The 2026/27 GP contract includes a £485m funding uplift, with £292m of funding ringfenced for a practice-level GP recruitment scheme. The Government estimates this could translate to 1,600 full-time equivalent GPs.

The contract also includes a new requirement that all patients who are deemed clinically urgent by their GP practice must be dealt with on the same day and appointments will be required to take place that day in 90 per cent of cases.

As trailed over the weekend, the contract also strengthens the role of general practice in prevention and neighbourhood health services, including targeted action to improve childhood vaccination uptake, ensuring all those eligible are invited for lung cancer screening through improved data sharing, enabling earlier cancer diagnosis; and a £25m investment to increase referrals into structured weight‑management and obesity support services.

Responding to the publication of the new GP contract, Dr Duncan Gooch, GP and chair of the Primary Care Network at the NHS Confederation said: “We are grateful to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England for involving the NHS Confederation in the consultation exercise to enable us to put across the views of our primary care members.

“We welcome the additional investment in primary care and the clear intent to stabilise core general practice through funding and streamlining unnecessary workload. After years of sustained pressure, these commitments are both necessary and overdue.

“Primary Care Networks and GP federations may be concerned to see a continued erosion of funding for at-scale provision to improve access and patient experience. Strong, at-scale infrastructure is not a ‘nice-to-have’, it is absolutely essential now and for the future if neighbourhood health services are to be delivered effectively, sustainably and equitably.”

Healthwatch England Deputy Chief Executive Chris McCann added: “The new contract will be welcome news for people who have struggled to access GP services. Plans to recruit more doctors should make it easier for patients to get appointments and ensure urgent cases are handled more quickly.

“People consistently tell us that GP services are becoming harder to use and that simply getting through the door for care can be a challenge. For example, we often hear from individuals who wait in long telephone queues for an appointment, only to be told that all slots have been taken for the day and that they must try again tomorrow.

“We also hope the changes to the contract will reduce the technological barriers people face when trying to access GP care, such as online booking systems being unavailable or switched off.

“Thanks to the experiences shared by the public, we were able to support the government in highlighting the public’s top priorities so it could develop a new GP contract that better meets patients’ needs. Their feedback enabled us to highlight the importance of clarity, fairness, and accessibility, and to ensure that people with complex needs, low digital confidence, or limited options are not left facing additional barriers to care.”

Sources:

https://www.nhsconfed.org/articles/health-care-sector-latest-developments

https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/response/2026-02-24/our-response-new-gp-contract

New figures show that in 2024/25, 1.94 million women aged 50 to 70 attended screening within six months of invitation – up nearly 200,000 (193,745) from 1.75 million the previous year.

As a result, nearly 20,000 cancers (19,291) were detected – nine cases in every 1,000 women screened – which is up almost 16% on the previous year, when 16,677 cancers were diagnosed through NHS breast screening.

This means thousands more women were able to access treatment earlier, when there are more options available and treatment is more likely to be effective.

Encouragingly, attendance among women invited for screening for the first time reached 63.6% – the highest level in a decade – with 4.79 million eligible women now up to date with their breast screening – also a ten-year high.

Overall, around 71.8% of eligible women are now up to date with screening under the programme’s three-year standard, up 1.8 percentage points on last year.

Despite this progress, the latest statistics from the NHS Breast Screening Programme show that around three in ten women did not take up the offer of screening.

Local screening services are working with NHS England to improve uptake, including targeted outreach in lower-attending areas, reminder texts and expanded use of mobile screening units to bring services closer to home.

The NHS also launched its first-ever national breast screening campaign in February last year to support even more women to come forward.

Backed by charities including Breast Cancer Now, the campaign featured public figures including Victoria Derbyshire, Julia Bradbury and Shirley Ballas who all shared personal messages to encourage women to attend.

During the campaign period, the NHS saw a huge increase in people accessing information online, with tens of thousands of women visiting NHS breast screening pages in a single week and clicks to the screening service finder rising sharply.

Dr Harrison Carter, Director of Screening at NHS England, said: “Breast screening can save lives. With nearly 20,000 cancers detected early through screening last year, it’s encouraging to see more women attending, especially those invited for the first time, because making screening a habit can help protect your health for years to come.

“But we know there are a range of reasons why some women don’t come forward and there is much more still to do to support more women to access breast screening. If you receive an invitation, please don’t ignore it. It’s an appointment that could save your life.”

Philomena, whose breast cancer was detected through routine screening, said she nearly ignored her invitation before deciding to attend: “Encouraging women to attend their breast screening appointment is something that I am extremely passionate about, as I know how much it matters. I’ve lost friends who might still be here if their cancer had been found earlier, and I very nearly ignored my own screening invitation, too. At the time, I didn’t want to disrupt a new job I loved, but that small delay could have cost me everything.

“When I finally went for my mammogram, it led to the early detection of stage 2 breast cancer. Hearing those words was devastating, but catching it early meant I had a fighting chance. Treatment was challenging, but it gave me my life back, and it strengthened my commitment to raising awareness about the importance of breast screening in my community.

“Screening is quick, free, and could be the difference between catching cancer early or too late. Please make the time for your appointment. Prioritising your health isn’t selfish – it’s essential. My screening saved my life, and it could save yours too.”

Women aged 50 up to the age of 71 are invited for breast screening every three years, with appointments provided locally through clinics and mobile units.

Breast screening does have some risks. Some women who have screening will be diagnosed and treated for slow-growing breast cancers that may never otherwise have been found or caused them harm. Mammograms also do not always find a cancer that is there, but most people feel the benefits of breast screening outweigh the possible risks.

Read more about NHS plans for breast screening.

Additional information

• 3-year screening coverage (women screened within 36 months): 71.8%, up 1.8 percentage points on 2023/24
• overall uptake (aged 50–70): 70.6%, up from 70.0% last year
• invitations issued: 2.75 million (around 10% increase)
• women screened (routine programme): 1.94 million women aged 50–70 attended screening within six months of invitation, up from 1.75 million the previous year
• overall screening activity: 2.15 million women aged 45+ were screened in 2024/25, a 10.3% increase on 2023/24
• cancers detected through screening: 19,291 (rate of 9.0 per 1,000 screened)
• first-invite uptake: 63.6%, the highest level in 10 years
• following the national campaign launch, NHS breast screening advice pages recorded more than 32,000 visits in one week, a 145% increase
• all figures relate to the 2024/25 NHS Breast Screening Programme annual statistics

Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/02/women-attending-first-nhs-mammogram-hits-10-year-high-as-thousands-more-cancers-found/

Details of the two projects – and why they were chosen – are set out in the newly published 2026-27 Operational Plan.

Feedback through community engagement and signposting and information work has highlighted two key areas of concern for those seeking mental health support – the length of time they need to wait to start receiving mental health support and what they can do while they are waiting.

The adult mental health project will include the hosting of focus groups to clearly understand the issues and needs of service users, a review of the accessibility pathways for who are not confident using technology and an awareness campaign highlighting patients’ rights when accessing mental health support.

Healthwatch will also develop recommendations and collaborate with the local authority commissioning team to improve the experience of adult mental health support.

The second project looking at hospital discharge follows local engagement which has highlighted public concerns including the lack of care plans put in place when needed and a lack of communication with family members.

It will include an online and paper survey to gather feedback from those who have experienced the hospital discharge process, focus groups and visits to hospital wards to speak with patients, family members and carers. Staff will also attend the Discharge Lounge at South Tyneside District Hospital to gather feedback around the discharge process.

These will be the final key priorities for Healthwatch South Tyneside as it enters its last full year of operation.

Last July the Government announced that as part of the NHS Ten Year Plan it would be transferring the work of Healthwatch England to the Department of Health and Social Care and the work of local Healthwatch services to the NHS and local authorities.

The changes will be included in the Health Reform Bill which is anticipated to be introduced to Parliament in early 2026 and enacted in early 2027.

At this stage it is believed that Healthwatch will continue until the end of the 2026/7 financial year until new arrangements are in place to replace its various functions. Funding for Healthwatch from the Department of Health and Social Care for the full year was confirmed in a local government bulletin issued last month.

Healthwatch South Tyneside was launched along with local Healthwatches across the country in 2013 to make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear the care experiences of people in England and use their feedback to improve support.

A full copy of the Operational Plan can be downloaded here.

Staff delivered a historic high of 18.4 million treatments and operations in 2025, up from 18 million in 2024, as the waiting list dropped to 7.29 million.

The new data shows there were 1.43 million treatments delivered in December – an increase of 91,775 on last year – despite 5 days of industrial action by resident doctors, thanks to staff maintaining almost 95% of usual activity during strikes.

The percentage of people waiting over 18 weeks for treatment slightly decreased to 61.5%, while the percentage of those waiting over 52 weeks dropped to just 1.9% – the lowest since June 2020 – as the Elective Reform Plan continues to drive NHS services to tackle the longest waits and ensure more people are seen quicker.

The progress comes thanks to the Elective Reform Plan, which has led to an expansion of community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs, creating more evening and weekend clinics, as well as sending patients ‘straight to test’ rather than multiple clinic visits.

While NHS staff used innovative measures across the country including high-intensity theatre (HIT) lists across elective surgery hubs to maximise the number of patients treated in one day or using robotic-assisted surgeries to speed up procedures and increase precision – getting more patients home sooner and recovering faster.

The data also shows demand across emergency services is showing no signs of letting up, with the NHS on track for its busiest winter ever.

A&E staff experienced a record high January of 2,320,266 A&E attendances – 4.6% higher than in January 2025 – while ambulance staff have faced a record number of incidents across December and January.

Despite this, staff continue to manage the ever-increasing demand, with 206,800 more people admitted, transferred or discharged in less than 4 hours in Type 1 A&E departments across winter so far this year when compared to last year (3.4 million in October 2025 to January 2026 vs 3.2 million in October 2024 to January 2025).

Four-hour NHS performance has been at 73.5% across winter so far – up from 72.1% last year and less than 70% the year before.

Ambulance response times are quicker than last winter, with both Category 1 and Category 2 response times down on last year (C1 8:08 and C2 35:04 in January 2026 vs C1 8:16 and C2 35:39 in January 2025).

Separate figures also just published show hospitals are continuing to face the impact of seasonal viruses, with an average of 1,119 patients in hospital with flu and 929 with norovirus each day last week.

The government launched the National Cancer Plan earlier this month, committing the NHS to meet all cancer waiting time standards by 2029, with hundreds of thousands more patients treated within 62 days.

Staff carried out 2.37 million tests and checks in December alongside 77.4% of people receiving the all-clear or a cancer diagnosis within 4 weeks of an urgent suspected cancer referral – the highest proportion in 9 months (76.7% in April 2025).

Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “Completing a historic high of elective activity is a triumph for NHS staff who continue to innovate and go above and beyond to treat more patients, faster.

“Thanks to early preparations and careful planning, ambulance waits are shorter and A&E treatment times are faster this winter – even as staff face record demand – while we know there is further to go in improving patient flow and cutting the longest emergency department waits.”

“We saw a great response from the public with many people getting protected against winter viruses this year, which is paying off for patients and keeping more people well and at home.

“With a particularly wet start to the year and cold weather alerts issued for England over the weekend, as ever, it’s really important the public continue to come forward for care in the usual way – by dialling 999 in an emergency and otherwise using 111 online, your local pharmacist or GP”.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said: “Despite having to deal with flu and industrial action, the NHS has managed to continue cutting waiting lists, thanks to a Herculean effort this winter.

“This government has cut waiting lists by more than 330,000, with hundreds of thousands more people treated within 18 weeks. That’s not happening by chance – it’s because we delivered record levels of care in 2025.

“This progress is driven by unprecedented investment and modernisation of our health service, and above all by the dedication of NHS staff.

“Whether it’s by opening up new community diagnostic centres, rolling out surgical hubs to tackle backlogs, or investing in modern equipment and technology, we are rebuilding our NHS.

“There’s so much more to do, but people can take hope and optimism from the fact that the NHS is finally on the road to recovery.”

Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/02/waiting-list-lowest-3-years-battled-busiest-winter-on-record/