Alexa Knight

As expected of a new Government that long knew it was about to be elected, it has made a very quick start: ✅ No surprises, but Wes Streeting has been appointed as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He brings significant insight to the role. ✅ Karin Smyth and Stephen Kinnock have been appointed to the two main Minister of State positions. Stephen is new to the brief, but Karin has been working in the shadow health team since last year. She's a former NHS manager in primary care and brings a lot of knowledge and experience to the role. ✅ SoS has already instigated talks with the BDA today, and is due to meet the BMA tomorrow to hopefully pave the way to end strike action among junior doctors. That can't come soon enough. 🔜 And there are lots of rumors about former ministerial heavyweights such as Alan Milburn being brought back into the fold, in particular to help with the task of reducing waiting lists. Of course, this was a key focus of the Labour administration of the 2000s when Milburn was health secretary. 🔊 Perhaps less obvious was the tone the SoS would adopt in his first interviews. I can't remember an incoming SoS being quite so forthright in saying the "NHS is broken" and that from now on "this is the position of the DHSC". The government will want to do an early audit to understand how difficult the challenges ahead will be, but it will soon come under pressure from the public to turn round performance. We have the first monthly #NHS performance stats of the new government on Thursday, so will see the approach the SoS takes then. NHS Confederation spokespeople were out doing a lot of media interviews over the weekend and discussing how the Government's mission-based approach is an opportunity to transform the NHS. We will work constructively with SoS and his team to support them respond to the considerable challenges they have inherited. At the top of the priority list will be: (1) ending the long running industrial disputes, including taking action to head off GPs taking 'collective action' over contract changes; and (2) plugging the funding gap that is opening up across the NHS - estimated to be around £3 billion. This figure could grow if the NHS pay review body recommendations lead to pay rises that are not fully funded, and if strike action continues for months. #GeneralElection2024 #PoliticalUpdate #ElectionNews #UKPolitics #NHScomms #PR https://lnkd.in/ecdw_38d

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Plans to update the NHS Constitution are due to be announced today. The Constitution is important as it sets out rights for patients, public and staff. It outlines NHS commitments to patients and staff, and the responsibilities that the public, patients and staff owe to one another to ensure that the NHS operates fairly and effectively. All NHS bodies and private and third sector providers supplying NHS services are required by law to take account of the constitution in their decisions and actions. We are expecting an eight week consultation on the proposals when they are published later today. In the meantime, DHSC has in effect launched the Constitution proposals on the back of a press release sent out under embargo yesterday for this morning. The full detail that will be outlined in the consultation document is due at some point today. While we await the detail, there's been a lot of media coverage of the headline proposals - exactly what the government would have hoped for. This isn't a tactic unique to this government but we're seeing this approach used more frequently ahead of key policy changes. It helps those putting forward the proposals avoid detailed scrutiny until the full detail is provided, and by then the media will have largely moved on. It would be interesting to know what the Government Communications Service and others make of this, but it's a trend we should be challenging as communications professionals. In the meantime, here is NHS Confederation holding response while we await the full details. #NHS #Comms #PR https://lnkd.in/ebcRzhXq

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The general election is welcome news to many. The announcement was quickly followed by the publication of NHS England’s pre-election guidance (link in comments), which reminds us of the need for NHS bodies to be politically impartial and to avoid actions that might distract from or influence any election campaign. Public consultations on proposals for service change are often contentious and politically sensitive, so it’s no surprise the guidance tells us to: - not to launch a public consultation unless it’s essential,  - stop promoting live consultations and plan to extend them once the election is over, and  - not to publish the responses to a consultation until after the election. For colleagues working on service reconfigurations these restrictions can be at the same time a welcome extension and an irksome delay in tight timelines. Planned well, the pre-election period is an ideal chance to do the background work needed to launch an involvement exercise, or to analyse and report on the findings of an exercise that’s recently finished. We've been hearing from programme managers frustrated that the election will cause a delay in finely-tuned governance timetables and asking what they can do to grab some time back. Some of those timetables have been planned in detail to make sure decisions can be made and operationalised before winter pressures start building. That's a powerful driver that can lead to the temptation to cut corners in an attempt to absorb these extra six weeks. A proper process is a transparent process and the challenge of the pre-election period is that very little can happen in public. So, just as it's important to extend consultations that have been interrupted by the election, it’s important to make sure you allow enough time to go through the proper processes once the election is over. Inflexible timetables can be kryptonite to safe process. Really interested to hear how the pre-election period has affected your service reconfiguration work. Is it welcome or an inconvenience? Image by John Mounsey via Pixabay

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https://lnkd.in/eCwtmzXV Health at the Heart of Government, sheds light on both the challenges and opportunities facing Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) across the UK. 📉💡 With health inequalities widening and illness on the rise, the need for bold, collaborative action has never been clearer. The report highlights some exciting long-term opportunities for HSCPs to drive change: 1. Shifting to Prevention-First Spending 💸: Imagine the impact if we could invest in health proactively rather than reactively. How can HSCPs best prioritise prevention for the communities we serve? 2. Building Cross-Government Accountability 🤝: When multiple sectors work together, the impact is multiplied. What examples have you seen where cross-departmental efforts have succeeded in improving health outcomes? 3. Focusing on Outcomes with Clear, Localised Targets 🎯: Flexible, community-specific targets can help us measure what matters most. What targets would make the biggest difference in your area? These ideas are powerful, but we know that real change takes time and shared commitment. If you’re working in health and social care or have ideas on how we can make this vision a reality, I’d love to hear from you. What’s one practical step HSCPs could take today to help build a healthier, more equitable future? Let’s start a conversation about the future we want to build. 💬👇 #HealthEquity #HSCP #PreventativeHealth #PublicHealth #StrongerTogether

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🚨 Attention Followers in England & Wales: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance on using cabotegravir (CAB-LA) to prevent #HIV. ▶ NICE does not recommend introducing CAB-LA for HIV prevention on the NHS. ▶ NICE appears to make this draft recommendation because there isn't enough perfect data. ▶ At a time when new HIV diagnoses are increasing in some populations, this recommendation does not align with efforts to end HIV by 2030. ✅ Go to the link below and add your comments by October 17th. Make your voice heard to expand options for #PrEP.

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A really clear message from Fiona Bride at Financial Times Global Pharma & Biotech Conference this morning: 1 - let’s build on our strength as a pro-innovation health system that gets cutting edge therapies to patients 2- let’s do our best for taxpayers by using clinically effective medicines available at lower cost 3- let’s not shy away from the challenge of improving uptake of treatments for large eligible populations, but use tech to lean-in and evolve

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An excellent blog here showing the link between culture and performance. The points around how to improve both are at the same time simple and challenging for teams on the treadmill.

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For any stakeholder group, there are very few times as nerve-racking as waiting for a call from a member of Government, or a Department of Health bureaucrat, on Budget night. In one short phone call, you can find out if your months, or sometimes years, of advocacy will be rewarded. Lung Foundation Australia CEO Mark Brooke shares the story of their long journey to Australia’s $264 million National Lung Cancer Screening Program and shares advocacy insights on how to achieve a win win for health consumer groups and government. #communicationscience #advocacy https://lnkd.in/gAGrKkz3

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Record €25.8 billion health budget to support the continued delivery and expansion of quality, affordable healthcare services in 2025. The funding represents an overall increase of €2.94 billion on the January 2024 allocation, recognising the challenges of inflation and the increased demand on services due to a growing and ageing population. The 2025 health Budget includes €1.2 billion allocated for existing level of service, €1.5 billion additional funding for 2024 pressures and €335 million in additional new measures. Budget 2025 includes significant increases on 2024 in areas including: Acute Hospitals (up 22% to €9.9 billion) Mental Health (up 10% to a record €1.48 billion) Older Persons Services (up €349 million to €3 billion) Palliative Care (up 13% to €179 million) National Ambulance Service (up 13% to €280 million)

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As NHS Confed says in its latest report, fundamental, system wide change is indeed needed to scale up pockets of best practice into a new neighbourhood health service. Interesting focus on investment in capital assets – just last week we were speaking to a pioneering service transformation lead who’s offering one-stop-shop community hubs that are cutting waiting times, and improving patient outcomes, but can’t cater for all conditions without the physical space to do so. You also need the right people in place to deliver the service, and we will be pushing for community services – including rehab - to get a renewed focus from funding to commissioning and incentivising. Because everyone deserves the right to rehab. And it's how we move care from hospital to community also known as closer to home. https://lnkd.in/eqSwCpH8

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Media training with Black Swans? We'll put you through your paces with our intensive but supportive media training workshops. Whether your a blue chip company, a housing association or a local authority. Our workshops are certainly challenging but great fun. And if you haven't got a clue what I'm banging on about, read my blog -the link is below. (Just watch out for the Black Swans.) #crisiscomms #mediatraining #pr https://lnkd.in/eRrp24r9

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Looking forward to chairing this session for PLMR Genesis colleagues next week, with an expert panel discussing what may happen in the polls coming July 4th & what the East of England needs from a new administration. Sign-up details below if you want to listen in! #politics #policy #publicaffairs #eastofengland

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Did you know that less than 5% of the most senior NHS communications professionals are from an ethnic minority background? That was a central finding of a report published by NHS Confederation NHS Providers and the Centre for Health Communications Research (CHCR) in March this year. Improving ethnic and other forms of diversity have long been an ambition for the communications profession, including in the NHS, but progress has been limited. In fact, our report indicates that we may even be going backwards when it comes to ethnic diversity among our most senior NHS communications roles. One of our report’s main recommendations was to establish a taskforce of communications and other leaders to address this problem. NHS Confederation NHS Providers and the CHCR are delighted to be taking forward this taskforce, and even more delighted to announce that the brilliant Edna Boampong (FCIM) will chair it. Edna will be joining the NHS Confederation on a secondment from Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System while she undertakes this work. Her title will be: Programme Director for Diverse and Inclusive Communications. The taskforce’s main responsibility will be to develop practical recommendations that help executive and non-executive teams working in the NHS to improve diversity in the communications workforce. Edna is a multi-award-winning communications, marketing, and change management director with over 20 years of experience designing and leading strategic communication and engagement programmes. She will be supported by a number of communications leaders from inside and outside the NHS, as well as experts in EDI, HR and recruitment roles. We’re pleased to announced the first three taskforce members: Ranjeet Kaile Antony Tiernan and Claire Riley - more members will be announced in the coming weeks. The taskforce expects to publish its recommendations before the end of the year. See more details in our press release below. And can I also recommend this podcast we recorded with Edna, Claire Riley and Adam Brimelow which covers the taskforce and other topics on the future of NHS communications: https://lnkd.in/eAJXNqqP #comms #PR #NHScomms #ethnicdiversity #marketing #socialmedia https://lnkd.in/en2Fvdt7

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Following today's report by Lord Darzi, the Prime Minister's speech on the future of the NHS https://lnkd.in/dxpp8tDX - and it's three priorities of a digital NHS, more care from hospitals to communities and a greater focus on prevention - all represent important opportunities to improve palliative care for children and their families. Darzi has recognised the significant rise in life-limiting conditions among children, and the government must now include a goal in its forthcoming 10-year plan to ensure all seriously ill children can access high quality, sustainable palliative care, when and where they need it, in hospitals, children's hospices and at home. Reform and better use of resources, including people and technology, will be a significant driver if we are to achieve this. But it will need to go hand in hand with more investment in workforce and services - and a long-term funding settlement for NHS and voluntary sector providers. The 10-year plan and the multi-year Spending Review will be key.

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I wrote about poverty, health & the NHS. Tackling poverty is much broader than health of course & should be a top government and societal priority. But poverty impacts health, & there are some great examples of NHS work to mitigate the worst impacts - https://lnkd.in/dpgvvJP7

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Here in this exchange lies a potentially sound basis for the necessary policy exchange and a sustainable reset. And it must be crucial to avoid politicking, to find a health-positive way forward.

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Does the data back Paul Nowak’s assessment? It’s certainly true for Labour’s electoral soft underbelly of voters who are inclined to move from Labour to Reform UK 👇 Public attitudes to rights at work have changed with the times – but legislation and regulation has failed to keep pace. Far from a pitch to Labour’s base, the Employment Rights Bill is a pitch to socially conservative, Reform-inclined voters in Labour’s new electoral coalition. Stonehaven’s electoral modelling shows that 42% of Labour’s ‘Hero Voters’ are open to voting for Reform UK in the future. But ‘Reform-Inclined’ Labour voters, while more socially conservative than Labour’s base, are supportive of the policy agenda behind the new Employment Rights Bill. 📱80% believe that employees should have the right to switch off outside of work 🤝 76% believe that employees should be given more rights in their relationship with employers 👩‍🏭81% believe that trade unions are important for protecting workers’ rights, with only a third (34%) agreeing with the statement that ‘trade unions have too much power over how the country is run’. 📈 They believe that big business contributes to society, with 70% saying big businesses like Tesco and Vodafone make this country better. 🫵 But, 83% report that big business needs to do more to contribute to society. Reform-inclined Professionals (42% of Labour’s Hero Voters) are the biggest group within the new voter coalition (which excludes the ‘core vote’ that stayed loyal to Labour prior to 2024). They are, as the name suggest, the voters most susceptible to Reform UK. They have stronger financial stability and relative affluence, compared to other segments of the voter coalition, and tend to be located in the North and Midlands. They are concerned with immigration and sceptical of big business.

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As the dust settles on the chancellor’s Autumn budget, I wanted to reflect on what it means for our TEC sector. We’ve all seen the headlines: An additional £22.6bn for Department of Health and Social Care day-to-day spending. Just £600m for social care (despite the Local Government Association predicting councils will face £3.4bn in extra social care pressures next year) A welcome increase to the Carer’s Allowance weekly earnings limit, helping more carers to balance caring responsibilities with work. Increases to employers’ National Insurance and the minimum wage, hitting many care providers and threatening to soak up any new social care grant funding. Although the meagre £600m social care investment highlights the inequality between health and care, along with an absence of any long term, sustainable social care reform, I want to highlight some green shoots of opportunity. We’re seeing strong signals that digital technology is central to how Labour envisions the health and care future. The Budget outlined a commitment to "a mission-led, technology-enabled, and reform-driven settlement for public services”, highlighting the integration of advanced technologies in public service delivery. There was a focus on reducing healthcare costs and waiting times through expanded digital infrastructure and technology-enabled solutions. Over £2bn of investment was announced for NHS technology and digital with a focus on enhancing patient access, increasing staff productivity and utilising electronic health records. And £520m was allocated for a Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund. We also know that as the Government consults on and reimagines the future of the NHS (their 10-year health plan will be announced in Spring 2025), they want to achieve three ‘big shifts’ for the NHS: 1.          Moving care from hospitals to the community 2.          Shifting services from analogue to digital 3.          Moving away from treating sickness to prevention I believe the innovation and hands on experience in the TEC sector means we are uniquely placed to contribute to these shifts and support the Government in delivering their Budget priorities. We know that: ·       Digital TEC keeps people out of hospital, in their own homes ·       Digital TEC opens the door to preventative, early support ·       Digital TEC gives peace of mind to unpaid carers ·       Digital TEC supports workforce productivity and retention ·       Digital TEC empowers older and disabled people to live good lives   So, I urge you, our brilliant sector, to share your stories, insights and results, demonstrating how TEC can support the Government as they build a National Care Service fit for the future.

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