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Keir Starmer to Announce Radical NHS Changes to Cut Waiting Times. Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership next week by setting out a series of radical NHS changes aimed at reducing waiting times for millions of patients in England. The shake-up comes after a torrid first six months in government and amid mounting frustration among patients. More than 6 million are waiting for care. Under the new plans, patients will be able to get direct referrals for tests and scans for a range of ear, nose and throat, gynaecological, urological, bowel and lung conditions – without seeing a consultant first. Thousands of patients in England will also be offered a “same-day service”, with follow-up consultations on the same day as their scans or tests, enabling more people to start treatment or get the all-clear quicker, the prime minister will announce. Ministers hope the NHS changes and a series of other New Year announcements will correct months of drift and set a clear course of direction for the Labour government. However, senior doctors said they were not convinced Starmer’s plans would work because the NHS workforce crisis meant there was “insufficient” staff to bring waiting lists down any time soon. Though Rachel Reeves’s budget promised an extra £22bn over the next two years to help cut waiting times, most NHS trust bosses remain sceptical. A recent survey by NHS Providers found that 71% of the leaders overall, and 100% of those who run acute and ambulance trusts, thought it unlikely that they could make progress by 2029. The elective change plan, expected to be unveiled on Monday, comes after Starmer made a public pledge that, by July 2029, 92% of patients would be seen within 18 weeks. At the moment, fewer than 60% of operations or other procedures occur within 18 weeks. The target has not been met for almost a decade. Speeding up diagnoses will help cut waiting lists because four in five patients come off the list after a diagnostic test or an outpatient appointment. Hospitals will also be ordered to ensure patients are as fit and prepared as possible for an operation while they wait, the Guardian understands. Officials believe this will not only boost patients’ post-operation outcomes and speed up recovery but also cut the number of “on-the-day cancellations” and post-operation follow-up appointments. Sarah Arnold, the senior policy lead at the King’s Fund, said: “The English NHS, already under-bedded and under-staffed in comparison with similar health care systems in other countries, is consistently running near to full capacity.” While seasonal illnesses put pressure on the NHS every winter, it was “worrying” that this year the flu season had started earlier, and beds occupied because of flu were already “significantly higher” than at any point in the winter season last year, she added. Let Us know your thoughts and Connect with Us for daily Newsfeed #UkHealthNews #NHS #Newsfeed #AssuredBID

Ministers Plan the Biggest Shake-up of Adult Social Care in England for Decades. Ministers are to launch a historic independent commission to reform adult social care, as they warned older people could be left without vital help and the NHS overwhelmed unless a “national consensus” was reached on fixing a “failing” system. The taskforce, to be led by the cross-bench peer Louise Casey, will be charged with developing plans for a new national care service, a Labour election manifesto pledge, in the biggest shake-up to social care in England in decades. Millions of pounds in funding for elderly and disabled people to make home improvements and stay out of hospital were also announced on Friday as part of a wider package of support for the sector. However, the proposed timeline for completion of the commission’s work was criticised by health and care leaders, who accused ministers of kicking the adult social care crisis “into the long grass”. An interim report will be delivered in 2026. The final report is not expected until 2028. Writing in the Guardian, Wes Streeting said: “It will take time, but Casey’s work will finally grasp this nettle and set our country on the path to building a national care service that meets the urgent need of our generation, guarantees quality care to all who need it, and lasts long into the future, no matter which government is in power.” The health secretary added: “By 2050, there will be four million more people over the age of 65 in England than there are now. If we do nothing, real social care costs are expected to nearly double by 2038 compared to 2018 numbers. “Many more people will be left without the care they need, the burdens will fall on the health service, and our NHS will be overwhelmed.” The £86m boost for 2024/25 on top of the £86m announced at the budget for 2025/26 brings the annual total to £711m. About 7,800 more elderly and disabled people could benefit, ministers said. Care workers will be trained to perform further duties such as blood pressure checks, reducing the need for patients to travel to their doctors or clinics. A digital platform for medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff will also be created. Drop your thoughts in the comment section and Connect with Us for Daily Newsfeed!🙂 #Newsfeed #UKSocialCare #UKAdultSocialCare #AssuredBID

Cross-party Talks on Adult Social Care Reform in England to Start Next Month. Cross-party talks over the future of social care will begin next month as the health secretary hit back over criticism that a commission on the issue would take too long to bring about change. Wes Streeting said he wanted all parties to “agree on the direction on social care for the long term” and that the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Reform party had all said they would work together on it. An independent commission to reform adult social care in England was launched on Friday but attracted criticism for kicking much-needed reforms “into the long grass”. Its final recommendations will not be made until 2028. In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Streeting said: “I think that would be a fair criticism if we weren’t already acting on social care, if we hadn’t already done a lot in the first six months, if we weren’t announcing further action today, and if we weren’t clear about the fact that part one of the Casey commission isn’t reporting in 2028 – it’s reporting next year, and it will outline what we need to do during this parliament to lay the foundations for a national care service.” If implemented, the idea is billed as the biggest shake-up to social care in England in decades, but its parameters will not be defined until the commission reports back. Describing what he thought it would entail, Streeting said a national care service would be “about national standards – consistent access to higher quality care for older and disabled people everywhere in the country”. Asked whether it meant people would not have to sell their homes to pay for their care, Streeting said: “I would certainly like to see people protected from the catastrophic costs of upfront care that see people forced to sell their homes and move out.” “We will have cross-party talks next month,” Streeting said. “And I’m really encouraged by the fact that since the election, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Reform have all said that they want to work across-party on this, and those talks will begin next month. “We will work on the setup of the commission. We will work throughout the commission, and I hope that when the commission reports ahead of the next general election, we can all agree on the direction on social care for the long term. In the meantime, this government is getting on with the job.” The cross-party talks will be focused on getting buy-in for reform across parliament. Streeting said: “We want to make sure that from the outset of this commission that other political parties are bought into the commission and have a chance to feed into the commission’s terms of reference and have a say in how they want to engage with the commission during its working.” Drop your thoughts in the comment section and connect with us for daily Newsfeed!✅️ #Newsfeed #UKAdultSocialCare #AssuredBID #UKSocialCare

NHS Could Save More than '£2bn in a year' as Green Space Helps to Tackle Health Conditions. The NHS Forest initiative aims to transform green spaces at hospitals and GP surgeries into therapy gardens for patients. NHS Forest is all about transforming green spaces at hospital and GP sites into therapy gardens to encourage patients to engage with nature. Recovering from a brain injury at Homerton Hospital in Hackney, former gardener Ben appreciates the green space provided here by the initiative. "Yeah, it's good," he says. "It's an opportunity to be social with other people and have conversations. Conversations that aren't just about, you know, how your rehab is going and when it's breakfast and that sort of thing." Maria Copley has spent around four months at Homerton receiving rehab for a serious brain injury. Her husband Frank says access to the outdoor space has been a great help. "Maria has always loved being outdoors," he says. "And I think it's really important to have these spaces at the hospital. Especially during the summer, we enjoyed being out in the gardens. "It's a little bit chilly now, but it's been an absolute godsend to get out of the ward space and into a nice environment with a bit of greenery." The initiative started 15 years ago and has helped to plant more than 130,000 trees and create over 400 green spaces, from flower beds to vegetable plots and orchards to allotments. It is delivered through people like Emma Myers, an occupational therapist who also has years of gardening experience gathered by working at places like the Eden Project and Kew Gardens. She believes the scheme is hugely beneficial not just to patients but to NHS staff too. "We need to think about preventative well-being," she says. "So the sessions that I do with the staff are about enabling them to take a break away from the stresses of their jobs, to come out to a natural environment, to enjoy being in a different space, doing something very calming. "And then they can go back and give their best to our patients." Those invested in the scheme say it can help a multitude of health conditions and that better access to green spaces for everyone could save millions by helping to tackle stress, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as improving mood and self-esteem and aiding cognitive development. Liz Reece, from the NHS's Centre for Sustainable Health Care, says: "It's estimated that the NHS could save £2.1bn pounds every year if everybody in the country had access to good quality green space. Connect with Us for daily Newsfeed🙂 #NHS #NHSForestInitiative #Newsfeed #AssuredBID

Fixing UK Social Care Will be Biggest Challenge Yet for Louise Casey. She is the no-nonsense civil servant from Portsmouth who was called upon by four prime ministers to tackle deep-rooted social issues, including rough sleeping, antisocial behaviour, victims’ rights and troubled families. Now Louise Casey has been tasked by a fifth to chair an independent commission into adult social care. Her mission? Develop a plan to save the sector. Lady Casey must build a consensus around a new national care service able to meet the needs of millions of older and disabled people for decades to come. It will be her toughest challenge yet. Casey, a crossbench peer and go-to troubleshooter for governments of all stripes, has never been shy about getting stuck into thorny issues – or speaking truth to power. “If No 10 says bloody ‘evidence-based policy’ to me one more time, I’ll deck them,” she once said in a speech. She became a deputy director of the homeless charity Shelter at the age of 25 and was made head of the government’s rough sleepers’ unit in 1999, where she successfully led the strategy to reduce the numbers of people living on the streets by two-thirds. Casey went on to head the national antisocial behaviour unit, the Respect taskforce and the Troubled Families programme. She also served as the UK’s first victims’ commissioner. More recently, she produced an excoriating report on the culture of the Metropolitan police, finding institutional racism, sexism and homophobia across the force, after the murder of Sarah Everard. Saving adult social care will be by far the biggest challenge of her career. The sector has been in crisis for decades. While the NHS, which has a host of serious problems of its own, typically grabs the headlines and taxpayers’ cash, adult social care is always the neglected relative. Collapses in social care provision would leave those in need without care, add to the responsibility on family carers and pile pressure on the NHS, said Care England and the Homecare Association. Ministers hope to avoid that by appointing Casey to build a cross-party consensus. Their idea is to ensure the new national care service survives governments of different shades, just as the NHS has for the last 76 years. After her appointment was announced, Casey said: “Millions of older people, disabled people, their families and carers rely upon an effective adult social care system to live their lives to the full, with independence and dignity. “An independent commission is an opportunity to start a national conversation, find the solutions and build consensus on a long-term plan to fix the system.” Speaking on the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast in 2023, Casey said she would only work for Keir Starmer if it was a job where she “could get something done”. Millions will be hoping it is and she can. Drop your thoughts in the comment section and follow Us for daily newsfeeds. #Newsfeed #UKSocialCare #NHS #AssuredBID

We want to take this time off to extends our heartfelt gratitude to all our partners and clients in the health and social care sector.🏥 Your trust in our tender writing expertise throughout 2024 has enabled countless organizations to secure vital funding and continue their essential work in our communities. Your confidence in our services has strengthened our commitment to excellence in tender writing.✍️ As we embrace the new year, we pledge to continue delivering unparalleled support to help you secure the contracts that matter most. Our dedicated team remains focused on turning your expertise into compelling tender submissions that make a real difference in healthcare and social care delivery. Here's to another year of successful partnerships and meaningful impact in 2025!🎊🎯 #TenderWriting #HealthcareBids #SocialCare #NewYear2025 #BidWriting #TenderSuccess #HealthcareExcellence #AssuredBID #BidExperts #HealthcareTenders #SocialCareContracts #WinningBids #TenderConsultancy #HealthcareProcurement #BusinessGrowth

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New Tender Alert📢 HH108-24-HB Adult Social Care Commissioning Flexible Framework NHS Highland, as the Lead Agency for Integrated Health and Social Care for Adults under the Highland Health and Social Care Partnership (HHSCP), is required to commission Adult Social Care Services across the Highland Council area. Buyer: NHS Highland Sector: Health and Medical Location: Scotland Deadline Date: March 31, 2025 12:00 pm Check full details here: assuredbid.co.uk #newtender #opentender #AdultSocialCare #AssuredBID

New Tender Alert📢 Supported Living Services for People with Learning Disabilities Brent Council wishes to commission onsite 24-hour care and support for 6 Supported Living Services for People with Learning Disabilities and/or on the Autistic Spectrum across 3 lots: Lot 1 Preston Road & Woodhill Crescent Lot 2 Beechcroft Gardens & Manor Drive Lot 3 Gladstone Park Gardens & Ruby Street. Buyer: London Borough of Brent Sector: Government And Public Service Location: London Deadline Date: February 7, 2025 1:00 pm Check full details here: assuredbid.co.uk #newtender #opentender #LearningDisabilities #SupportedLivingServices #AssuredBID

UK ministers warned housing crisis puts plans for NHS and economy at risk Ministers have been warned that efforts to save the NHS and grow the economy will fail unless they tackle the housing crisis, as a damning report reveals millions of people are living in substandard homes that risk worsening their health. In total, 4.5 million people aged 50 or above with an existing health condition in England are living in poor-quality housing with one or more problems such as rising damp, rot or decay that may be making them even sicker, the Centre for Ageing Better analysis found. Of those, 1.7 million are aged 70 or over. Keir Starmer has promised to reduce NHS waiting times and make the UK the fastest-growing major economy by the end of Labour’s first term in government. Dr Carole Easton, the chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, a charity tackling inequalities in ageing, said its report exposed how the housing crisis was putting millions of older people with health conditions “in harm’s way”. “This is obviously terrible for those individuals who live in homes that carry a very real risk of making them sick, particularly when winter comes around. “Older people whose serious health conditions are made worse by their homes will require treatment, putting additional winter pressures on our health system. All could be averted if we tackled poor-quality housing with the urgency and priority it demands.” The report looked at people aged 50 and above with health conditions affected by substandard living conditions, including respiratory diseases, congestive heart failure, heart disease, neurological disease and lung conditions such as asthma. Housing problems identified included rising damp, water leaks, bad condensation, electrical or plumbing problems, rot and decay, being too cold in the winter, and structural issues. People aged 50 or over from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background and with a health condition were also twice as likely to have five or more problems with their housing compared with white people. Holly Holder, the deputy director for homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “No one should have to live in a home that damages their health, yet it is the norm for far too many people in England today. By failing to address poor-quality homes we are limiting the lives of some of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people. “We are calling on the government to fix this hidden housing crisis by delivering a national strategy to tackle poor-quality housing across all tenures and committing to halving the number of non-decent homes over the next decade.” A government spokesperson said: “Despite the challenging inheritance faced by this government, through our ‘Plan for Change’ we’re taking action to improve housing conditions across all tenures and ensure homes are decent, safe and warm – especially for the most vulnerable.” let us know your thoughts and FFM😊 #UKHousingCrisis #NHS #newsfeed #AssuredBID