The government and unions unexpectedly reached agreement on a pay deal that will see staff given a pay rise of 6.5% over three years, with money weighted towards the bottom of the pay-scale and linked to a reform of the Agenda for Change pay bands. NHS England woke up to the problem of growing health inequalities, stalling life expectancy and excess deaths and called for a report. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt gave a speech on social care, days before the Institute for Fiscal Studies issued a report warning that cuts, falling tax take and rising demand were threatening to capsize council care services. On the IT front, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust went live with the first stage of a new electronic patient record – a Highland Marketing interview with chief information officer Steve Bloor has more details. And the row over GP at Hand continued.
Healthcare Roundup 23 March 2018
