The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a move to reduce waste in the NHS, using a new ‘Design for Life Roadmap’ strategy to minimise the number of single-use medical devices in the health service, and maximise reuse, re manufacturing and recycling. The roadmap sets out 30 actions to achieve this shift and support the government’s net zero goals, including how the government will work with MedTech companies to encourage the production of more sustainable products, and training for NHS staff on how to use them. Health and Social Care secretary, Wes Streeting, said ‘Every year, millions of expensive medical devices are chucked in the bin after being used just once. We are going to work closely with our medical technology industry, to eliminate waste and support homegrown MedTech and equipment.’

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Dr. Zubir Ahmed MP have announced updated procurement guidelines for NHS medical technology purchasing. These guidelines shift the focus from a cost-based to a value-based approach, emphasising patient outcomes, value for money, and the impact on reducing waiting lists over mere costs. Following trials and consultations with industry and patient groups, 13 NHS Trusts will pilot the new guidelines, with a full NHS rollout expected by early 2026.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has, as part of the Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) pilot scheme, announced a £10m funding in eight innovative companies to bring their medical devices to the market. One device, by HistoSonics, aims to identify liver cancer tumours using focused ultrasound waves, without damaging healthy tissue. Similarly, a portable blood test by Upfront Diagnostics could help paramedics identify stroke patients more quickly. This funding forms part of the Medical Technology (medtech) Strategy announced in February 2024 aimed at boosting NHS medtech.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a £2m pilot programme enabling health visitors to administer childhood vaccinations during routine visits. The 12 pilot schemes will commence from mid-January 2026 across five regions of England—London, the Midlands, North East and Yorkshire, North West and South West—targeting families facing barriers to accessing GP vaccination services. Health visitors participating in the pilot will receive additional training to administer vaccinations and address vaccine hesitancy. The year-long trial will be evaluated before national rollout from 2027. Separately, from 2 January 2026, children will receive the new MMRV vaccine protecting against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella, replacing the current MMR vaccine. Families will be identified through NHS databases including GP records and health visitor notes.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a £340 million funding agreement to expand services provided by community pharmacies across England. Under the new contractual framework, pharmacists with Independent Prescribing qualifications will be able to assess patients and prescribe medicines directly from autumn 2026. The government stated that this will build on the Pharmacy First programme by enabling patients to receive treatment for a wider range of common conditions without needing referral to a general practitioner. The measures are intended to improve access to care, reduce pressure on general practice, urgent treatment centres and hospitals and make greater use of pharmacists’ clinical expertise. NHS England and government officials stated that the reforms will help patients obtain faster treatment closer to home while improving efficiency across NHS services.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced a £343 million plan to open 159 new NHS mental health facilities across England. The package comprises 100 community mental health centres (CMHCs), offering walk-in access without referral and 59 mental health emergency departments (MHEDs) providing same-day specialist crisis care. Allocated funding is £187 million for CMHCs and £156 million for MHEDs, with 57 newbuilds and 102 conversions of existing sites planned. The first facilities are expected to open from autumn 2026, with further sites from March 2027. The announcement forms the first phase of a wider rollout under the 10 year health plan and precedes a forthcoming Mental Health Strategy.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has appointed Baroness Valerie Amos to lead a national independent investigation into National Health Service (NHS) maternity and neonatal services to identify urgent improvements in care and safety following systemic failures over the past 15 years. Baroness Amos, selected by Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting after bereaved families requested independent leadership, will work with affected families to shape the investigation’s scope and advisory team. The review will examine up to ten services and consolidate findings from previous inquiries into a single national action plan, with initial recommendations expected by December 2025. It is separate from the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce and forms part of the government’s Plan for Change to ensure safe, high-quality and compassionate care for all mothers and babies.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced the appointment of Dr Camilla Kingdon, to chair an independent review of children's hearing services in England. The review, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, will examine NHS England's response to service failures in paediatric audiology, explore how governance arrangements between NHS England and DHSC could be improved, and propose recommendations for managing similar service failures in the future. This review follows the identification of issues in hearing diagnoses for newborns and children across Scottish NHS trusts in 2023, as well as similar findings in England's paediatric audiology services during 2023-24. The DHSC has also published the terms of reference for the review.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has concluded its consultation on proposals for regulations governing the procedure for preparing and publishing information standards in health and adult social care in England. The consultation, which ran from 15 February to 28 March 2024, garnered 132 responses. The DHSC has analysed the feedback and used it to inform the drafting of proposed regulations, which are subject to the affirmative Parliamentary procedure. The department aims to lay these regulations before Parliament in spring 2025. The consultation sought views on establishing a standardised approach to information management across the health and social care sectors, with the goal of improving data consistency and interoperability.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed the scope of an independent review into maternity and neonatal services at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which will be chaired by Donna Ockenden. The review will examine cases from 2018 onward, including stillbirth, neonatal death, maternal death, neonatal harm due to severe brain injuries and severe maternal harm. More than 1,000 cases are expected to be evaluated. Families meeting the terms of reference will be automatically included unless they choose to opt out, and there will be no need to apply. Additionally, Ockenden will have the authority to consider cases that predate 2018 or have incomplete or missing records. This announcement coincides with the Care Quality Commission’s decision to upgrade the trust’s leadership rating from 'inadequate' to 'requires improvement'. The full terms of reference will be developed in collaboration with Ockenden and affected families over the coming months.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a consultation into the preparation and publication of information standards for health and adult social care in England under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 as amended by the Health and Care Act 2022 (HCA 2022). The HCA 2022, once commenced, will make information standards binding and extend standards so they apply to private health and adult social care providers. The deadline for responses is 28 March 2024.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a consultation on proposals to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, SI 2012/1916 (HMRs 2012), to allow pharmacists in community settings to supply a different strength or formulation of the same prescription-only medicine (POM) in specific circumstances, where the prescribed medicine is unavailable, there is an urgent clinical or practical need, and the alternative enables the same dose, dosage regimen and treatment cycle. The consultation does not cover generic substitution (supplying a different brand or generic version), therapeutic substitution (supplying a different medicine), unlicensed medicines, off-label dispensing, or secondary care settings such as hospitals. Responses are sought by 11 December 2025.