EMAS aims for foundation status

EMAS aims for foundation status: East Midlands Ambulance Service says gaining foundation trust status would improve its efficiency. BBC Northamptonshire

New service for patients

New service for patients:
PATIENTS in Wellingborough and surrounding area will soon benefit from a new service to treat minor injuries and other health problems. Evening Telegraph

Julia still denied breast reduction

Julia still denied breast reduction:
A WOMAN who has lost seven-and-a-half stone to have a breast reduction is still being denied the operation by medical chiefs. Evening Telegraph

Ambulances hit 999 calls target

Ambulances hit 999 calls target:
THE county’s under-fire ambulance service has managed to hit its emergency response times target for two successive months after struggling for the past year. Evening Telegraph

Chance to shape the future of the NHS

Chance to shape the future of the NHS:
PEOPLE interested in the NHS are invited to have their say on the future of healthcare in Corby. Evening Telegraph

Safeguarding girls at risk of female genital mutilation

Safeguarding girls at risk of female genital mutilation:
Following recent media coverage, the Chief Medical Officer and the Director of Nursing have asked all health care professionals to familiarise themselves with the actions they need to take where they have reason to believe that a girl has undergone, or is at risk of, Female Genital Mutilation.
Read the letter on Safeguarding girls at risk of female genital mutilation  Department of Health

NHS told to do more for homeless

NHS told to do more for homeless: NHS hospitals are being urged to do more to help homeless patients, in a report commissioned by the government. BBC News

NHS Prescription Services launch new information services portal to improve access to prescribing and dispensing data

NHS Prescription Services launch new information services portal to improve access to prescribing and dispensing data  NHS Prescription Services are launching a new information services portal to improve access to prescribing and dispensing information. The initial release incorporates replacements for the existing QIPP and prescribing toolkit reports. Further phases will see all other prescribing reports incorporated into the new system.

Realising the benefits of community health services

Realising the benefits of community health services: This Briefing outlines why community health services are central to a more efficient and patient-centred NHS. It also sets out the steps that must be taken to realise the potentially huge dividends for both patient experience and NHS finances. NHS Confederation

End of life care modelling tools

End of life care modelling tools:
The National End of Life Care Programme has published a suite of tools in conjuction with partner organisations designed to support end of life care commissioning and planning. These tools were developed to support organisations to achieve the vision of the National End of Life Care Strategy and the NHS QIPP agenda of improving quality and productivity through innovation. Together the tools are designed to enable commissioners and providers of end of life care services to identify the end of life care needs of their population over a 10-year period, to assess what workforce skills are required to ensure quality care provision and to establish how many people dying in hospital could reasonably end life in an alternative care setting and to calculate costings for this.

• Toolkit - whole systems partnership cohort model
• Toolkit - skills for health workforce functional analysis 
• Toolkit - Yorkshire and the Humber co-design model
• National End of Life Care Intelligence Network - publications

Break state monopoly over mental health counselling, urges major new report

Break state monopoly over mental health counselling, urges major new report:

The NHS is failing to offer the mentally ill a full choice of psychological counselling and therapies, according to a major new report published by the Centre for Social Justice. The report, ‘Commissioning Effective Talking Therapies,’ is highly critical of the NHS’s talking therapy service, and urges the NHS to slash its red tape and use therapists from the private and voluntary sector to allow people more choi... Healthcare Today

New A&E target 'missed in six of last ten months'

New A&E target 'missed in six of last ten months': Hospitals have missed the new easier A&E waiting time target in six out of the last twelve months, figures have revealed. The Daily Telegraph

Better buying 'to save NHS £1.2bn' claims minister

Better buying 'to save NHS £1.2bn' claims minister: Health ministers hope to save taxpayers £1.2 billion over the next four years by getting NHS managers to become better at buying millions of medical items from surgical gloves to MRI machines. The Daily Telegraph

HRT shows why health scares can't be trusted

HRT shows why health scares can't be trusted: For much of the past 60 years HRT has been dogged by controversy. Now a recent scare has been re-evaluated, reports Max Pemberton. The Daily Telegraph

Consultants told to supervise new doctors to end NHS 'killing season'

Consultants told to supervise new doctors to end NHS 'killing season':
It is known as "Black Wednesday" – the start of the "killing season" in the NHS, when a fresh crop of medical graduates starts on the wards. The Independent