Welcome to the April 2016 edition of global health & pharma magazine, we begin the edition with a round up of news from the central government in the UK and also from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Health Minister Simon Hamilton for example recently announced a 15% increase in the annual number of pre-registration nurse training places commissioned in Northern Ireland and the establishment of a new task group on nursing.

Clare Periton is the CEO of Helen & Douglas House, the world’s first children’s hospice based in Oxford, writes about running a hospice and her thoughts on the importance of having a coordinated health and social care system.

Brother UK’s Greig Millar lifts the lid on the company’s report, ‘GP Workload: Statistics & Solutions for a More Productive Practice’, the Infographic of which highlights some of the activities that take up the most time for GPs and how technology is being used to alleviate some of that pressure.

Elsewhere, a recent report by the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK) argues that our ageing society offers significant social and economic opportunities but only if policymakers plan better for the long term.

In another piece, Leading NHS cardiologist, Dr Aseem Malhotra, in late February highlights a complete healthcare “system failure”, that is resulting in the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of people globally every year.

Artificial intelligence and wearables thrive across healthcare sectors, says Frost & Sullivan in an insightful article. Jyoti Nagrani, Consulting Analyst from the same company argues that the total healthcare expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase to 4.3 percent to reach $50.8 billion in 2020.

I hope you enjoy reading this compelling edition.