NHS Resources

At NHS Charities Together, we want everyone in the UK to experience the best healthcare possible.

Right now, the NHS is facing immense challenges. Pressures continue to grow, NHS resources are stretched, the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic is still starkly felt and budgets are squeezed so only the crucial elements of care are delivered. Patients’ needs are changing — the population is growing and more people are living longer, often with more or multiple long-term conditions. We depend more on technology. Staff must be properly supported to provide a positive, personal experience to patients.

In primary care settings, patients often present with a myriad of bowel symptoms, ranging from mild discomfort to potentially life-threatening conditions. It can be challenging to discern between serious life-threatening conditions like cancer and benign issues such as haemorrhoids.

When most people, professionals or media discuss the NHS, it is more often NHS England that they think about. However, due to devolution, each country has its own form of NHS system. While the goal of any NHS system is to provide an excellent service for health
provision to their population, how it is delivered can vary greatly. This article examines how the initial NHS was set up, how devolution in Wales has changed how services in Wales are commissioned, and how this has impacted on continence/bladder/bowel care in Wales.

Imagine the scenario. You’ve arranged a special dinner for a group of friends. You’ve bought the food; picked out your ‘good’ cutlery; dressed in your best clothes. You may have even tidied up the bathroom and hidden last week’s washing under the bed. Then, they simply don’t turn up. No phone call or email, they just decide, for whatever reason, not to show. Quite apart from the wasted food and wine and the fact that you’ve spent the afternoon preparing, there’s the knowledge that if you knew they weren’t coming, you could have invited someone else. Annoying doesn’t quite cover it.

In each issue we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, we look at the current state of NHS mental health services and ask the question

Stories of GP practices with staff standing around with no patient lists, NHS trusts being unable to access IT systems, blood
records and radiology services, as well as emails and even telephone systems being interrupted, hit the national headlines back in May (‘Global cyber attack is using US spy hacking tools’ — Daily Mail Online, 12 May 2017; ‘Massive ransomware cyber-attack hits nearly 100 countries countries around the world’ — The Guardian 12 May 2017; ‘NHS left reeling cyber-attack: “We are literally unable to do any x-rays”’ — The Guardian, 13 May 2017).

We get our news, shopping and do our banking online, but now we can manage our health online too. I see digital NHS services at the heart of creating a better, more improved, patient-centred NHS where people feel more involved in their health and care.

In each  issue  we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, Jason Beckford-Ball looks at the current state of the NHS Mental Health Services and asks the question...

Traditional values may appear to be in decline in some aspects of society, but all of us should seek to bring them into everyday working lives, not only for the benefit of ourselves, but also for those around us.

Social care has become a hot topic in the news in the past year, with the worries and fears of the sector being widely reported. Many people may think it is an issue which does not affect them — but the reality is that most of us at some point in our lives will need care and support.