My full reality: the interim delivery plan on ME/CFS

DHSC – May 2024

This interim delivery plan sets out the current problems to be addressed and agreed actions to drive an expansion of research, better education of professionals, improvements in attitudes towards the condition and improvements to service provision. With the right advice, care and adaptations provided by the NHS, social care, education, the welfare system and employers, I am confident that people with ME/CFS can be supported to manage their symptoms as effectively as possible, contribute more to our society and maximise their quality of life. The interim delivery plan is a significant step forward in delivering that vision.

Further information – My full reality: the interim delivery plan on ME/CFS

Prevent duty: guidance for healthcare professionals.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); May 2024

Practical information for healthcare professionals about the Prevent duty, part of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy

Prevent duty: guidance for healthcare professionals.

Fortifying food and drink with vitamin D: a SACN rapid review

OHID – 23rd May 2024

As part of wider considerations to improve the vitamin D status of the UK population, the Department of Health and Social Care asked the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) to provide scientific advice on a potential option of introducing a mandatory vitamin D fortification programme in the UK.

SACN carried out a rapid review that looked at the:

• experiences of countries with existing vitamin D fortification programmes, and their impact on vitamin D intakes and vitamin D status (the amount of vitamin D in the body)
• efficacy of different forms of vitamin D to fortify food

This independent report and summary will help support policymaking and inform any future public health strategies aimed at achieving the recommended intakes of vitamin D across the UK population. There are also annexes with further information and a glossary of technical terms used in the report.

Read the report – Fortifying food and drink with vitamin D: a SACN rapid review

Scale of the challenge: Obesity and the labour market

IPPR – May 2024

Obesity has a well-known and profound impact on people’s health. Yet, less research has looked at the impact of obesity on prosperity.

Our findings suggest a correlation between obesity and economic inactivity, as well as obesity affecting the productivity and wellbeing of people who are in work.

Obesity is not a personal responsibility – it is caused by working conditions, changes in the built environment and our broken food system. Polling for this report shows the public are ahead of politicians: they want government intervention and a break from failed policies focused on individual responsibility.

Drawing from previous IPPR research, our core policy recommendation is based on developing a whole society approach to tackling obesity.

Read the report – Obesity and the labour market

Keeping children and young people with mental health needs safe – the design of the paediatric ward – HSSIB report

HSSIB – 23rd May 2024

In the report, and in a previous interim report, we emphasise that acute paediatric wards are traditionally designed for the treatment of physical conditions and not ‘typically designed to keep those with mental health conditions safe.’ However, the report cites that between 2021 and 2022, nearly 40,000 admissions of children aged 5-18 to an acute inpatient ward were for mental health conditions. Our investigation highlights that the paediatric wards have features which were particularly challenging for children and young people with mental health needs, such as being noisy, busy, and brightly lit.

Read the report – Keeping children and young people with mental health needs safe – the design of the paediatric ward

Commissioning community champions: lessons from a pandemic

Kings Fund – 21st May 2024

This research was commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care and the Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities to explore the development of community champions programmes during the pandemic. The research sought to describe the scale and diversity of programmes and associated learning, with the opportunity to inform the parameters of any future evaluation.

Read the report – Commissioning community champions: lessons from a pandemic

Majority of NHS App users find it beneficial in managing their health

The Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health – May 2024

The latest report from The Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health (the Digital Coalition) shows patients value and use the NHS App. Based on the views of more than 600 people from across England, the report shows more than three in four (78%) respondents said they use the NHS App, finding it easy and of value. 

But more than one third said they couldn’t access key information they wanted through the NHS App such as test results (39%) or personal health records (36%). The survey also found that some GP practices have prevented access to some health records, despite being asked by NHS England to make patient health records accessible via the App. Some respondents said the variability of accessing this information was impacting their motivation to use the App.

More than a fifth (23%) of people completing the survey never or rarely used the NHS App for technical reasons, including issues with:

• Accessing a smartphone
• Downloading the App
• Registration
• Logging in.

Among this group of respondents, or people who said they helped others to use the NHS App, there was a significant lack of skills and confidence in using it. More than one third (36%) never or rarely used the NHS App because they didn’t want to engage with technology or didn’t see the benefit of using the App and would prefer to speak to a person instead.

Public and Patient Experience of the NHS App.

The economic impact of dementia

Alzheimer’s Society – 2024

Alzheimer’s Society commissioned CF (Carnall Farrar Ltd) to estimate current and future economic and health care costs of dementia in the UK. Using the records of 26,000 people, dating back seven years, it revealed that people living with dementia and their families are shouldering 63% of all dementia costs. It also showed that as the disease progresses, total costs increase significantly, rising from £29,000 per year for mild dementia to £81,000 for severe dementia. 

The economic impact of dementia

AGA Clinical Practice Guideline on Fecal Microbiota-Based Therapies for Select Gastrointestinal Diseases

Peery AF. Gastroenterology 2024;166(3):409-434.

Fecal microbiota–based therapies include conventional fecal microbiota transplant and US Food and Drug Administration–approved therapies, fecal microbiota live-jslm and fecal microbiota spores live-brpk. The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) developed this guideline to provide recommendations on the use of fecal microbiota–based therapies in adults with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection; severe to fulminant C difficile infection; inflammatory bowel diseases, including pouchitis; and irritable bowel syndrome.

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The Care Act 2014: ten years on from Royal Assent

LGA – 2024

A decade on since the Care Act received Royal Assent, this report reflects on the extent to which the aims of the legislation have been achieved and, where they have not, what changes are needed to deliver fully on the Act’s ambitions.

Read the report – The Care Act 2014: ten years on from Royal Assent