NHS news for England, Scotland and Wales The English government has finally agreed to meet consultants with a view to ending the strikes that have afflicted the health service. The BBC has reported that ministers are still refusing to talk about wages; although they are willing to talk about other incentives. The government has also launched a consultation on the prime minister’s party conference pledge to eliminate smoking by steadily increasing the age at which young people can legally buy cigarettes while making vaping less attractive to children. And the government has opened bidding for the £30 million tech programme that was announced at the conference (Health Tech Newspaper).   Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf has promised an additional £300 million to increase capacity in the NHS in Scotland over the next three years. In a speech to the Scottish National Party’s annual conference he said the cash could reduce waiting lists by 100,000 by 2026 (The National). The Welsh government has also outlined cuts in some areas to increase funding for health and rail services. Sky News reported that education and Welsh language services will see the biggest impact. The Welsh government has also been dealing with a row over how A&E waiting times are calculated (BBC News).

CQC paints a gloomy picture in its annual State of Care report  The Care Quality Commission has painted a gloomy picture of the state of the NHS in England in its annual State of Care report. In a news release, the CQC said the past year has been a “turbulent one for health and social care” – with the effects of the cost-of-living crisis piling problems on top of the “gridlock” in the system that it highlighted in last year’s report. The CQC says the problems are leading to “unfair” care and there is a danger of a two-tier system developing, in which those who can afford to pay escape the NHS and those who can’t wait longer.   The CQC says there have been particularly steep declines in ambulance, mental health and maternity services. But it warns that, if anything, the state of social care is worse. Some care home providers are struggling to afford food, electricity and wages as local authority budgets have failed to keep pace with rising costs, even though councils are warning that the ongoing crisis could bankrupt them. This, plus cutbacks to home care, means an increasing number of people can’t get the care they need. CQC chair Ian Dilks said integrated care systems needed to get a grip on the situation by setting plans with “clear and realistic goals” and timeframes.

Government to miss hospital e-prescribing target  The government is set to miss its commitment to eliminate paper prescribing in hospitals by 2024, digitalhealth.net has reported. The website says a panel convened by the Commons’ health and social care committee concluded that the target will be missed, and the government has now moved it back a year to 2025. In a response to the panel’s report, published in June, the government blamed poor digital maturity and a lack of funding for the miss. Former health and social care secretary Jeremy Hunt found three waves of funding for EPMA systems; before attention switched to a “paperless” NHS and the global digital exemplar programme.

Health IT news: about the Digital Health Passport, Alertive, and the RLDatix Allocate Transport Marketplace  Twelve integrated care systems have rolled out the Digital Health Passport, digitalhealth.net has reported. The app supports asthma self-management and connects users to helplines and urgent care services. West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with a new, secure mobile digital messaging platform called Alertive, Health Tech Newspaper has reported. The app includes features to deliver critical information to clinicians and for them to acknowledge and prioritise tasks. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has implemented RLDatix’s Allocate Transport Marketplace, digitalhealth.net has reported. This enables transport providers to bid for work from NHS trusts, avoiding transport delays and saving money.

London Care Record linked to neighbouring areas Work is underway to expand the London Care Record, which is known as OneLondon, the Health Tech Newspaper has reported. The shared care record has created links to the records used by providers in Hertfordshire, West Essex, and Milton Keynes, and is looking to add links to Oxford, Bedfordshire, Luton, Suffolk, and North East Essex. The aim is to give healthcare professionals more information about patients who are referred into the capital for treatment. OneLondon’s senior programme manager Sally Wiltshire told HTN that when this happens, a joined-up picture of the whole care pathway is really important.

Badger Notes rolls out to three more trusts Three trusts have rolled out the digital maternity app Badger Notes over the past few weeks, the Health Tech Newspaper has reported. North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, and North Bristol NHS Trust are the latest to deploy the app, which gives users access to a week-by-week pregnancy timeline, information sources, appointments, and data from their patient record. Pregnant women can also record their own thoughts and questions for their midwives, and store their birth plan. Badger Notes is linked to the BadgerNet maternity system, for which North Tees and Hartlepool is also a new customer.