Hospital’s staff claim £300,000

Hospital’s staff claim £300,000:

A hospital trust has revealed it has spent more than £300,000 on compensation payouts to staff following workplace accidents over the past five years. Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph

Elective surgery – low value?

Elective surgery – low value?:

The aim of this report has been to make recommendations for consideration by the NHS Operations Board with regard to effective commissioning of elective surgical procedures. The work was commissioned by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS medical director, following widespread expressions of concern from professional bodies that approaches based on lists of procedures deemed to be of “limited effectiveness”, “low value” or requiring a “threshold” result in inequitable patterns of service delivery. The evidence base for such approaches is not thought to be sufficiently robust, and in many cases procedures with well-established evidence of effectiveness, such as cataracts or arthroplasty, have been included. NHS Networks

New objectives set to reduce MRSA and C Difficile

New objectives set to reduce MRSA and C Difficile:

New ambitions have been set for the NHS which build on the progress made on infections last year. The NHS is being asked to collectively reduce the numbers of infections in 2012-13 on MRSA by a further 29 per cent and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) by 17 per cent. If delivered it would bring annual numbers of MRSA bloodstream infections down to 880 and reduce C difficile infections from 19,754 to 16,100.

The latest monthly statistics show that, for the first time since mandatory surveillance began in 2001, MRSA bloodstream infections across the NHS have been sustained at under 100 reported cases per month for the last six months.

Health Minister Simon Burns said:

‘There has been great progress in reducing MRSA bloodstream and Clostridium difficile infections in some parts of the NHS, but we want everyone at the level of the best.

That is why we have set each Trust their own objective – to drive further improvements, particularly in the organisations with the highest rates of MRSA bloodstream and C. difficile infections.’

The NHS Operating Framework 2012-13, published 24 November 2011, prioritises the achievement of the MRSA and C. difficile objectives. The technical guidance lists all the indicators against which the NHS will be accountable nationally during 2012/13. Department of Health

Read the New Year ambitions to reduce healthcare associated infections press release

Planning guide for public health transition published

Planning guide for public health transition published:

To help the process of local decision-making around the public health transition, the Department and the Local Government Association have today published a planning guide for local authorities and primary care trusts.

Public Health Transition Planning Support for Primary Care Trusts and Local Authorities, which as been co-produced with the NHS and local government, aims to support PCTs and LAs as they develop transition plans for the transformation of the local public health system, including how transfer of accountability from the NHS to local government will be enacted during the transition year.

The Local Government Association has published transition guidance on public health workforce matters. The guidance builds on the earlier Public Health HR Concordat, which set out general principles for dealing with staffing issues.

Download Public health workforce issues: Local government transition guidance

Department of Health

Advice on PiP implants

Advice on PiP implants:

The latest advice from the NHS and plastic surgery experts is that women with PiP breast implants do not need to have them removed unless they have symptoms such as pain and tenderness.

There is no link to cancer and there is no clear evidence of an increased risk of harm compared to other brands of breast implants.

The Government is advising women to take three steps to reassure themselves:

• Find out if you have PiP implants by checking your medical notes. You can get this information for free from your clinic or through your GP. If you had PiP implants on the NHS, you will receive a letter in the next few weeks.

• Speak to your specialist or GP, if you had them done on the NHS, or your clinic if you had them done privately.

• Agree what’s best for you. Get advice on whether or not you need a scan, then discuss appropriate action with your doctor.

If a private clinic no longer exists or refuses to remove the PiP implants, the Government is advising women to speak to their GP. The NHS will remove the implants if the doctor agrees, but the NHS will not replace implants unless it is clinically necessary.

Read more at NHS Choices

Read the Government’s advert about PiP implants

Read the latest press notice

Dental body's complaints backlog

Dental body's complaints backlog: The body which investigates dangerous or incompetent dentists has been battling a backlog of serious complaints, the BBC has learned. BBC News

Social care talks due this week

Social care talks due this week: Cross-party talks about overhauling care and support for the elderly and disabled in England are due to begin this week. BBC News

NHS Safety Thermometer

NHS Safety Thermometer

The NHS Safety Thermometer is a local improvement tool for measuring, monitoring and analysing patient harms and harm free care that can be used to measure and monitor local improvement over time.

From April 2012, it is the recommended tool for measuring pressure ulcers as part of the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) payment programme. Please see the link below for details. NHS Information Centre

Responses to NHS Future Forum second phase reports

Responses to NHS Future Forum second phase reports:

• Academy of Royal Colleges


• British Medical Association


• Centre for Mental Health


• Foundation Trust Network


• National Voices


• NHS Confederation


• NHS Employers


• Nuffield Trust


• Patients' Association


• Royal College of General Practitioners


• Royal College of Nursing


• UK Faculty of Public Health

Improve health of NHS workforce, experts say

Improve health of NHS workforce, experts say NICE

NHS efficiency: closing the gap - Public Finance

NHS efficiency: closing the gap - Public Finance:

NHS efficiency: closing the gap Public Finance A set of recommendations for policy-makers is laid out alongside the advice to practitioners, and these are targeted at the NHS Commissioning Board and Monitor in particular. The suggestions include providing direction to commissioners and providers ... and more »

Deaths and serious injuries involving medical devices up 29%

Deaths and serious injuries involving medical devices up 29%: The number of patients killed or seriously injured by medical devices rose by almost a third last year, according to official figures. The Daily Telegraph

No-show patients should be charged, says Clegg adviser

No-show patients should be charged, says Clegg adviser: Patients who fail to turn up for hospital appointments should be charged, a Coalition adviser has suggested. The Daily Telegraph

Warning over speech therapy cuts

Warning over speech therapy cuts:

Cuts to speech therapy services could force thousands of children with problems to wait for months for support, the Government’s communication champion warns ministers today. The Independent

Four Health Care Organizations' Efforts to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Costs

Four Health Care Organizations' Efforts to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Costs: This report synthesizes findings and lessons from case studies of four diverse health care organizations participating in the Brookings–Dartmouth ACO Pilot Program, launched in 2009 to support selected provider groups that are collaborating with private payers to form accountable care organizations (ACOs). The Commonwealth Fund