Coastal areas need more doctors, says England’s chief medical officer – The BMJ  
Medical staff shortages in coastal areas must be tackled to help narrow stark health inequalities, England’s chief medical officer has recommended in his annual report for 2021 focusing on health in coastal communities

Improving communication between health care professionals and patients in the NHS in England – NHS England
This systematic review was undertaken by SQW. It aims to identify interventions that have previously demonstrated a positive difference to patient experience and clinical outcomes, while also reducing financial demands on the health system. The options identified needed to be interventions that policy makers, commissioners and service managers across the NHS could replicate accurately, with a reasonable return on their investment and at a manageable level of implementation risk.

Covid-19: preparing for the future – looking ahead to winter 2021/22 and beyond – The Academy of Medical Sciences 
This report warns that a mix of Covid-19, influenza, and the respiratory virus Respiratory Syncytial Virus, could push the NHS to breaking point this winter unless action is taken. The report urges policy makers and the NHS to prepare by expanding Covid-19 testing, increasing the speed and uptake of the Covid-19 vaccination, and strenthgened financial and staffing support.

Reform for people: a joint vision for integrating care – National Voices
National Voices, Age UK, the Richmond Group of Charities, and The King’s Fund have joined together, with input from a range of health sector partners, to produce a shared vision of what new reforms through the NHS Bill could achieve. This joint vision aims to lay out a shared ambition of what integrated care and improved ways of working could mean for people and communities and in doing so motivate the workforce during a transition period.

Norovirus outbreaks increasing in England – PHE 
The advice comes after routine surveillance shows that the number of outbreaks caused by the vomiting bug has increased in recent weeks (5-week period from end May to July), particularly in early year educational settings, and that cases are returning to pre-pandemic levels across all age groups and settings in England.

HSJ Roundup

• Interim chair appointed as trust mulls merger A specialist provider contemplating a merger with its mega-trust neighbour has appointed an interim chair.
• Exclusive: Hospitals face ‘most difficult period’ since start of pandemic, NHSE warns NHS England has told hospitals they may be entering the “most difficult period” of the pandemic for more than a year — and said high rates of admissions are ”closely linked” to low vaccine uptake.
• Watchdog says major NHSE finance project ‘appears unachievable’ Delivering NHS England’s £300m all-encompassing HR, payroll, finance and procurement system ‘appears to be unachievable’, according to a government watchdog.
• Daily Insight: Nightingale changes its tune The must-read stories and debate in health policy and leadership.
• Ex-NHS Improvement director gets trust chief job A former NHS Improvement director is to become an acute trust chief executive at the end of this year.
• Trusts refer more minority ethnic doctors to regulator Doctors from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be referred to the medical regulator by their trust than others, according to a new NHS England report.
• Government halts controversial GP data sharing scheme The government has indefinitely halted its GP data sharing scheme, with a minister today admitting mistakes in the way the project has been run.
• Outgoing regulator CEO: We may have ‘given the impression of a lack of empathy’ A regulator may “have given the impression of a lack of empathy” after it needed “to be more directive with staff” during the pandemic, its outgoing chief executive has admitted.
• Joint chair hired for two trusts with £2bn+ turnover A joint chair has been appointed for two large hospitals trusts.
• CEO move paves way for trust takeover A hospital trust in the North West looks set to be taken over by a neighbour, as its chief executive is moving to the top job at a different provider.

Recent Statistics

• Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 9 July 2021
• National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2021 to 2022 season
• Weekly all-cause mortality surveillance: 2021 to 2022
• Diagnostic imaging dataset for March 2021