Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
The Week in Practice | 9 November 2026
Every Monday, Pavilion Health Today brings you a quick briefing on the clinical developments that matter to UK doctors in the Week in Practice.
📢 Your Monday briefing for UK doctors. Start your week informed with the Week in Practice.
🆕 Guidance to know
The latest National Audit of Inpatient Falls (NAIF) report covers inpatient fall-related injuries beyond hip fractures. It examines both preventive care before a fall and the quality of care afterwards. The report found that patients who sustain injuries such as pelvic fractures, spinal injuries or head trauma in hospital receive inconsistent post-fall care, with improvements needed in delirium screening and pain relief.
💊 Clinical news
Figures published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that chickenpox hospitalisations totalled 3,037 for children and young people in England last year. The figures, published in the Varicella Annual Report 2025, show that younger children were disproportionately affected by chickenpox (varicella) in England in 2025, before the virus was introduced to the NHS Childhood Vaccination Programme on 1 January 2026.
💡 Practice point
Patients most at risk this winter will receive additional GP support to help prevent serious illness and reduce avoidable hospital admissions. The £40 million government-funded programme will help 300,000 vulnerable patients with conditions including heart disease, COPD or frailty access tailored GP support to help them avoid reaching a crisis point and needing to go to hospital. This includes health checks, home assessments and medication reviews.
🔬 Research in practice
A world-leading new trial is being launched across at least 200 GP practices in England to enable earlier diagnosis of some of the most common cancers. More than 20,000 NHS patients will take part in the trial to assess whether simple blood tests can detect prostate, ovarian, bowel, pancreatic, stomach, liver and other abdominal cancers. Participating patients aged 45 and over who visit their GP with abdominal symptoms – such as persistent bloating or discomfort – will be invited to take part in the trial.
Women with the inherited cholesterol condition familial hypercholesterolaemia may be at a slightly higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy-related condition that can cause serious complications, according to a new study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) causes lifelong high cholesterol and substantially increases the risk of heart disease. It affects approximately 1 in 200 to 300 people, although most remain undiagnosed.
📌 On the radar
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have restructured, made redundancies, and developed new operating models at pace to meet NHSE savings targets. However, a new National Audit Office (NAO) report finds it is not yet clear whether they have retained the skills and capacity needed to deliver effective strategic commissioning. The NAO recommends that NHSE and DHSC clearly define ICBs’ future roles and ensure that workforce reductions deliver sustainable savings without losing essential skills and capacity.
Patients and the public will play a greater role in shaping medicines and medical device regulation under a new plan published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Plan 2026–2030 (PPIE) will outline how the agency will involve and engage people earlier, hear from a wider range of patient groups and communities and explain openly and clearly how patients’ experiences shape its work.
