Government wins vote on National Insurance hike September 8, 2021 The Prime Minister has won a vote to raise National Insurance for workers and employers to fund NHS and social care costs. The government won the vote by 319 to 248 votes after Boris Johnson said the 1.25 percentage point increase would raise £12bn a year. Opposition MPs criticised the government for breaking a manifesto [...]
National Covid-19 antibody surveillance programme launched by government August 22, 2021 A nation-wide antibody surveillance programme for the public has been launched by the UK Health Security Agency to collect data to build the government’s understanding of immunity against Covid-19. The government today announced that free home antibody tests kits will be offered to adults in the UK who test positive for the virus from Tuesday. [...]
Pingdemic: Hancock was urged to ‘tweak’ Covid-19 Test and Trace app August 17, 2021 Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was reportedly asked whether the NHS Covid-19 app should be amended to alert contacts of positive cases from two days back rather than five days, but no change was made. The app was tweaked earlier this month amid the so-called “pingdemic”, which had seen hundreds of thousands of alerts sent [...]
Sajid Javid cuts cost of NHS Covid test for travel to £68 August 14, 2021 In a bid to help holidaymakers and drive down the market rate for Covid tests for travel, the health secretary has cut the cost of the travel tests that the NHS provides from £88 to £68 each. Travellers returning from green and amber list countries to England will now pay £20 less per PCR test, [...]
NHS waiting list could top 13 million, says IFS August 8, 2021 IFS modelling has confirmed Sajid Javid’s stark warning that the number of people on the NHS waiting list could reach 13 million. Last month the Health and Social Care Secretary quoted “shocking” government data which estimated waiting lists could more than double in a matter of months. Today, analysis published by the IFS reiterated that [...]
CMA accuses pharma firms Pfizer and Flynn of charging NHS illegal prices for anti-epilepsy drug August 5, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has accused pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Flynn of breaking competition law and overcharging the NHS for crucial anti-epilepsy drugs, in a new re-investigation following a years-long battle with the companies. Pfizer and Flynn “abused their dominant positions” and charged the NHS “unfairly high prices” for life-saving phenytoin sodium capsules, for which they [...]
Public Health England: Covid jabs have prevented 22m infections and 60,000 deaths July 29, 2021 Covid vaccines have prevented an estimated 22m infections and 60,000 deaths in England, according to new data. Jabs are also estimated to have directly averted more than 52,600 hospital admissions, new figures from Public Health England (PHE) suggest. The figures were published as England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said he hopes the [...]
CMA hits firms with £100m in fines for making drugs unaffordable for the NHS July 29, 2021 Drug company Advanz, as well as two private equity firms, have been hit with fines of over £100m by the UK’s competition watchdog for hiking vital drug prices. The investigation found that Advanz pushed up prices for thyroid tablet packs, known as liothyronine tablets, more than tenfold. A pack would have cost just £20 in [...]
Amanda Pritchard to become first female chief executive of NHS in England July 28, 2021 It’s done: Amanda Pritchard is to become the new head of the NHS in England. Pritchard has worked as chief operating officer under outgoing boss Sir Simon Stevens, who finishes his tenure at the end of the week. She will take over in the midst of a third wave of Covid-19 and as the NHS [...]
Police launches investigation after anti-vaxxer compares NHS staff to Nazis July 26, 2021 Police are investigating comments made by a notorious anti-vaccination protester who compared NHS staff to Nazi war criminals. Former nurse Kate Shemirani, who has been widely condemned including by Downing Street, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and her own son, called on supporters in Trafalgar Square to send her the details of doctors and nurses who [...]