WHO Power politics
An irate NfN mole accuses the World Health Organization of rushing through amendments to International Health Regulations amendments, demanding control over pandemics, vaccines, and travel. The amendments apply to every big-ticket item the WHO wanted from the Pandemic Treaty, which was blocked in May 2024.
The WHO bypassed official procedures, claimed consensus without a proper vote, and pushed through the power grab when only a third of the member states were present. Now, we have less than 10 months before the WHO gains unprecedented authority over our daily lives.
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Turning the tide in nursing? Not just yet
Nursing vacancies in England fell by a third in the 18 months to March this year. This apparent improvement in the nursing workforce would usually promote good cheer, but we should remain cautious about NHS nurse numbers, as Billy Palmer of the Nuffield Trust explains. It seems that numbers of nurses are choosing or having to take roles outside the NHS. National bodies have previously admitted that only 70% of nursing graduates join the NHS and that this has fallen by 10 percentage points. Over 4,000 nurses graduating in 2022 joined the professional register but were not working in the NHS.
The last NHS pay review body report included evidence of staff considering work outside the NHS “where higher headline pay was available, coupled with a working environment perceived to be less stressful”. There were opportunities mentioned within private health care providers and in the science and technology sector.
Source Dr Billy Palmer, A turning tide: is the fall in nursing vacancies cause for applause or anxiety? Nuffieldtrust.org.uk
Private hospital admissions; onwards and upwards
The latest Private Healthcare Information Network data finds that in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2024 there were more private hospital admissions (238,000) than in any previous quarter on record.
An “unprecedented” number of these paid for using private medical insurance (PMI), rather than being funded directly by the patient (self-pay). The biggest increases came in the 20-29 and 30-39 year-old age groups which were both up by 13%.
Source: portal.phin.org.uk
Yet another NHSE Campaign
NHS England has told HSJ it will provide “targeted clinically led support” to “19 of the most pressured hospital sites across the country” in a bid to reduce long accident and emergency waits and avoidable admissions. Senior teams from NHSE’s Getting it Right First Time and Emergency Care Improvement Support Team will visit the hospitals two to three days per week from September to December, with “virtual support outside of this”.
The “targeted support” will be aligned with NHSE’s existing emergency care those needing the least, in ‘tier 3’ The 19 sites were selected after NHSE reviewed all acute hospitals to identify areas for urgent improvement before winter in relation to access, and in particular quality and patient experience. HSJ understands no new money is backing up these “improvement offers”.
An anonymous commentator writing in the HSJ says: The resources for these initiatives have to come from somewhere. Generally they turn up, facilitate some form of Imagineering/ discovery meeting, occupy lots of trust resources to gather data, produce an Excel and PowerPoint and then leave. I am sure most of us would favour a system where central initiatives and hypothecated funds were cut and resources were allocated to services.
Source: Matt Discombe Nineteen hospitals targeted for ‘urgent support’ before winter Health Service Journal 2 September 2024
Controlling Big Pharma: upstarts and start-ups
Eurpean Court of Justice is challenging the legality of the European Commission’s quest to stop Illumina, a US biotech firm, from acquiring Grail, another US biotech firm. The case is highly controversial because both Illumina & Grail are US companies, & Grail is not even present in the European market. The EC was concerned that the acquisition would stifle innovation & reduce choice in the emerging market for blood-based early cancer detection tests.
The case will also have significant consequences for EU merger control because it is the first time the Commission has used a new mechanism which allows it to examine a merger if any EU Member State refers the case. The Commission took this step to be able to call in and examine acquisitions of start-ups by major players in the biotech and big tech sector that have so far escaped its control.
Illumina & Grail are arguing that the mechanism is incompatible with fundamental principles of law. They previously lost with these arguments before the General Court in 2022. However, the Advocate General advising the European Court in this appeal sided with Illumina and Grail in March 2024. If the Court declares the new mechanism illegal, this will be a major setback for the European Commission and weaken its ability to examine acquisitions of start-ups by major players.
Source peter.oshea@pprww.com
Read more News from Nowhere and articles on the NHS in ERA 3 at http://www.healthmatters.org.uk/