Media Monitoring: 12th – 18th June

It is expected that procurement and the importance of value will be referenced in the Government’s 10 Year Plan for the National Health Service (NHS) in England.
Publication of the Plan is anticipated for early July, and it will reflect the determination of health ministers, led by Health Secretary, West Streeting, to repair what he has described as the “broken” NHS and to drive down elective waiting lists and times.
Those objectives will only be met by the early adoption of Artificial Intelligence and other digital technologies; and a new approach to purchasing MedTech through the Value Based Procurement system, currently being developed by the Medtech and Innovation Directorate of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Derby and Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire ICBs have announced they are to cluster together as part of plans to cut costs.
It follows moves by ICBs in the East of England and South West regions who revealed similar plans last month.
A spokesperson from Derby & Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire ICBs said the cluster plan was the ‘current planning assumption’, and would involve the ICBs sharing teams and operating models.

The NHS waiting list has fallen to its lowest level in two years, the first April drop since 2008, as health chiefs hailed staff for continuing to tackle demand and drive progress for patients.
New data shows that the NHS waiting list has fallen to 7.39 million, down from 7.42 million – the first time the waiting list has seen a reduction in April in 17 years (excluding the first year of the pandemic).
Health service staff made further strides to clear the backlog with 1.45 million treatments delivered in April – equivalent to around 72,500 planned treatments each day and 3% more than last year.

A population-based observational study published in The Lancet by Dhurgshaarna Shanmugavadivel and colleagues on 27 May 2025 aimed to quantify diagnostic intervals and routes to diagnose childhood cancer in the UK.
Patient interval, diagnostic interval and total diagnostic interval (TDI) were calculated from data obtained by the principal treatment centres in which childhood cancer care in the UK is centralised. Of the 1,957 participants aged under 18 years, 74% had between one and three appointments with healthcare professionals before diagnosis, 67% were diagnosed via emergency presentation, and only 2% were diagnosed due to incidental finding.
There is an urgent need to focus on and re-evaluate strategies that will accelerate childhood cancer diagnosis in line with the WHO goals, given that the risk of long-term depression is doubled in patients with a TDI over two months.

Millions to take part in clinical trials under 10 Year Health Plan, transforming patient care with groundbreaking treatments, while driving growth
Unparalleled access to trials via NHS App, and public reporting of trusts to show who is and is not delivering on trials, with funding prioritised for best performers
Plan for Change will turbocharge clinical research to regain UK’s clout on world stage and deliver most ambitious reduction in trial set-up times in British history

Over the past twelve months, the government has made some big calls on health and care funding.
Some decisions tightened the purse strings – for example, following the July 2024 public spending audit, the government delayed parts of the New Hospital Programme and cancelled planned reforms to adult social care charging.
And some decisions loosened the purse strings – significant new funding was given to health and care services in the Autumn Budget 2024, in part to meet rising demand and to cover new pay deals and the costs of industrial action.