.

All pay awards will be backdated to 1 April 2023. This pay award is only applicable to NHS staff in England. The 2023 to 2024 pay uplift for NHS staff directly employed by NHS providers will be funded by NHS England through system allocations.

The government asked the DDRB and SSRB for recommendations for NHS staff not already in multi-year deals – this includes junior doctors, dentists in training, consultants, SAS doctors on old contracts, dentists and salaried GPs.

The full Pay Review Body reports can be found on GOV.UK. The Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (covering doctors and dentists not in multi-year deals) recommended a 6% increase for the majority of its remit group. Pay for junior doctors will increase by around 8.8% on average. This is because the DDRB recommended 6% plus £1,250 on a consolidated basis.

The Senior Salaries Review Body (covering very senior managers in the NHS and executive senior managers in DHSC’s arm’s length bodies) recommended a 5% increase, with a further 0.5% in each employing organisation used to address specific pay anomalies.

Following acceptance of the Agenda for Change (AfC) offer by the NHS Staff Council, the government confirmed it would no longer be seeking recommendations on the 2023 to 2024 pay award from the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) for non-medical staff on the AfC contract.

The government has since received the report from the NHSPRB with their observations on the pay deal in England which we welcome and we have published at the same time as the DDRB and SSRB reports.

Those already in multi-year deals were not in scope of the pay review body’s recommendations this year. The DDRB were not asked to make a pay recommendation for GP partners as they are subject to a 5-year investment agreement to 2023 to 2024, which was agreed with NHS England and the BMA in 2019. For salaried GPs, the 6% award will raise the minimum salary by around £3,900 and the maximum by around £5,900.

The GP contract will be uplifted to provide funding for salaried general practice staff. This funding will be backdated to April 2023 and it is our expectation this funding is passed on promptly to all salaried general practice staff. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for GP practices to determine uplifts in pay for their employees.

The government is absolutely committed to ensuring the NHS has the funding it needs to deliver for patients.

The government is committed to living within its means and delivering value for the taxpayer, and therefore it’s prioritising within existing departmental funding to fund these uplifts.

The government is working in collaboration with the NHS Staff Council to implement the NHS pay deal.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 6 July 2023.

Health and Social Care Secretary will convene the next NHS Recovery Summit with health experts to help drive innovation across the NHS.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 4 July 2023.

The number of NHS Health Checks offered and carried out more than doubled in 2022 to 2023.

• 2.9 million NHS Health Checks offered and 1.1 million checks carried out in 2022 to 2023 – more than doubling activity in 2021 to 2022
• 1.1 million checks estimated to have prevented more than 400 heart attacks and strokes and identified 220,000 people who would benefit from statins
• Government announced last week the rollout of a new digital health check from spring which will deliver more than one million checks in 4 years

More than one million people had a face-to-face NHS Health Check last year – more than double the previous year – new data published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) today shows.

The NHS Health Check helps to prevent heart attacks and strokes and is currently a face-to-face check-up for adults in England aged 40 to 74. It can help spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or dementia.

The new data published by OHID shows face-to-face health checks have recovered to pre-pandemic levels thanks to the efforts of local authorities and NHS staff, helping to prevent potentially deadly cardiovascular disease across the country.

OHID’s data for 2022 to 2023 shows:

• 2.9 million people were offered a check by local authorities – up from 1.3 million in 2021 to 2022
• 1.1 million checks were delivered in 2022 to 2023 – up from 500,000 in 2021 to 2022
• 10.2 million checks offered and 4.3 million carried out between April 2018 and March 2023, despite disruption caused by the pandemic

Cardiovascular disease is the second biggest killer in England and affects around 6.4 million people. It’s estimated that the 1.1 million checks delivered in 2022 to 2023 helped to avoid over 400 strokes and heart attacks, identified 220,000 people who would benefit from statin medication, and diagnosed 32,000 people with hypertension.

This follows the announcement last week of a new digital NHS Health Check which will be rolled out in England from spring. It will operate alongside the existing face-to-face scheme, and will deliver an additional one million checks over 4 years.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken action to understand their health and prevent potentially life-threatening conditions like heart attacks and strokes.

These mid-life MOTs are vitally important in preventing illnesses, easing pressure on the NHS and cutting waiting times – one of the government’s 5 priorities – and I want to encourage anyone who’s offered a check to come forward and take advantage of the offer.

On the eve of the NHS’s 75th birthday, it’s fantastic to see so many people had a health check last year – and even more will be achieved when the new digital check is rolled out from spring.

You can have an NHS Health Check if you’re aged 40 to 74 and you have not had a stroke, or do not already have a pre-existing health condition. If this applies to you, you can expect to receive an invite from a GP surgery or local authority for an NHS Health Check every 5 years.

Each new digital check could save an estimated 20 minutes of NHS time – potentially freeing up hundreds of thousands of appointments in primary care and helping cut NHS waiting times.

Patients will be able to access the check via a mobile phone, tablet or computer. They will complete an online questionnaire, enter height, weight, and blood pressure measurements, and the results of a blood test.

The results will be available online and direct people to personalised advice to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke, as well as advice to stop smoking and weight management support where appropriate. Referrals to GPs will only be made if further tests and treatment are needed – helping to reduce demand on GP services.

OHID data on face-to-face NHS Health Checks

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 4 July 2023.

All secondary school pupils eligible for free flu vaccine as government expands vaccination programme.

• Over 3 million secondary school pupils to be offered nasal spray vaccine from 1 September
• Expansion provides direct protection to pupils and indirect protection to wider community
• Getting flu vaccine helps protect you and your loved ones, while reducing pressure on the NHS

All secondary school pupils in England will be offered a free flu vaccine from September for the 2023 to 2024 season, the government has confirmed.

An initial list of groups eligible for this year’s vaccine was first announced in May, with a note that a decision on secondary school pupils would follow at a later date.

Now, the government has confirmed it is expanding the programme to over 3 million pupils in secondary school years 7 to 11, who will be offered the vaccine as a nasal spray through their school’s vaccination programme from 1 September.

The expansion gives direct protection to pupils receiving the vaccine and provides indirect protection to more vulnerable groups by reducing the spread of the virus.

Health Minister, Maria Caulfield, said:

Expanding the offer of flu vaccination to all secondary school pupils this winter will provide millions of young people with extra protection.

Importantly, this will also reduce the risk of transmission to more vulnerable groups, including the elderly, reducing hospitalisations and freeing up bed capacity across the NHS.

Last winter we saw the devastating impact this illness can have, so it is important all pupils take up the offer of the flu vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones from falling unwell.

The decision to expand the programme is in line with a long-standing recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which highlights the benefits of directly protecting school aged children from flu, and the indirect benefits to the wider population.

NHS school age immunisation services (SAIS) will be undertaking the vaccinations from September during the autumn term.

All primary school children and infants aged 2 and 3 will also be offered the flu vaccine, as previously announced in May.

Eligible groups are urged to take up the offer from September before the flu season begins, to give themselves the best possible protection in winter.

NHS Director of Vaccinations and Screening, Steve Russell, said:

Last winter we saw how quickly flu can spread within communities, so I’m pleased to see the flu vaccination offer being extended to secondary school children in the autumn term.

The vaccine offers vital protection against flu which can cause nasty symptoms, and I would urge all young people and parents to make sure they join millions of others who get vaccinated each year to take up the offer when they can – it’s quick, easy and offered in schools, so there’s really no reason to delay when you receive the offer.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said:

Getting the flu vaccine offers the best protection against the virus. It is important everyone eligible takes up the offer, including secondary school pupils as they can fall very sick. Last year we saw some teenagers hospitalised with flu.

Expanding the vaccination to secondary school pupils will help to reduce flu from being spread, protecting their friends and family and easing the burden on the NHS.

Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, said:

Following the disruption caused by the pandemic, it’s important that children are able to attend school as much as possible.

We know that school attendance levels drop over the winter months due to illness, which is why today’s announcement will not only protect children’s health but also their education.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 19 June 2023.

Free NHS sight tests will be made available within all special school settings, the government and NHS England confirmed today.

• NHS England and the government work together to make sight tests available for all pupils attending special schools
• Children with learning disabilities 28 times more likely to have serious sight issues
• Free NHS sight tests continue to be available for all children in opticians

Free NHS sight tests will be made available within all special school settings, the government and NHS England confirmed today.

Additional testing in special education day schools will be rolled out next year, adding to the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to offer sight tests within residential special schools.

Pupils at special schools can face additional challenges in accessing sight testing services via opticians and a successful pilot scheme has proven the benefits of receiving tests and personalised advice in their familiar learning environments.

Backed by a more than £10 million investment, the testing extension is expected to help up to an estimated 165,000 more children and will begin from 2024 to 2025.

Minister Neil O’Brien said:

I am pleased we will be able to support sight testing for all pupils in special schools, an environment where they feel more comfortable.

We have worked closely with NHS England, stakeholders and charities to extend this important service and thousands of pupils will benefit as a result.

It’s vital for all children to have access to NHS sight tests and I’m grateful to all those who helped make this possible.

According to the charity Seeability, children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to suffer from a serious sight problem.

NHS England introduced the pilot sight testing programme in special schools in 2021 with the aim of rolling these out in residential special schools. Following the pilot’s success, the provision will be extended to all day schools.

National Director for Primary Care and Community Services at NHS England Dr Amanda Doyle said:

I am delighted that the NHS will be able to offer free eye tests to around 165,000 pupils in special school settings in England from next year, meaning they will no longer need to travel to unfamiliar environments for healthcare.

In its 75th year, the NHS is determined to improve access to healthcare, with the health service also providing care in thousands of people’s homes through virtual wards, while pharmacists are offering almost one million blood pressure checks a year on people’s local high streets.

Minister for Children, Wellbeing and Families Claire Coutinho said:

From eye tests in the classroom to the £2.6 billion we’re spending on new special school places, we’re making sure that children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported in school.

We recently set out a wider special educational needs and disabilities improvement plan, with a particular focus on early intervention and consistent standards across the country.

NHS England will shortly begin a period of engagement with key stakeholders, special schools and the public, to further develop the scheme before it’s introduced from 2024 to 2025.

While this engagement takes place existing arrangements for testing will continue.

Dan Scorer, Head of Policy at Mencap, said:

Mencap welcomes this vital extension of the service to all children in special schools. Undiagnosed sight issues among children with a learning disability form major barriers to learning and development, and the extension of the service is a further important step towards improving access to eye care services for everyone with a learning disability.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 15 June 2023.

Everyone aged 60 and over will continue to receive free prescriptions, the government has confirmed today.

• Prescriptions will continue to be free for anyone aged 60 or older
• Decision follows consultation on the upper age limit at which prescriptions are paid for
• Free prescriptions remain available for those most in need

Everyone aged 60 and over will continue to receive free prescriptions, the government has confirmed today.

The announcement comes in response to a consultation launched by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2021 looking at whether the age free prescriptions become available should be aligned with the State Pension age, which is currently 66.

Taking into account a number of factors, including current cost of living and increased medical needs due to an ageing population, the government has decided to freeze the age at 60.

Minister for Health Neil O’Brien said:

This government recognises the pressures with the cost of living caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That’s why we are providing cost of living help worth £3,300 on average per household over last year and this, among the most generous help anywhere in Europe.

It’s also why we have decided to maintain the prescription exemption age where it is. Nine out of 10 prescriptions are already free at the point of use and on top of that we also provide financial help to others on low incomes who don’t automatically get prescriptions for free.

Prescription charge exemptions will also remain in place for those aged under 16 or aged 17 and 18 but in full time education, while those in receipt of certain benefits can also receive free prescriptions.

People on a low income who do not qualify for an automatic exemption can also seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme.

For those who do not qualify for an exemption or the NHS Low Income Scheme, prepayment certificates (PPC) are available to help with frequent prescriptions should they be required.

The annual PPC can be paid for through 10 instalments. This means people can have as many prescription items as needed for just over £2 per week.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 14 June 2023.

The government has committed to a number of measures to support integrated care systems in response to 2 key reports.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 13 June 2023.

Over one million NHS staff are already receiving pay rises, backdated to April, and one-off payments agreed between the government and the NHS staff council.

• The government and the NHS staff council launch a joint programme to implement non-pay measures in the deal to better support the NHS workforce, including improving opportunities for nursing career progression, reviewing safe staffing guidance and reducing agency spend
• Stakeholders asked to share their views on the NHS Pay Review Body process – including timing of the pay round, and appointments process for members

NHS staff are now benefitting from the Agenda for Change pay deal agreed between government and unions, ultimately helping to cut waiting lists and improve patient care.

Writing in an open letter to NHS staff today, the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay will thank them for their hard work and update them on the measures being taken to improve their working lives.

The letter also outlines how the government will work with the NHS staff council to oversee the implementation of the non-pay elements of the recent NHS pay agreement. NHS staff council and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) will jointly chair a programme board, working collaboratively with leads from NHS England and NHS Employers to begin implementing the commitments. This includes ways to boost the welfare and retention of the NHS workforce and to improve opportunities for nursing career progression, reviewing safe staffing guidance and reducing agency spend.

As well as this, stakeholders who participate in the NHS Pay Review Body process – including health unions, NHS Employers, NHS Providers, NHS England and the devolved administrations – are being invited to share their views on how the NHS Pay Review Body can work as effectively as possible. This includes timing of the pay round, appointments process for members, input of the NHS staff council and the data and evidence that is fed in.

It follows over one million NHS staff receiving their pay rise, backdated to April, in their pay checks this month alongside one-off bonuses.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

I hugely value the work of NHS staff and the vital role they’re playing to cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s 5 priorities.

That’s exactly why we are pushing ahead with the deal we agreed with unions, which is about much more than just pay – it’s also about protecting people’s wellbeing and supporting their development.

We are working hand in hand with the NHS staff council to ensure we’re delivering the changes that staff want to see and will benefit them, and patients, the most.

The pay rise will see an Agenda for Change employee at the Band 6 entry point – such as an experienced physiotherapist, paramedic or a midwife – receive over £5,100 in extra pay across last year and this year, with over £2,000 in bonus payments arriving as a lump sum in pay cheques this month while a newly qualified nurse in Band 5 will receive £1,890 in one-off payments and see their basic pay increase to over £28,400.

It also means staff working on the lower bands in Bands 1 and 2 will be earning £11.45 per hour in 2023 to 2024, significantly above (9.9%), the National Living Wage.

To build a stronger, healthier NHS for the long-term with patients at its centre, it is vital to have the workforce to support it. There are already record numbers of staff working in the NHS to care for patients and cut waiting lists, with over 53,600 more people compared to a year ago – including over 5,400 more doctors and 12,900 more nurses. The government and NHS will build on this progress and will soon publish a workforce plan focused on recruiting and retaining more staff to make the NHS the best place to work.

Background

Stakeholders will be contacted shortly by the department to set out the next steps on how to submit their views on the Pay Review Body process.

See a copy of the letter from the Health Secretary to Agenda for Change staff.

A programme board, chaired by DHSC and staff council chairs, will provide oversight of the programme and ensure outcomes are in line with the original intention behind the deal.

The programme board would be responsible for commissioning workstreams, supporting policy development and ensuring work is delivered as intended with the Agenda for Change deal. Individual work strands will be owned and driven by either DHSC, NHS England or the NHS staff council.

Through the jointly owned programme board, DHSC and the NHS staff council will oversee all non-pay elements of the deal which include:

• looking for ways to improve nursing career progression
• a review of safe staffing guidance in order to develop a national evidence-based policy framework
• improving support for newly qualified healthcare registrants
• exploring the factors driving increasing rates of agency spend in the NHS
• looking for ways for the pay setting process and the NHS Pay Review Body to operate effectively
• agree amendments to terms and conditions to ensure that existing NHS staff will not suffer a detriment to their basic pay when they undertake apprenticeships as part of agreed career development
• considering how the job evaluation system can be consistently applied
• working with the Social Partnership Forum to identify ways to tackle and reduce violence against NHS staff
• consider the application of a cap to redundancy payments of £100,000 and over

For more information on the Agenda for Change pay deal see DHSC’s media fact sheet.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 13 June 2023.

Lord Markham’s keynote speech at London Tech Week 2023.

I’m delighted to be here with you all today at our annual Health Tech Summit in collaboration with London Tech Week.

As you will have heard from the Prime Minister earlier today, this government has a clear mission – to make the UK the most innovative economy in the world. The UK tech industry is one of the engines for economic growth and a clear representation of our plan to cement the UK’s status as a Science and Technology ‘Superpower’ by 2030.

Last year, the UK became just the third country in the world to have a tech sector valued at $1 trillion. It is the biggest in Europe by some distance and behind only the US and China globally.

I want to illustrate my passion about the role of innovation and technology in improving the health of our nation, and how I’ve seen the power they hold first-hand. During my role as ITV Strategy Director, I discovered the power of innovation during the transition from analogue to digital TV while pioneering the move to Freeview.

I later moved into healthcare where the company I set up significantly reduced the waiting time for PCR results from 72 hours down to just 3 or 4 hours. It was at this point I also experienced first-hand the challenges of doing business with the NHS, so I sympathise wholeheartedly with anyone who’s struggled in that regard and am committed to removing barriers and ensuring our health service remains on the frontline of innovation.

Today I’d like to talk to you about how government is supporting innovation and the adoption of digital health technologies, offering significant opportunities to transform the way we deliver access to health and care, with some substantial investment and activity to boost the range of technologies available for adoption across the NHS.

As we all know, the NHS is under increasing pressure.

This is arising from increasing demand, an ageing population, and co-morbidities to name a few factors. At the same time, healthcare expenditure represented around 12% of GDP in 2021. This cost to our economy is only set to increase in future years and we have a real challenge to ensure that the NHS is sustainable.

Digital and technology is one major way that we will address some of the challenges that face the NHS. We know that digitally mature trusts operate with approximately 10% improved efficiency compared with their less digitally mature peers.

We are exploring new technologies which it would be useful for the NHS to adopt and we’re working collaboratively across a range of areas to support companies to develop and deploy digital health technologies and I’d like to share some examples with you.

The Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare award programme supports innovators and entrepreneurs. As of 2022 to 2023, the programme has made cumulative investments of over £129 million and has funded a total of 324 projects.

The Digital Health Partnership Award has funded 43 NHS projects identified as novel, with the potential to scale at pace. The technologies are focused on supporting people at home and over 140,000 patients have been supported in under 2 years.

Innovate UK provides funding to UK-based businesses or research organisations to support and stimulate innovation in the UK economy, offering grants of between £25,000 and £10 million and innovation loans of between £100,000 and £1 million.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research works with industry at all stages of the clinical development pipeline. Funding is available to support promising innovations to generate the evidence needed to get to market.

We’ve provided £123 million to test and evaluate 86 AI technologies in areas such as urgent stroke care, home testing for disease and cancer screening. These technologies are being deployed and scaled across 99 hospitals, and 300 primary care networks in the UK.

We’re working on coordinating these investment programmes and evidencing the impact for scale across the NHS – I will return to this point a little later.

As well as the excellent technologies which currently exist, we continue to identify new opportunities to support innovation that can be scaled at a national level. I am excited to share further details of our plans for digital therapeutics.

In March the Chancellor included £225 million of ringfenced funding within the Budget for digital mental health and musculoskeletal, known as MSK, initiatives.

We’re accelerating the deployment and adoption of clinical grade technologies that are evidence-based, and used to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease. The first mental health and MSK products will be available via the NHS App later this year, allowing 24/7 access to suit lifestyle factors without the need for a clinician referral.

This is a significant change, moving from these technologies only being available in some areas of the country, and for those who have been referred into a clinical pathway. This demonstrates our commitment to scaling well evidenced technologies and breaking down commissioning barriers. And these 2 areas are only the start.

And, we’ll pilot new, novel mental health technology that has potential to transform our model of care, enabling our citizens to have access years earlier to the most promising technologies.

We’ll also be levelling up the use of digital tools within our existing NHS mental health talking therapies services so that people have support from day one while waiting for their appointment.

We are supporting the NHS to be in a better position to adopt the right technologies.

A key priority for technology funding is supporting health and care systems to ‘level up’ their digital maturity and ensure they have a core level of infrastructure, digitisation and skills by March 2025.

The What Good Looks Like guidance builds on established good practice to provide clear direction for health and social care leaders to digitise, connect and transform services to improve outcomes for the people we serve.

To support systems level up, we’re conducting a digital maturity assessment to help organisations baseline their current level of digital maturity against What Good Looks Like to improve decision-making, identify opportunities for collaboration, and enhance patient experience.

The assessment is an essential tool for health and care systems to track their levelling up journey and will be repeated annually to track progress.

Digital maturity is just one side of the picture however. The New Hospital Programme will ensure our world-class healthcare system and staff have the facilities they need for the future. It will help to bring things together in terms of tech and modern building design. Digital design is at the heart of our approach to standardisation in the New Hospital Programme. Our aim is for this to bring even greater productivity gains than digital alone and there could be 20% productivity gains from that, which will encourage the Treasury to help fund even more new hospitals.

Data Saves Lives, published a year ago this week, set the strategy for making better use of data to improve services and transform lives. This document provided the ambitious direction, and good progress has been made on implementing it. Over half of the commitments we promised are now delivered, including ensuring that all 42 of our integrated care systems have a shared care record in place and the agreement of a target architecture for health and care. But we now need to move deeper into delivery, so more people can enjoy the benefits of a modern, data-driven health and care service. You’ll hear more about our progress later this month.

As I’ve already mentioned, we’re working to evidence the impact of digital health technologies for scale across the NHS and to develop a clear policy framework and market pathway to support this.

NHS England are working collaboratively with NICE, MHRA and other partners to create a clear, efficient and user-centred pathway to scale digital health technologies in the NHS.

The pathway is being co-designed with views from industry and will be reflective of the dynamic market.

The proposed commercial pathway will determine how products will be recommended across the NHS, which will provide clarity for innovators about how they evidence their products and how they will be reimbursed. The process will support the emerging digital health technology market, while providing value for money for the NHS. It will help to consolidate the buying points, streamline market access for industry and will also provide opportunity to leverage the buying power of the NHS.

A conditional recommendation pathway is being designed to support innovators to gather evidence while undergoing the evaluation process.

This improved pathway will enable a faster, more flexible route to market for digital health technologies across the NHS.

We’re working to increase visibility and compliance with technology standards through the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC).

DTAC is a critical assurance process for all digital health technologies used for medical, health and wellness, or system efficiency purposes.

It ensures that technologies deployed within the NHS meet our baseline standards for clinical safety, data protection, cyber security, interoperability and accessibility and usability.

We’ve introduced audits which provide critical information on the level of risk we’re holding in relation to digital health technologies and clinical systems and gives us the first national picture of what digital health technologies are deployed where across the NHS. We continue to ensure that standards are not a blocker for technology adoption.

We’ve developed guidance on which framework agreements to use to simplify buying digital and IT goods and services.

Our digital and technology procurement framework strategy recommendations make the procurement process easier for both buyers and vendors to navigate, removing duplication and reducing costs.

We’ve introduced a number of nationally led dynamic purchasing systems enabling buyers and sellers to be agile in the purchasing and supply of digital solutions for the NHS.

AI and digital can have transformative impact, but only if developed safely, ethically and in line with best practice in evidence based medicine. That’s why we funded the AI and Digital Regulations Service, which brings together all guidance on regulations that apply to digital and AI in one place, as well as advice on ensuring it is truly value-adding.

I’m happy to announce the service has launched in full today – so if you’re a developer of AI, or a clinician or social care worker looking to use AI, you can use the service’s website for information and help to do it the right way.

If you’re developing an AI device, you’ll find which regulations you need to meet and when.

If you’re looking to adopt an AI device, you’ll find guidance to help you feel confident about using AI in your health or care service.

Users have told us this ‘one stop shop’ has made it easier to understand regulations and saved them time in bringing products to market.

This is a partnership led by NICE, MHRA, CQC and HRA, but brings in even more relevant regulators such as the Information Commissioner’s Office; demonstrating one way our health service is leading in innovation-friendly regulation.

This is the direction across the rest of government, as the AI regulations white paper looks to provide joined-up support like this to developers.

Despite the undeniable progress we’ve already made, we must be restless and relentless in our drive to ensure that the UK maintains its rightful place at the cutting edge of innovation. And we must continue to make the UK the go to place for industry to develop healthcare innovations, with access to the best data in the world to do so.

I am absolutely determined to ensure that my experience of the challenges of doing business with the NHS are addressed. We are working hard on multiple fronts to streamline the market pathway, listening to the concerns of industry and taking practical steps to ensure market access is a lot smoother.

I‘m more confident than ever that together we can create one of the most exciting health innovation systems in the world.

Thank you very much for listening.