Health & Care Update - March 2025

Bevan Brittan provides high quality, comprehensive advice to the NHS, independent healthcare sector and local authorities. This update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, both in the NHS, independent sector and local authorities which have been published in the last month. 

Training Events	Housing
Acute and emergency care	Inquests
Children/young people	Integrated Care
Clinical Risk/Patient Safety	Mental Health
Digital Health	Primary Care
Employment/HR	Public Health
Finance	Social Care
Health Inequalities	General

 

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Bevan Brittan Free Training Events 

There is no charge for any of the events listed below

Webinars  
These are internal hour long lunch time training sessions.  You can sign up to watch the training sessions remotely via our webinar facility. Please contact Claire Bentley.

Just Culture and the impact on medical malpractice and workforce. Tuesday 11th March at 12.30pm. Join Bevan Brittan and Howden for an inspiring conversation with a panel of leading women in healthcare. Our expert panel will explore 'Just Culture' and its impact on healthcare professionals and medical malpractice claims.

Introduction to inquests for the Higher Education sector. Wednesday 12th March at 12.30pm. This webinar will be relevant to anyone in the higher education sector with responsibility for legal services, compliance and student welfare.

Deputyships and Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Affairs - Thursday 13 March at 12.30pm. Join us for this session with Matthew Wyard from 3PB who will consider a variety of matters relating to deputyship and lasting powers of attorney for property and affairs.

Medico-Legal Issues in Ophthalmology - Tuesday 25 March at 12.30pm. In this session Mr Amar Alwitry will be discussing medico-legal issues in cataract and refractive surgery.

Please note that registration for each webinar will close one hour before the webinar starts, so please do ensure you have booked your place in advance to guarantee attendance.  

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Acute and emergency care

Publications and Guidance

Supporting the provision of urgent and emergency urology care: a new guide for clinicians. GIRFT has launched a new guide for clinicians working in urgent and emergency care settings, to support the provision of emergency urological care.  

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around acute and emergency issues please contact Claire Bentley.

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Children and young people

Publications/Guidance

MoJ implements reforms to support child sexual abuse victims The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced reforms to support victims of child sexual abuse, implementing recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). Key changes include the removal of the three-year limitation period for civil claims and shifting the burden of proof from victims to defendants. The Law of Apologies will be amended to encourage institutional apologies without fear of liability. Additional measures include making grooming an aggravating factor in sentencing, introducing a Mandatory Reporting duty, and creating a new offence for covering up abuse. These reforms, following two government consultations in 2024, aim to enhance access to justice for survivors and contribute to the government's commitment to halve violence against women and girls this decade.

Identifying SEND: final report on special educational needs and disabilities and contact with CAMHS. This is the final report of the project ‘Identifying Special Educational Needs and Disabilities’ (SEND), funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It summarises the research questions, methods and findings of the project, and presents recommendations for improving policy and practice. The research questions concerned which children are identified with SEND, the nature of the ‘postcode lottery’ reported on by Ofsted in 2010, and what inequalities exist in support for SEND. The project considers the importance of deprivation, and has a focus on social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH).

The framework for integrated care: a catalyst for change. This resource aims to promote discussion about how the most impactful effective support for children and young people can be provided and sustained. The framework is a set of evidence-informed guiding principles and practices that could act as a catalyst for cultural and organisational change. It aims to provide a template for integration of services for children and young people in some of the most complex situations, who are at high risk of harm, and who may display high-risk behaviours.

Why investing in children’s mental health will unlock economic growth. This report finds that the current lack of capacity in the mental health system means that far too many young people reach crisis point, putting pressure on emergency, urgent and crisis services. The report argues that immediate and long-term costs of inaction are far greater than the investment that could be made now in cost-effective interventions that can help to turn the tide. Developed by the Centre for Mental Health, the Centre for Young Lives, the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and YoungMinds, with the support of the Prudence Trust, Future Minds is a campaign calling on the government to deliver urgent reform and investment to boost children and young people’s mental health services. 

Scrutiny of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. A House of Commons Education Committee report scrutinises the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill 2024-25, expressing that the Bill's timetable and decision not to involve the Committee in pre-legislative scrutiny give the Committee prior notice has hindered its ability to conduct proper scrutiny. Among its findings, it states that: the proposal to give the Secretary of State the power to cap profits should be used as a last resort; express inclusion of the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities is a safeguard; auto-enrolment in free school meals for eligible children would alleviate hunger and improve health and educational outcomes; it welcomes clarity on teacher pay offered by the Government's new clause and new schedule at Committee stage; and that there is scope to strengthen the requirement for the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in the care system to be assessed. It draws the Government's attention to the new clauses and amendments which offer ways to meet the Committee's concerns and put in to effect their recommendations.  

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around children please contact Deborah Jeremiah. 

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Clinical Risk / Patient Safety

Publications/Guidance 

NHS Resolution signs new MoU with Care Quality Commission. NHS Resolution and the Care Quality Commission have formalised their working relationship through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement, announced in March 2025, establishes a framework to enhance collaboration between the two organisations in their shared objective of promoting safety and wellbeing in NHS-funded health and social care services across England. The MOU specifically addresses the maintenance of effective communication channels and provides clarity to staff, service users and the public regarding the collaborative working arrangements between the two bodies.

Limitation including extension requests. NHS Resolution guidance on the relevant law and practical tips for members who receive requests from claimant solicitors to voluntarily agree an extension of limitation to allow clinical negligence investigations to be completed.

CQC prosecutes Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust after it failed to provide safe care and treatment to mothers and their babies. Following a prosecution brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and having pleaded guilty to six charges of failing to provide safe care and treatment to three mothers and their babies, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has been ordered to pay a total of £1,667,944. CQC prosecuted the Trust after mistakes it admitted meant the three mothers and their babies did not receive safe care and treatment in its maternity services, resulting in the deaths of the babies. The CQC has said that the fine is the largest ever for an NHS trust for maternity care.

Quality and safety of maternity care (England). This briefing details Government and NHS policies on the quality and safety of maternity care in England.

Safety management: accountability across organisational boundaries. This report is intended for health care organisations, policy-makers and the public to help improve patient safety in relation to the management of patient safety risks across organisational boundaries. This has been explored through an understanding of the pathways of care for patients whose care involves engaging with providers in primary, secondary and community care and with integrated care systems. It makes reference to processes which exist within the health and care system relating to the management of safety.

Progress on the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme: Statement made on 12 February 2025. A Cabinet Office written statement announces that the draft Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 have been laid before Parliament. The Regulations will be debated and must be approved by both Houses of Parliament to then formally be established as laws, which the Government hopes will happen by 31 March 2025. Once in force, the Regulations will provide the Infected Blood Compensation Authority with the powers it needs to begin making payments to eligible affected people (such as partners, parents, children, siblings and in some instances carers) in 2025, and to make payments to eligible people through the supplementary routes. This is in addition to maintaining the core route for eligible infected people as established in 2024.

Mental health inpatient settings: creating conditions for learning from deaths in mental health inpatient services and when patients die within 30 days of discharge. This report finds that systemic issues, lack of patient and family involvement, and cultures of fear and blame contribute to mental health services not learning from inpatient deaths. The findings evidence challenges in maintaining safety, conducting effective and timely investigations, and ensuring system-wide learning. The report identifies that, while investigations and patient safety event analysis aim for transparency and learning, they are often of variable quality.

Safety management: accountability across organisational boundaries. This report is intended for health care organisations, policy-makers and the public to help improve patient safety in relation to the management of patient safety risks across organisational boundaries. This has been explored through an understanding of the pathways of care for patients whose care involves engaging with providers in primary, secondary and community care and with integrated care systems. It makes reference to processes which exist within the health and care system relating to the management of safety. 

Independent review of physician associates and anaesthesia associates: call for analysis and research. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has established an independent review of the physician associate (PA) and anaesthesia associate (AA) professions. The Leng review is seeking evidence that contributes towards an understanding of: the relative safety of the PA and AA roles; the contribution to effective and productive multidisciplinary teams; the delivery of good-quality and efficient patient care across a range of settings; and patient satisfaction with the roles. This call for evidence closes at 11.59pm on 21 March 2025.

AvMA's response to the Department of Health and Social Care Consultation 'Leading the NHS: proposals to regulate NHS managers.' Responding to a Department of Health and Social Care consultation on options for regulating NHS managers and introducing a professional duty of candour for such leaders, Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) emphasises the need for clinical and non-clinical managers to be held to consistent, shared leadership and management standards. It states that: there is a need to regulate NHS managers; the work by NHS England to develop a leadership and management standards framework can change the culture and improve standards in the NHS; joining a register of NHS managers should be mandatory; managers should not be regulated through a barring system; regulation should be supported by education and training for managers to enable them to meet required standards; NHS managers should meet a professional duty of candour as part of required standards; NHS leaders should have a duty to ensure that the existing statutory duty of candour is followed; and that NHS leaders must have direct accountability to record, consider and respond to concerns about healthcare provided in their organisation.
 

Consultations

MoJ publishes response to consultation on reforming law of apologies in civil proceedings. 
The MoJ has published its response to the consultation on reforming the law of apologies in civil proceedings in England and Wales. The consultation, which ran from 8 April to 3 June 2024, sought to establish ways to improve the current legal framework surrounding apologies in civil cases. The government's response, released on 5 February 2025, outlines the background to the consultation, summarises the responses received, provides detailed answers to specific questions raised, and sets out the next steps in the reform process. 

Bevan Brittan Updates

Fully autonomous AI clinical decision-making: new frontiers of liability - Dan Morris

Who is at risk from e-consent? - Harriet Wheeler

Chronic Pain Syndrome following DVT – Coincidence or Causation? - Pearl Mullen 

Bevan Brittan Events

Just Culture and the impact on medical malpractice and workforce. Tuesday 11th March at 12.30pm. Join Bevan Brittan and Howden for an inspiring conversation with a panel of leading women in healthcare. Our expert panel will explore 'Just Culture' and its impact on healthcare professionals and medical malpractice claims.

Medico-Legal Issues in Ophthalmology - Tuesday 25 March at 12.30pm. In this session Mr Amar Alwitry will be discussing medico-legal issues in cataract and refractive surgery.

How we can help

We are working with clients on formulating policies and making it easier to balance treatment with finite resources. We are helping with social care policies and day to day activities such as contact and isolation, human rights issues and life/death decisions. We are working on notifications of harm and death, RIDDOR, CQC compliance, judicial review, infection control law and grappling with the new regulations and guidance. For more information click here. 

If you wish to discuss any clinical risk or patient safety issues please contact Joanne Easterbrook or Daniel Morris.

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Digital Health

Publications/guidance

Designing inclusive and trusted digital health services with people and communities. As we look to a future that is more digitalised, what is needed to improve patients’ voices to create accessible and trusted digitally enabled services?

Can NHS digitalisation improve women’s health? Women’s health has long been overlooked and neglected. Could digitalisation help improve this situation?

Tech to save time: how the NHS can realise the benefits. With the NHS under unprecedented pressure, there is a strong focus on the potential for technology to support staff and free up their time. However, the NHS often faces challenges in fully realising the benefits technology can offer. Drawing on The Health Foundation’s own research and a rapid evidence review by The Evidence Centre, this analysis explores situations where health technologies have had no or negative impact on staff time, and investigates why.

Bytes and bandages: the role of tech in elective care recovery. The latest elective recovery plan was published in January. Pritesh Mistry looks at how embracing technology will help improve patient choice, streamline processes and boost efficiency.

A helping hand: robotics in surgery. The advent of robotic-assisted surgery is now offering unprecedented precision and minimally invasive procedures, in turn reducing recovery time for patients and improving outcomes. It has emerged as one of the potential solutions to lower bed occupancy, faster procedures and improved patient flow, as well as enhanced accuracy, reduced blood loss, and less pain. This paper explores the advantages of robotic-assisted surgery and steps that can be taken to ensure its rollout.

Digital Mental Health Technology - Regulation and Evaluation for Safe & Effective Products: Device characterisation, regulatory qualification and classification. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency guidance aims to help manufacturers meet UK medical devices regulations and ensure digital mental health technologies (DMHTs) are effective, reliable and acceptably safe. For the purposes of regulation, there are two important characteristics: the intended purpose, i.e. what the manufacturer intends it to be used for; and functionality, i.e. how the product works, and how the different applications of the DMHT are delivered through the device.

AI and Mental Healthcare - ethical and regulatory considerations. A UK Parliament POSTnote summarises the ethical implications and regulatory considerations for deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in mental healthcare, whilst a second POSTnote looks in greater detail at the AI tools currently being trialed, the opportunities they offer, and considerations for delivery.

Digital inclusion action plan: first steps. This plan aims to close the digital divide in the UK, ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to engage in our modern digital society and economy, whatever their circumstances. The first five actions look at local level support, skills, devices, accessible government services and evidence around health outcomes and health inequalities. It focuses on young people, older people, people with disabilities, people currently out of work, and low-income households.

Bevan Brittan Updates

Fully autonomous AI clinical decision-making: new frontiers of liability - Dan Morris 

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around Digital Health please contact Daniel Morris.

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Employment/HR  

Publications/guidance

What does the NHS staff survey tell us about the changing behaviours and motivation of health care staff? Over the past decade, younger NHS staff have reported lower job satisfaction, higher stress levels, and greater dissatisfaction with pay than their older colleagues, according to this new analysis of more than a million NHS staff survey responses. Do these trends reflect changing generational attitudes to work, or are they in fact shaped by wider workforce and societal pressures? This long read explores the relationship between age and staff experience, and what it means for workforce retention and policy. 

Caring at a cost: a survey of migrant care staff working in the UK. This report is based on findings from a survey by UNISON of more than 3,000 people who have come to the UK on health and care worker visas. More than 1 in 7 (15%) paid money to an employer and 1 in 11 (9%) to a recruiter or agency before coming here. UNISON is calling for the government to take over sponsorship of migrant care staff from employers. The union says the current system, where care companies sponsor migrant care staff who can then apply for a visa, allows unscrupulous bosses to abuse their power.

NHS provider deficits are back: how bad is the situation? This long read reveals that NHS provider trusts in England reported a £1.2 billion overspend in 2023/24 across the sector as a whole. The analysis shows that the underlying gap between stable incomes and outgoings across the provider sector was at least £4.5 billion. This raises questions about how feasible it is to hold down health care spending while increasing activity and performance standards.

The workforce employed by adult social services departments in England. This report provides the estimated number of social workers employed by local authorities in England, and information about recruitment and retention, demographics and pay rates. The findings are from the Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset (ASC-WDS) relating to social workers in local authority adult social service departments as at September 2024. The report does not include social workers employed in the independent sector or those working in the NHS. 

Get your board onboard to improve staff experience. This guide has been developed in collaboration with NHS staff experience and health and wellbeing leads, as well as NHS People Promise managers. Its purpose is to empower those responsible for elements of the staff experience agenda to engage senior leaders and board members in promoting a positive and supportive staff experience.

Leading the NHS: Consultation Response on Proposals to Regulate NHS Managers. Responding to a Department of Health and Social Care consultation on options for regulating NHS managers, including the possibility of introducing a professional duty of candour for such leaders, the Employment Lawyers Association states that the advantages of regulation far outweigh the disadvantages, but that currently, there is no consistency as to knowledge, expected behavioural standards, skills, and expertise within the NHS manager cohort. It suggests that an independently administered regulatory regime is required to ensure that NHS managers operate effectively. In deciding whether to sanction and the type of sanction in a disbarment process, the ELA states that the organisation should consider the full range of sanctions available starting with the least restrictive to ascertain whether it is appropriate and proportionate.

Workforce and wellbeing survey 2024. The results of the sixth annual survey, in partnership with Pharmacist Support and in collaboration with the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), highlight the intense pressures that pharmacy teams face due to medicine shortages. The survey results underline the urgent need for the government and NHS to create a national strategy to tackle medicine shortages and improve the resilience of supply chains. Overall, 87% of respondents scored as being at high risk of burnout and just 21% felt their mental health and wellbeing was a priority in the workplace.

SAS and consultant role comparison. This infographic explains the different roles and responsibilities of specialty and specialist doctors (SAS) and consultants, created in partnership with the British Medical Association (BMA) and based on the BMA's role comparison document.

Bevan Brittan Events

Just Culture and the impact on medical malpractice and workforce. Tuesday 11th March at 12.30pm. Join Bevan Brittan and Howden for an inspiring conversation with a panel of leading women in healthcare. Our expert panel will explore 'Just Culture' and its impact on healthcare professionals and medical malpractice claims.

How we can help

We can offer support and advice on managing many workforce issues including flexing your workforce to respond to the pandemic, managing bank staff, redeployment, vulnerable groups, sick pay, leave options, supporting staff well-being, presenteeism, remote and home working, through FAQs, helpline or policy guidance and practical day to day advice.  

If you wish to discuss any employment issues generally please contact Jodie Sinclair, Alastair Currie, Oonagh Sharma, James Gutteridge or Andrew Uttley.

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Finance 

Publications/Guidance

Finance available to NHS trusts and foundation trusts. How DHSC can provide loans, public dividend capital or guarantees of payment to foundation trusts and NHS trusts.

News

NHSE chief exec joins calls for private capital investment in the NHS. NHS England’s (NHSE) chief executive, Amanda Pritchard has proposed exploring private capital investment to address major challenges in NHS infrastructure. 

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Health Inequalities 

Publications/Guidance

Do the poor gain more? The impact on health inequality of changes in public expenditure on secondary care. This study examining mortality rates in England in 2018 found that, contrary to some previous studies, more deprived populations do not always benefit more from increases in public spending on secondary health care. The analysis showed that the middle deprivation group gained more from funding increases, and the poorest did not always experience the largest health benefits or costs from such funding.

Addressing health inequalities through engagement with people and communities: a self-assessment and improvement framework for integrated care systems. The Care Quality Commission, in partnership with National Voices and the Point of Care Foundation, has developed this self-assessment and improvement framework. It is a voluntary resource to support integrated care systems in reducing health inequalities by improving how they engage with people and communities.

Addressing health inequalities through engagement with people and communities: a self-assessment and improvement framework for integrated care systems. The Care Quality Commission, in partnership with National Voices and the Point of Care Foundation, has developed this self-assessment and improvement framework. It is a voluntary resource to support integrated care systems in reducing health inequalities by improving how they engage with people and communities.

How we can help

We have a multidisciplinary team advising NHS commissioners and providers on all aspects of tackling health inequalities, ranging from:

• advising on the new legal framework and compliance with the relevant statutory duties, particularly in the context of service reconfiguration;
• addressing workforce inequalities;
• taking action on patient safety to reduce health inequalities;
• the role of the Care Quality Commission in tackling health inequalities; and
• lessons to be learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around health inequalities please contact Julia Jones. 

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Housing 

Publications/Guidance

Better homes, better lives: the role of home improvement services in boosting the nation’s health and wellbeing. This report summarises the findings of an evaluation that demonstrates how increased provision of comprehensive home improvement services can enable a healthier population, strengthen the resilience of public services, and result in better economic outcomes. The findings illustrate why action is needed from both local and national policy-makers to address safe and suitable housing as a critical priority. It argues that with the right resources and focus, homes can be a place where everyone feels secure, comfortable, and able to thrive.

Barriers at home: housing crisis for deaf and disabled Londoners. This report is the first comprehensive research into key barriers to accessible and affordable housing for disabled people in London, produced by a deaf and disabled persons’ organisation. It not only documents the housing barriers facing deaf and disabled Londoners, but also identifies what needs to change. The findings and recommendations in this report are a call to action for national and London decision-makers to make accessible social rent housing a priority.

Finding a safe home after hospital: case study research on supported housing and health care partnerships
This research explores existing evidence on the impact of housing-related delayed hospital discharges and the important role that supported housing can play in preventing delays and alleviating pressure on the NHS. Drawing on a series of case studies, the report showcases how the NHS and supported housing providers are working together to remove barriers to finding a safe home and to support people leaving hospital at the right time for their recovery. 

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around housing please contact Julia Jones or George Riach  

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Inquests

Publications/Guidance

Pamela Marking: Prevention of Future Deaths Report. A prevention of future deaths report is being sent to the Department of Health and Social Care and others following the death of Pamela Marking, who died of respiratory failure and sepsis following an incomplete abdominal examination and subsequent discharge from hospital.  

Bevan Brittan Events

Introduction to inquests for the Higher Education sector. Wednesday 12th March at 12.30pm. This webinar will be relevant to anyone in the higher education sector with responsibility for legal services, compliance and student welfare. 

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around inquests, please contact Amanda Wright- Kluger, Tracey Longfield  or Claire Leonard.

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Integrated Care

Publications/Guidance

Addressing health inequalities through engagement with people and communities: a self-assessment and improvement framework for integrated care systems. The Care Quality Commission, in partnership with National Voices and the Point of Care Foundation, has developed this self-assessment and improvement framework. It is a voluntary resource to support integrated care systems in reducing health inequalities by improving how they engage with people and communities.

Allocation of resources 2025/26. This collection of guidance outlines the 2025/26 integrated care board (ICB) allocations for core services, primary care medical, and running cost allowance.

The framework for integrated care: a catalyst for change. This framework is a set of evidence-informed guiding principles and practices that can act as a catalyst for cultural and organisational change to move towards integration of services for children and young people in some of the most complex situations, who are at high risk of harm, and who may display high-risk behaviours. 

Clinical response to local incidents and outbreaks of infectious disease: Commissioning guidance for ICBs. Guidance from NHS England supports integrated care boards (ICBs) in planning and commissioning services to manage infectious disease outbreaks. It stresses the need for prior arrangements with providers to ensure timely responses, and notes that ICB's should aim for consistent outbreak management by the 2025/26 financial year.

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around integrated care, please contact Anna Davies.

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Mental Health 

Publications/Guidance

AI and Mental Healthcare - ethical and regulatory considerations. A UK Parliament POSTnote summarises the ethical implications and regulatory considerations for deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in mental healthcare, whilst a second POSTnote looks in greater detail at the AI tools currently being trialed, the opportunities they offer, and considerations for delivery.

Practice Guidance: Transition of matters from the national Deprivation of Liberty (DOL) list to the Court of Protection. 

Mental health inpatient settings: creating conditions for learning from deaths in mental health inpatient services and when patients die within 30 days of discharge. This report finds that systemic issues, lack of patient and family involvement, and cultures of fear and blame contribute to mental health services not learning from inpatient deaths. The findings evidence challenges in maintaining safety, conducting effective and timely investigations, and ensuring system-wide learning. The report identifies that, while investigations and patient safety event analysis aim for transparency and learning, they are often of variable quality. 

Case (Gender dysphoria).In O v P [2024] EWCA Civ 1577, the Court of Appeal allowed the mother's appeal against the dismissal of her application to prevent the father from arranging for their transgender 16-year-old child to access private treatment for gender dysphoria. Legitimate purposes required the case to be adjourned, rather than dismissed, and required the court to retain the right to override consent given or withheld by the child on welfare or best interests grounds.

News

Landmark judicial review raises fresh concerns over failings at the CQC. The CQC has been criticised for more systemic failure after a High Court judge found the regulator had acted unlawfully and not complied with its conflicts policy in relation to inspections at five mental health facilities operated by Cygnet Health Care. 

Bevan Brittan Updates

Best Interest Decision-Making: An Active Pursuit - Hannah Taylor 

Bevan Brittan Events

Deputyships and Lasting Powers of Attorney for Property and Affairs - Thursday 13 March at 12.30pm. Join us for this session with Matthew Wyard from 3PB who will consider a variety of matters relating to deputyship and lasting powers of attorney for property and affairs.

How we can help

We are experts in advising commissioners, providers and care co-ordinators on the relevant legal frameworks. We deal with complex issues such as deprivation of liberty, state involvement, use of CCTV monitoring, seclusion, physical restraint and covert medication. We can help providers with queries about admission and detention, consent to treatment, forensic service users, transfers, leave, discharge planning and hearings. We can advise commissioners on all matters concerning commissioning responsibility, liability and disputes. For more information click here

If you wish to discuss any mental health issues facing your organisation please contact Hannah Taylor or Simon Lindsay 

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Primary Care 

Publications/Guidance

General Practice in England. The briefing provides an overview of general practice in England.

Constituency data: GPs and GP practices. Interactive dashboard showing data on GPs in England, including patient to GP ratios, the number of GPs, and a map of GP practices.

Step-by-step guide to improving general practice website online journeys. This guide is for those responsible for planning, leading and maintaining general practice website improvement work within practices, primary care networks (PCNs), GP federations, integrated care boards (ICBs) and other organisations. This guidance will help them with: understanding the elements of an improvement plan and the information they need to collect; benchmarking the usability of current online patient journeys; making a plan for improvement; and delivering and maintaining that improvement.

The future of primary care. This report discusses how primary care at scale can evolve and innovate to support the government's ambition to shift care closer to home. It is intended for primary care and integrated care system leaders and policy-makers within the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, and sets out short and long-term recommendations.

News

New deal for GPs will fix the front door of the NHS. The Government and the British Medical Association have established an agreement to reform general practitioner (GP) contracts and reduce bureaucracy and unnecessary targets. The new contract aims to modernise general practice by requiring GP surgeries to allow patients to request appointments online throughout working hours from October 2025. Patients will also gain clearer information about the care they can expect to receive through the online patient charter. Along with the reforms, general practice will receive a funding boost of £889 million and up to £80 million of funding will be made available for doctors to liaise with specialist consultants. The new contract will also remove around half of the targets that GPs must report their progress against to reduce bureaucracy. 

How we can help

If you wish to discuss any issues in primary care then please contact Joanne Easterbrook.  

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Public Health 

Publications/Guidance 

RCP principles for an effective, integrated public health system. The RCP has set out new principles for a well-functioning and integrated public health system, developed in collaboration with a number of health and public health organisations and health thinktanks.

Alcohol health warning labels: a public health perspective for Europe. In the European Union, per capita alcohol consumption among adults (‎15+ years)‎ in 2019 was twice the world average, with 1 in 19 adults dying from alcohol-attributable causes, and 3 out of every 10 alcohol-attributable deaths due to cancers. WHO endorses alcohol labelling as a policy option to reduce alcohol-related harm. This can involve providing information on packaging about alcohol content, ingredients, nutritional information and health warnings. This report situates health warning labels within the broader context of alcohol policy, highlighting their role in raising risk awareness, increasing support for other alcohol policies, and decreasing product appeal. 

If you wish to discuss any issues in public health, then please contact Claire Bentley. 

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Social Care  

Publications/Guidance 

Restructuring social care services: identifying and addressing failing care: a guide for care home professionals. This report is one in a series examining the underlying causes of care home failures, and aims to present proactive strategies to ensure long-term sustainability. This report explores how clinical and financial key performance indicators (KPIs) can serve as critical early warning signs, helping providers identify emerging risks before they escalate. It argues that by closely monitoring trends such as infection rates, occupancy levels, and financial performance, care home leaders can intervene swiftly to prevent small challenges from becoming systemic failures.

The adult social care workforce and their work-related quality of life: findings on work-related quality of life and wellbeing – wave 1. The adult social care workforce survey was designed to collect information on a range of workforce conditions and how they affect work-related quality of life. The insights from the survey aim to support policy development to deliver the government’s ambitions to support the adult social care workforce. These include implementing the first fair pay agreement for adult social care, enhancing skills and building towards a national care service. 

How we can help

For ways in which we can help with Social Care issues click here.

If you wish to discuss any queries you may have around social care please contact Siwan Griffiths.

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General

Publications/Guidance

NHS key statistics: England. Summary of NHS demand, performance, backlogs, and capacity of services in England. It covers A&E waiting times, hospital waiting lists, cancer waiting times, ambulance response times, staffing levels including doctors and nurses, vacancies, and more.

Road to recovery: the government's 2025 mandate to NHS England. A Department of Health and Social Care paper sets out the Government's mandate to NHS England, which will apply from 30 January 2025 until it is replaced. The mandate objectives are: reform to cut waiting times; reform to improve primary care access; reform to improve urgent and emergency care; reform to the operating model; and reform to drive efficiency and productivity.

Obesity statistics. 28% of adults in England are obese and a further 36% are overweight. This briefing covers statistics on obesity among adults and children in the UK.

Climate change and health: embedding ethics into policy and decision-making. This report explores the importance of integrating ethics into measures that address climate change. It aims to inform policy development and decision-making in the UK, highlighting the need to address the intersections between climate change and health.

Green plan guidance. This updated guidance is to help NHS organisations develop robust plans to support world-leading patient care, save money and minimise waste – continuing the NHS’s journey to achieving net zero. Refreshed green plans should be approved by the organisation’s board or governing body, published in an accessible location on the organisation’s website, and shared with NHS England by 31 July 2025.

The 10 Year Health Plan: what do we know about public perceptions of the three shifts? The government will focus on 'three shifts' for the health service in its upcoming 10 Year Health Plan. But what do the public think of these three shifts? In our new long read with Ipsos, we explore public perceptions of moving more care into the community, digital innovation and prevention. 

Lost in the system: the need for better admin. 2 out of 3 people say they've had a problem with NHS admin in the past year. We explore the impact these experiences are having on public perceptions of the NHS and what could be done to make things better. 

News

Safeguards needed if bill on assisted dying is to become law - Law Society 

 

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