Satisfaction with NHS at record low levels  The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust have analysed he results of the National Centre for Social Research’s British Social Attitudes Survey, which asks questions about satisfaction with health and care services, funding, and policy. Satisfaction with the NHS overall fell to 29% - down 7% on 2021 and the lowest recorded since the survey started in 1983. Waiting times for GPs and hospital appointments, staff shortages, and insufficient funding were chosen as the main reasons for being dissatisfied. Satisfaction with social care was down to a catastrophic low of 14%.   Respondents picked not being able to get the social care they need, poor pay, working conditions and training, and lack of support for unpaid carers as the main reasons for being dissatisfied. Some 83% of respondents felt the NHS has a ‘major’ or ‘severe’ funding problem. But support for the NHS’ founding principles remains strong, with 93% of respondents saying it should be free at the point of delivery and 84% saying it should be available to everyone. The think-tanks argue politicians and policy makers should look at what caused higher levels of satisfaction in the past to address the issues. Higher satisfaction tends to coincide with investment, action on waiting times, and a happier workforce.

NHS news: England drives down long waits as Scotland changes health minister  The number of people waiting more than 18 months for NHS treatment in England has fallen by more than 100,000 since its peak in September 2021; from 123,969 to 20,101 (news release). But the NHS won’t quite eliminate 18-month waiters by the end of March. NHS England chief strategy officer Chris Hopson blamed the junior doctors’ strike for the miss (Health Service Journal). The performance of NHS Scotland on key targets has been criticised following the election of health minister Humza Yousaf as leader of the Scottish National Party and first minister in the Scottish Government. Yousaf has announced Michael Matheson as his replacement at health (The National).

RCP calls for ‘just’ transition from fossil fuels to improve health and reduce inequality The Royal College of Physicians has published a report warning of the health impacts of climate change – and highlighting the potential health benefits of addressing it. The ‘RCP view on healthcare sustainability and climate change’ calls for: “a robust and credible” net zero strategy; an end to fossil fuel investments and subsidies; cycling and walking infrastructure; and green spaces within 10 minutes of all homes. It argues this would improve air quality, physical and mental health, avoid the need to treat the medical impacts of pollution and long-term conditions associated with inactivity and stress, and deliver most benefit to people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Health IT news: Three trusts deploy BadgerNet, one pilots My Stroke Companion, an SBS framework is updated, and Dorset ICS looks to improve its data architecture  Three trusts in the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership have rolled out the BadgerNet maternity record system. York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals, Hull University Teaching Hospitals, and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS foundation trusts are also deploying an online portal and app for expectant parents that will give them access to records and booking functionality (Health Tech Newspaper). University College London Hospitals NHS Trust is piloting the My Stroke Companion app to provide personalised support to patients. The app has been developed by Cognitant and the trust (Health Tech Newspaper).   NHS Shared Business Services has announced a second iteration of its Technology Enabled Care Services framework, which is designed to help integrated care systems, health and social care providers procure patient monitoring, virtual ward, and patient held record solutions (digitalhealth.net). NHS Dorset has launched a market engagement for a supplier to help it review and improve its data architecture (Health Tech Newspaper). A mapping tool has been launched by the Association of Mental Health Providers and Esri UK to identify gaps in provision and make the case for filling them (digitalhealth.net).