The performance of the NHS in England came under renewed scrutiny, after NHS Improvement published its latest report, covering quarter three of the 2017-18 financial year. The financial performance of providers has worsened again, with the sector now predicting a £931 million deficit; against £500 million planned. News organisations also picked up on the headline figure of 100,000 vacancies across the service. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt was due to make a speech on Friday promising a renewed focus on e-prescribing, in response to a report suggesting medication errors could contribute to 22,000 deaths a year. In Scotland, however, there was good news in the form of a big drop in hospital mortality. On the IT front, NHS Digital announced a significant integration between Microsoft cloud systems that will enable NHS staff to access many more applications using their NHSmail credentials. The agency also issued a call for apps for the apps library.
Healthcare Roundup 23 February 2018
