Latest Health Bulletin

Dear all,

Please see below the latest health Bulletin:

Commissioning guidance for community pharmacy prescribing-based services.


NHS England; 2026.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-guidance-for-community-pharmacy-prescribing-based-services/
[This document sets out the important role that ICBs have in supporting the national uptake and effectiveness of pharmacy led services, the principles underpinning the ICB commissioning of community pharmacy clinical services to meet local need, and the steps necessary to ensure prescribing is safely embedded within local and national services.]
Freely available online


ICBs told to redraw boundaries again.
HSJ: Health Service Journal 2026;(31 July):8123939.
[Integrated care board boundaries will be redrawn again after Andy Burnham pledged they would match new local government footprints by 2029. The government said ICBs, along with other public bodies, would align with strategic authorities by the end of this parliament. It also pledged to give “more local democratic control” to services including health and by establishing deputy mayor roles responsible for “key public services”.]
Available with appropriate registration or membership

Addiction in the UK.
The Forward Trust; 2026.
https://forwardtrust.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/publications/Forward-Crest-Addiction-in-UK-Report-A4-2026-V4—amended-8.7.26.pdf
[Looks at how alcohol and illegal drugs addiction affects families and communities in the United Kingdom. The first report to bring together addiction data from all four UK nations into a single evidence base.]
Freely available online

Opening up opportunity for the ‘lost generation’: The role of Young Futures in boosting youth employment.
Catch22; 2026.
https://www.catch-22.org.uk/resources/opening-up-opportunity-for-the-lost-generation-report/
[This report sets out how Young Futures Hubs can help tackle the growing crisis of young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) by: fixing the architecture of support; building skills, confidence; and resilience; breaking the link between mental health and being NEET; tackling the risk factors of low attainment and school absence; providing work experience and practical employment support; and strengthening connections between Young Futures Hubs and DWP services.]
Freely available online


Near to real-time suspected suicide surveillance (nRTSSS) for England: data to April 2026.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID); 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/near-to-real-time-suspected-suicide-surveillance-nrtsss-for-england-data-to-april-2026
[Reporting of deaths by suspected suicide, acting as an early warning system for indications of change in suicides to inform suicide prevention.]
Freely available online

Department of Health and Social Care British Sign Language (BSL) 5-year plan: 1-year update, July 2026 – GOV.UK

The BSL Act 2022 requires that named ministerial government departments must report on how they are promoting or facilitating the use of BSL in their communications with the public. 

In July 2025, all ministerial departments published a 5-year BSL plan, setting out how they plan to improve the use of BSL within their departments.

These were published alongside the third BSL report, which summarises work being done across the government to improve the use of BSL.  

Departments have been asked to update on their progress every year for the duration of the 5-year plan.

Published 15 July 2026

Mental health difficulties among young adults have doubled in past decade.

Centre for Longitudinal Studies; 2026.

https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/mental-health-difficulties-among-young-adults-have-doubled-in-past-decade/


[More than a fifth (22%) of generation Z in England report having a longstanding mental health condition in their early 20s, double the rate of millennials (10%) at a similar age ten years earlier, finds a new UCL study.]
Freely available online

Latest Depression & Anxiety bulletin

Dear all,

The latest Depression & Anxiety Bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/depression-anxiety/2026/05/11-may-2026/

In this edition:

  • Key target hit with 8,500 extra mental health workers in the NHS
  • Mental illness is pregnancy’s number one complication. It’s time to support those who suffer from it
  • Supported housing crisis costs NHS mental health services in England £102 million a year
  • MDMA-assisted therapy for depression: a promising but early first step
  • Plus much more

Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.

Latest Community Health Bulletin

Dear all,

The latest Community Health Bulletin is ready for you to view at  https://www.evidentlybetter.org/community-bulletin/2026/05/7-may-2026/

In this edition:

  • Government response to the report ‘The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus’
  • “More Than Missing School”
  • Adopting a greener lens on mental health
  • NHS overhauls clinical standards to reduce maternal deaths
  • Overwhelmed community mental health nurses raise alarm over staffing and caseloads
  • Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law
  • Plus much more

Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.


Thank you

Forensic Psychiatry

Current Awareness Bulletin

With thanks to our colleagues at Greater Manchester Mental Health, the latest forensic psychiatry bulletin can be accessed: forensic-psychiatry-january-2026pdf.pdf. Some articles are freely accessible, others require an Open Athens account. You can create an account here: OpenAthens | Login or get in touch wit the library team (academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk) for further support.

Current Awareness Bulletins

The latest version of the current awareness bulletin is now available.

NHS England have a new online form to subscribe to their bulletins: KLS Technology bulletin & Technology Update 

James Padget has reduced frequency of their Autism Spectrum Disorder Bulletin to twice a year.  And Botulinum toxin for spasticity in adults

by York & Scarborough is now biannual.

A fond farewell to Long Term Conditions Bulletin by York & Scarborough,

Dartford & Grasham has launch a new Legalised Assisted Dying Bulletin, contact christine.williams60@nhs.net to sign up.

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust have really gone for it this time with a raft of new KnowledgeShare based monthly bulletins (Well done):

Contact emily.cieciura@uhd.nhs.uk for:

  • Dietetics
  • Elderly Medicine
  • Mental Health in Schools
  • Neurodiversity
  • Neurology
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Paediatrics
  • Physiotherapy
  • Project Management
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Suicide Prevention

Contact richard.daly@uhd.nhs.uk for:

  • Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Innovation
  • IT & AI
  • Leadership
  • Oncology
  • Oral Maxillofacial
  • Palliative Care
  • Pain
  • Staff Wellbeing
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  • Wellbeing

Contact barbara.peirce@uhd.nhs.uk for:

  • Armed ForcesBiochemistry
  • CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
  • Gynaecology
  • Haematology
  • Histology
  • Maternity
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  • Radiology
  • Respiratory
  • Urology

Contact library@uhd.nhs.uk for:

  • Alcoholism Bulletin
  • Anaesthetics Bulletin
  • Auditory Bulletin
  • Continence Bulletin
  • Diversity and Inclusion Bulletin
  • General Surgery Bulletin
  • Ophthalmology
  • Podiatry Bulletin
  • Smoke Free Bulletin
  • Stroke
  • Substance Misuse Bulletin
  • Wound Care Bulletin

Community Health Bulletin

The latest Community Health Bulletin is ready for you to view at 

https://www.evidentlybetter.org/community-bulletin/2024/11/5-november-2024/

In this edition:

  • The state of health care and adult social care in England 2023/24
  • Tackling inequalities faced by minority groups in mental health through the Personalised Care Programme
  • The art of deprescribing: The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines (RCPsych Congress 2024)
  • What makes a good mental health needs assessment, and why does it matter?
  • The OHA Welcomes the House of Lords Report: Recipe for Health
  • Drug-related deaths have risen by record numbers in England and Wales – latest data
  • Plus much more

Thank You to Mersey CareNHS Foundation Trust Library for producing this bulletin

Learning Disability& Autism

The latest Learning Disabilities & Autism bulletin is ready for you to view at 

https://www.evidentlybetter.org/learning-disability-autism/2024/11/5-november-2024-2/


In this edition:

  • ‘It’s designed for someone who is not me’: A reflexive thematic analysis of the unmet healthcare support needs in UK autistic adults aged 65 years and over
  • Care and choice architecture: Relatives’ support for adults with intellectual disabilities in supported decision-making processes
  • ‘Not a Priority’ highlights crisis in autism assessment and support
  • Webinar Recording: The Impact of Missed Opportunities
  • First-episode psychosis more likely in neurodivergent people
  • ‘Chronic’ DoLS backlogs leaving many without human rights protections, warns CQC
  • Plus much more

Thank you to Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust library for producing this bulletin