A BREAST-FEEDING cafe in Northampton that was the subject of a mothers’ protest march recently, will close three weeks early, campaigners have said. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Campaign goes on to save Northampton breast-feeding group despite cafe closing three weeks early
Campaign goes on to save Northampton breast-feeding group despite cafe closing three weeks early:
Northants FT ahead on budget plan - Health Service Journal
Northants FT ahead on budget plan - Health Service Journal:
Northants FT ahead on budget plan Health Service Journal FINANCE: Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust looks set to end the year well ahead of its surplus target. Advertise with HSJ, the UK's leading health service management and policy title and reach an audience of senior health service management ... and more » Available via the Library Service |
Tackling financial failure – how will the proposed legislation work out in practice? | Anna Dixon
Tackling financial failure – how will the proposed legislation work out in practice? | Anna Dixon: While opposition to the Bill has got louder, there has been relatively little debate about the new powers for Monitor and what they will mean in practice. (Blog., Anna Dixon) Kings Fund
Increase in dementia diagnosis
Increase in dementia diagnosis:
The number of people diagnosed with dementia rose from 265,000 to 283,000 in a year. However, only 41% of people living with dementia have a diagnosis – an increase of 2% since last year.
Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer Scotland are currently updating their dementia map, which shows diagnosis rates for different parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. NHS Networks
Free HIV treatment for asylum seekers and non-UK citizens
Free HIV treatment for asylum seekers and non-UK citizens: 
Experts believe cost will be far less than possible costs of treating someone in hospital for Aids
Asylum seekers and other non-British citizens are set to be given free HIV treatment after the government indicated it was willing to accept an amendment from Lord Fowler to the health bill.
Doctors working with people who have HIV have long argued that refusing free HIV drugs on the NHS to overseas visitors, including asylum seekers, is morally wrong and risks spreading the virus. Fowler, who chaired a House of Lords inquiry into the state of the HIV epidemic in Britain, nearly 25 years after he launched, as a Tory health secretary, the first major campaign warning of the the dangers of Aids, agreed with them.
His amendment to the bill will allow overseas visitors to be treated for HIV on the NHS if they have been here for six months. Experts believe the cost of providing drugs from a clinic will be far less than the possible costs of treating someone in hospital for Aids. The drugs also prevent new infections.
Ministers have indicated they will accept the amendment without a vote later this week. Anne Milton, the public health minister, said: "This measure will protect the public and brings HIV treatment into line with all other infectious diseases. Treating people with HIV means they are very unlikely to pass the infection on to others." Perhaps anticipating possible criticism from some sections of the press, she added: "Tough guidance will ensure this measure is not abused."
Professor Jane Anderson, chair of the British HIV Association – which represents doctors who have been placed in a dilemma by the current rules – said: "This is good news, both for people living with HIV and for public health in general. For too long access to treatment and care for some of the most vulnerable people has been compromised by the English charging arrangements.
"There is no ethical or economic reason to leave people living with HIV without appropriate treatment. Recent research shows that proper treatment can also reduce infectiousness and so stop other people becoming infected.
"I am delighted that Lord Fowler has finally won the argument on this point. It's a decision that will certainly save lives and improve the quality of life of many who were previously shut out from appropriate treatment." The Guardian
Estates and Facilities Alert – reporting defects and failures, and disseminating alerts
Estates and Facilities Alert – reporting defects and failures, and disseminating alerts:
This alert reminds NHS healthcare providers, Trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts, PCTs, Dental practices and GP surgeries of the importance of reporting defects and failures involving non-medical devices, and the dissemination of Estates and Facilities Alerts.
This alert replaces previous guidance (DH 2008/01).
See the alert EFA 2012/001 Reporting of defects and failures and disseminating Estates and Facilities Alert
NHS rationing must be based on spending rules, not treatment blacklists
NHS rationing must be based on spending rules, not treatment blacklists: NHS rationing must be rooted in rules on how public money is spent, rather than explicit lists of services the NHS must or must not provide, a health think tank has argued. GP Online
NHS will have to ration further treatments, GPs warn
NHS will have to ration further treatments, GPs warn: Rising demand, new treatments and flat budgets reopen debate on government guidelines over what services will be restricted The NHS is facing such acute financial pressure that it will have to extend the rationing of treatments in order to cope, GPs warn.An overwhelming majority of family doctors believes that the NHS is under such strain that ministers will have to undertake the politically difficult task of redefining what it can, and cannot, afford to provide. Rising demand for healthcare, the ...
Monitor evaluation finds prices for NHS services can change by 10% every year
Monitor evaluation finds prices for NHS services can change by 10% every year: Source: BMJ
Area: News
According to a report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a report from Monitor claims that over 40% of prices for NHS services set under the current Payment by Results system change by 10% or more every year. Such changes undermine the confidence that providers and commissioners have in the tariff, and this can lead to poor compliance with the system.
The report presents a comprehensive analysis of pricing in the NHS and the reimbursement system for NHS funded care, and is the first stage in establishing the evidence for Monitor to use to develop new ways of using pricing to deliver benefits for patients. The evaluation found some evidence that the existing system had brought about improvements in the quality and efficiency of care, however it suggests that there is much room for improvement in the way that providers of NHS services are paid.
Area: News
According to a report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a report from Monitor claims that over 40% of prices for NHS services set under the current Payment by Results system change by 10% or more every year. Such changes undermine the confidence that providers and commissioners have in the tariff, and this can lead to poor compliance with the system.
The report presents a comprehensive analysis of pricing in the NHS and the reimbursement system for NHS funded care, and is the first stage in establishing the evidence for Monitor to use to develop new ways of using pricing to deliver benefits for patients. The evaluation found some evidence that the existing system had brought about improvements in the quality and efficiency of care, however it suggests that there is much room for improvement in the way that providers of NHS services are paid.
Rationing health care: is it time to set out more clearly what is funded by the NHS?
Rationing health care: is it time to set out more clearly what is funded by the NHS?:
This report examines both the feasibility, and the advantages and disadvantages, of setting out explicitly the care patients are entitled to, in the form of a nationally specified NHS ‘benefits package’. It draws on the experience of countries that have sought to explicitly define the health care benefits that their publicly-funded health systems will pay for. It outlines the current system in which decisions for determining which treatments are funded by the NHS are arrived at implicitly and makes several recommendations for how the system could be improved.
Language competency: good practice guidance for employers
Language competency: good practice guidance for employers:
This document outlines the importance of language competency assessment and aims to provide good practice guidance for employers. It has been produced in consultation with key partners including the European Office, the Department of Health and professional regulatory bodies. It reflects current law under the European Directive 2005/36/EC – recognition of professional qualifications.
The effect of a hospital nurse staffing mandate on patient health outcomes: evidence from California’s minimum staffing regulation
The effect of a hospital nurse staffing mandate on patient health outcomes: evidence from California’s minimum staffing regulation:
This paper evaluates the impact of California Assembly Bill 394, which mandated maximum levels of patients per nurse in the hospital setting. This paper finds evidence that the legislation had the intended effect of decreasing patient/nurse ratios in hospitals that previously did not meet mandated standards. However, these improvements in staffing ratios do not appear to be associated with relative improvements in measured patient safety in affected hospitals.
Health bill puts aftercare of mental health patients at risk
Health bill puts aftercare of mental health patients at risk: 
In the Lords, an amendment is being put forward that seeks to retain a vital level of protection for vulnerable people
Peers are set to further scrutinise the health and social care bill as the House of Lords debates a proposed amendment on Monday evening that, while not among the most high-profile elements of the legislation, could have a drastic impact on the recovery of mental health patients.
The proposed amendment, being put forward by Lord Patel of Bradford, concerns clause 39 of the bill. This clause addresses section 117 of the Mental Health Act, which guarantees aftercare provision for a vulnerable group of patients who have been detained, or "sectioned", because of their mental health.
Crucially, section 117 requires primary care trusts and local authority social services to work together to jointly provide necessary aftercare. Examples of aftercare include visits from a community psychiatric nurse, attending a day centre, administering medication, and providing counselling services or accommodation within the community.
As things currently stand, a patient can expect their PCT and local authority to provide an appropriate aftercare package, and to sort out the funding between them. The services cannot be withdrawn until both the PCT and local authority are satisfied that the patient no longer needs them.
In practice, this joint duty means that the patient is more likely to get access to the integrated health and social care services they need and has an enforceable right to those services.
The services provided under section 117 are free of charge because the people who benefit are exceptionally vulnerable members of society. If they do not receive the aftercare services, there is a real risk of relapse, self-harm, and falling out of mainstream society into homelessness or social isolation.
Clause 39 makes a number of worrying changes to the provision of aftercare services in England. The most concerning of these will remove the joint duty so that the new clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities will be able to take separate decisions.
In practical terms, this means either health or social services could be withdrawn from individuals without the other provider being consulted, seriously damaging that person's care package at a time when they are incredibly vulnerable.
Section 117 will no longer be a freestanding duty and, instead, CCGs will only provide health services under the NHS Act 2006. As the NHS Act includes provision for charging for aftercare, this opens up the possibility of the individual having to pay for their vital services.
Clause 39 flies in the face of the government's rhetoric about health and social care integration. It does precisely the opposite of this, removing the need for each provider to communicate with the other and increasing the likelihood of codependent services being removed, at great risk to the individual.
At present, section 117 does not make any distinction between what is a health or social aftercare service. PCTs and local authorities are required to provide and fund whatever treatment is necessary. But if the duty is split, CCGs will be able to stop providing "health care" services when they decide that the person no longer needs them, and local authorities will be able to stop providing "social care" services, and they will not have to reach this decision together as they do now.
We are greatly concerned that this will lead to disputes between providers over which authority pays for a particular aftercare service, and, where services are not clearly in the remit of either health or social care, they may not be funded at all.
Patel's amendment proposes that the joint duty for CCGs and local authorities to co-operate is retained, and that the current safeguards against charging for aftercare is kept. Section 117 provides a vital level of protection for vulnerable people and it is essential that it remains a key part of mental health care. Mind strongly support Patel's amendment and we hope that his fellow peers will also do so in Monday's debate.
Louise Kirsh is parliamentary manager for Mind.
Guardian Professional.
Competition is the best medicine for the NHS
Competition is the best medicine for the NHS: Telegraph View: All manner of reforms are necessary if the health service is to get better.
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily TelegraphNick Clegg backs NHS reform changes
Nick Clegg backs NHS reform changes:
Nick Clegg backed further changes to the Government's NHS reforms today as he attempted to head off Liberal Democrat anger over the shake-up. The Independent
The right to take risks: service users' views of risk in adult social care
The right to take risks: service users' views of risk in adult social care:
Do people who use adult social care services want to be able to take risks?
People who use adult social care services identify different risks to those commonly identified by professionals and policy-makers. Many fear losing independence, which suggests that risk assessments need to have independence as their starting point. There is a particular need to reach into mental health and residential care services to find ways of enabling people to realise their independence. Joseph Rowntree Trust
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