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Jobs and services on the line as NHS budget squeeze bites
NHS Trusts are determined to protect patient safety as a new survey by NHS Providers reveals services are being scaled back and jobs cut as the demands of the NHS financial ‘reset’ become clear. With the NHS looking to recover a predicted
financial shortfall that reached nearly £7bn this year, Trusts have been asked to drastically reduce running costs, while improving performance against key targets. With the 10-year health plan due to be published in the coming months, nearly half of Trust leaders (47%) surveyed warned they are scaling back services to deliver tough financial plans, with a further 43% considering this option. Virtual wards, rehabilitation centres, talking therapies and diabetes services for young people are among services identified at risk, demonstrating the extremely tough choices being faced by NHS leaders. Worryingly, over a third (37%) said their
organisation is cutting clinical posts as they try to balance their books, with a further 40% considering this. With Trusts told to halve corporate cost growth, 86% of Trust leaders said their organisation is going to have to cut posts in non-clinical teams – such as HR, finance, estates, digital and communications – potentially risking efforts to deliver services, innovate, and improve productivity. The scale of job cuts is becoming clear with a number of Trusts aiming to take out 500 posts or more and one organisation planning to cut around 1000 jobs. More than nine in ten (94%) said the steps
needed to deliver financial plans would have a negative impact on staff wellbeing and culture at a time when morale, burnout and vacancies are taking their toll and disquiet over pay and conditions is rising. Now Trust leaders have called on the government to recognise the difficult decisions and competing priorities Trusts face as
Diabetes drug may prevent leukaemia
they try to improve patient services while trying to balance the books. The survey by NHS Providers, which represents hospital, mental health, community, and ambulance services, also found: l More than one in four (26%) said they will need to close some services (a further 55% are considering this).
l 45% are moderately or extremely concerned their actions will compromise patient experience.
l Close to three in five respondents said patient experience (61%), work to address health inequalities (60%) and access to timely care (57%) were most at risk of being impacted.
l Nearly nine in ten (88%) said they don’t have enough funding to invest in prevention.
The interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said: “It’s really worrying to hear Trust leaders tell us highly valued staff and services – including vital work to address health inequalities and prevention – could be among the early casualties of budget cuts. These decisions are never taken lightly and will always be a last resort. They’re committed to working with the government to build a better health service but fear immediate financial pressures could undermine plans to transform the NHS.”
Paxman and Dignitana announce merger
A new merger between Paxman and Dignitana aims to leverage Paxman’s leading position in scalp cooling and combine the strengths of both organisations to drive innovation and expand their global reach, particularly in the United States where the mechanised scalp cooling footprint will grow from 600 to 900 sites. The merger heralds the start of a brand-new
chapter of working together to advance side effect management for cancer patients around the world. Currently, Paxman and Dignitana’s scalp cooling
devices treat only 1% of applicable patients, signifying a huge opportunity for growth, with
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I June 2025
clear synergies enabling further investment in market expansion and research and development. Together, Paxman and Dignitana will create a stronger, unified company – Paxman AB. Richard Paxman OBE, CEO of Paxman, commented: “The merger provides exciting growth opportunities, enabling further investment in market expansion and R&D for both companies. Merging the best parts of both Paxman and Dignitana brings not only commercial benefits, but also benefits to both the customer and, of course, ultimately our patients.”
Research from the University of Cambridge shows that metformin, a widely used and affordable diabetes drug, could prevent a form of acute myeloid leukaemia in people at high risk of the disease. Professor George Vassiliou and colleagues at the University of Cambridge have investigated how to prevent abnormal blood stem cells with genetic changes from progressing to become AML. The work focused on the most common genetic change, which affects a gene called DNMT3A and is responsible for starting 10-15% of AML cases. The research team examined blood stem cells
from mice with the same changes in DNMT3A as seen in the pre-cancerous cells in humans. Using a genome-wide screening technique, they showed that these cells depend more on mitochondrial metabolism than healthy cells, making this a potential weak spot. The researchers went on to confirm that metformin, and other mitochondria-targeting drugs, substantially slowed the growth of mutation- bearing blood cells in mice. Further experiments also showed that metformin could have the same effect on human blood cells with the DNMT3A mutation.
Dr. Malgorzata Gozdecka, Senior Research
Associate at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and first author of the research said: “Metformin is a drug that impacts mitochondrial metabolism, and these pre-cancerous cells need this energy to keep growing. By blocking this process, we stop the cells from expanding and progressing towards AML, while also reversing other effects of the mutated DNMT3A gene.” In addition, the study looked at data from over
412,000 UK Biobank volunteers and found that people taking metformin were less likely to have changes in the DNMT3A gene. This link remained even after accounting for factors that could have confounded the results such as diabetes status and BMI. Professor Brian Huntly, Head of the Department of Haematology at the University of Cambridge, and joint lead author, added: “We’re now at the point where we have a made a strong case for moving ahead with clinical trials. Importantly, metformin’s lack of toxicity will be a major advantage as it is already used by millions of people worldwide with a well-established safety profile.” The scientific journal, Nature, published the
findings.
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