Thursday 31 May 2012

New care centre marks end of a 30-year vision

New care centre marks end of a 30-year vision:
The Willowbrook Health Complex in Corby has offered a range of health services to the community since the 1950s.Evening Telgraph

Are we wasting money on care that patients don't want? | Anna Dixon

Are we wasting money on care that patients don't want? | Anna Dixon: Could there be a much simpler solution towards making savings? What would happen if patients were fully informed about their care and treatment options? What if patients were asked what care they wanted? (Blog, 29 May 2012) Kings Fund

A&E waiting times hit eight-year high as NHS struggles to meet productivity challenge

A&E waiting times hit eight-year high as NHS struggles to meet productivity challengeThe proportion of patients spending more than four hours in A&E has increased by more than a quarter over the last year, reaching its highest level since 2004 Kings Fund

Patient safety: learning from Europe

Patient safety: learning from Europe: As a nation that often looks to the US for insights into healthcare improvement, we perhaps sometimes overlook how much there to learn from Europe, says Jo Bibby. Health Foundation

Paul Burstow announces £60m of funding for hospices

Paul Burstow announces £60m of funding for hospices:
Care services minister Paul Burstow has announced that hospices are to benefit from up to £60m of funding to help improve the quality of care for people nearing the end of their lives. NHS Networks

Children aged five 'depressed'

Children aged five 'depressed': Children as young as five are being referred for treatment for depression and anxiety, a BBC investigation finds.

VIDEO: Doctors take action over pensions

VIDEO: Doctors take action over pensions: Doctors will stop providing non-urgent care for a day next month in the first industrial action by the profession for nearly 40 years. BBC News

'Training gap' in healthcare sector puts patients at risk, finds survey of managers

'Training gap' in healthcare sector puts patients at risk, finds survey of managers: , the research demonstrates that the Department of Health and NHS still have an uphill struggle on their hands to achieve this. A quarter (24%) of managers surveyed by the IHM feel they ... HR Magazine

All school children should be given flu vaccine

All school children should be given flu vaccine:
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said it believes that all children should be given annual flu vaccinations at school.
At present, the jab is offered to people aged over 65, pregnant women and anyone with an underlying health condition but the panel, which advises the Government, says the vaccine should be given to pupils aged five to 17 on the NHS. They said it would help prevent the sprea... Healthcare Today

Discharged to the streets: homelessness and the NHS

Discharged to the streets: homelessness and the NHS:
As a new study reveals seven in 10 homeless people are discharged from hospital to the street, Homeless Link calls for the NHS to act
Seven out of 10 homeless people who end up in hospital are discharged back onto the streets, according to our latest research published this week. Homeless clients are often discharged without their underlying health problems being addressed, damaging their health and costing the NHS money. All this could be avoided.
It's well known that being homeless can harm your health, especially if you end up sleeping rough. Life on the streets can make you vulnerable to disease, mental health and physical issues. Many people arrive on the streets with existing health issues; the longer they spend out, the more these problems can multiply.
Every day, the NHS feels the impact of this. According to research we undertook in 2010, in a six month period 40% of homeless people used accident and emergency at least once, and nearly a third were admitted to hospital.
Yet despite the heavy, and at times inappropriate, use of acute services by homeless people, not enough NHS services use this opportunity to get their needs properly assessed and work with others to plan for life after hospital.
In 2003, the Department of Health and issued guidance recommending that all acute hospitals should have policies that help identify homeless people on admission and ensure that homeless services are contacted. A Homeless Link survey carried out in 2010 indicated that only 39% of areas had these policies in place.
While things have improved, this week's report finds that in too many areas it is an issue that is still being ignored.
Yet where NHS services do take this issue seriously it can result in significant benefits. The approach taken by UCL Hospitals Pathway Homeless Team is just one example.
Set up in response to a concern that homeless patients were being discharged with little support, UCLH now checks the housing status of patients on admission. Homeless patients are assessed and a care plan drawn up with other agencies. Patients also get support from mentors, whose own experience of homelessness makes them well placed to support and challenge homeless patients while in hospital.
By personalising its services to homeless people's needs and working with other services in the community, UCLH has reduced total bed days relating to homeless admissions by a third – saving £100,000. Because of its success, this model is now spreading to other hospitals.
So what needs to change? Our report sets out some good advice and best practice for hospital staff. Not everywhere needs a UCLH approach (some areas won't see enough homeless people to warrant it) but every hospital can take action.
Frontline NHS staff can help identify people who are homeless or at risk of losing their home by asking the right questions. Hospital managers can build up strong links with partners such as homelessness charities and local authority housing teams, so they can become involved immediately if someone is identified as homeless.
More fundamentally, councils, the NHS and the voluntary sector must work together. The NHS can play a first role in helping to identify homeless people and not discharging them straight onto the street, but ultimately only finding appropriate housing for homeless people will reduce unplanned readmissions to accident and emergency, improve the health of homeless people and save the NHS money.
Alice Evans is head of policy for Homeless Link Guardian Professional.

200 fattest Britons 'cost NHS £16 million a year'

200 fattest Britons 'cost NHS £16 million a year': At least 200 Britons are so overweight they cannot leave their own homes - and cost the NHS £16 million a year, it was reported today. The Daily Telegraph

Accident and Emergency waiting times at eight year high

Accident and Emergency waiting times at eight year high: Number of patients facing waiting times of more than four hours in England's A&E units has reached eight-year peak, study finds. The Daily Telegraph

Diagnoses of increasingly antibiotic resistant gonorrhoea infections rise by 'unprecedented' 25 per cent

Diagnoses of increasingly antibiotic resistant gonorrhoea infections rise by 'unprecedented' 25 per cent:
The number of diagnoses of the sexual transmitted infection gonorrhoea has increased by an “unprecedented” 25 per cent in the past year, the Health Protection Agency has revealed. The Independent