Access to care

As debates around the future of the NHS continue, Beccy Baird asks a different question: how can the health and care service finally meet the ambition to deliver more care in the community?

How can GPs improve access to primary care for disabled people? Deborah Fenney shares insights from the East of England Trailblazer Deprivation Fellowship Scheme, and highlights the need for wider system support.

The vision is for CDCs to be ‘one-stop shops for checks, scans and tests’, designed to achieve early diagnoses for patients and timely treatment and intervention. But are they delivering on this vision by removing barriers to access and moving care closer to home? Charlotte Wickens, Danielle Jefferies and Sneha Sircar examine the evidence.

David Buck and Toby Lewis consider the opportunities of NHS England’s new ‘Core20plus5’ approach to tackling health inequalities, and reflect on how the NHS begins to adapt its role and work more strongly with others to tackle the root causes as well as symptoms.

As the Covid-19 vaccine rollout gathers pace, Beccy Baird considers what has allowed general practice to meet the demands of this ambitious programme, and how community partnerships will be key to reaching those in need.

With medicines spending growing at a time of NHS funding restraint, difficult choices lie ahead for policy-makers. Leo Ewbank assesses the current situation and looks at what the future may hold.

How have elective hip replacement services been affected by wider financial pressures in the NHS? James Thompson looks at what the data shows.