Seven days in medicine: 8-14 November 2023

Social carePlans in England are in disarray, watchdog findsThe National Audit Office accused the UK government of lacking a long term funded plan for transforming adult social care in England and cutting the budget for reforming the sector by £1bn (58%) from the £1.7bn committed in December 2021. Key reforms, including plans to develop the social care workforce, had been scaled back, and the Department of Health and Social Care had no overarching programme to coordinate reforms, “making it difficult to know if it is on track to achieve its objectives” outlined in the 10 year strategy published in 2021, said the NAO. Meanwhile, the care system “remains under significant pressure.” (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.p2646)Bloodborne virusesOpt-out testing picks up new diagnosesNearly 2000 people in England have had a bloodborne virus diagnosed—499 with hepatitis C, 1143 with hepatitis B, and 341 with HIV—in the 12 months since NHS England introduced opt-out testing…



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