Wednesday 1 August 2012

Young anorexics 'missing vital help'

Young anorexics 'missing vital help': A leading expert on eating disorders in children says that despite ever younger patients presenting the illness is not being taken seriously enough. BBC News

Private NHS hospital 'improves'

Private NHS hospital 'improves': The first private company to run an NHS hospital claims it has cut waiting times, improved care and delivered savings in its first six months. BBC News

Monitor eases private NHS restrictions

Monitor eases private NHS restrictions: New consultation reveals that restrictions on private firms providing NHS services are to be relaxed Public Service

NHS receives over 7,000 breast implant referrals

NHS receives over 7,000 breast implant referrals:A total of 7,504 women who had controversial PIP breast implants fitted by private clinics have been referred to the NHS according to latest figures.
Some 4,742 scans have now been completed and 583 women have decided to have the implants removed of which 308 women have already had the implant removed. OnMedica

Professional standards for hospital pharmacy services: optimising patient outcomes from medicines

Professional standards for hospital pharmacy services: optimising patient outcomes from medicines:
These standards aim to underpin patient experience and the safe, effective management of medicines within and across organisations. They aim to enable patients to experience a consistent quality of service within and across healthcare providers, that helps protect them from incidents of avoidable harm and enables them to get the best outcomes from their medicines.

Innovation and improvement in maternity services

Innovation and improvement in maternity services:
This study looks at examples of innovative practice across England and shows how midwives are leading on improving services for women and families and generating savings. It concludes that it is possible to deliver high quality, safe and effective care when midwives are engaged and lead on innovation and emphasises the important role that clinical leadership plays in enabling innovation and improvement to take place.

Fears grow over Ugandan Ebola outbreak

Fears grow over Ugandan Ebola outbreak:

Authorities in western Uganda are holding 11 patients in isolation following an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, health officials said.Fourteen people have died so far of the haemorrhagic fever, amid an outbreak which officials fear will be similar to one 12 years ago which infected 425 people, killing more than half of them.A child was among the two most recent cases which have yet to be confirmed as E... Healthcare Today

Caesarean sections result in infections for one in ten patients, study finds

Caesarean sections result in infections for one in ten patients, study finds:
NHS urged to make reduction of problem a priority as overweight and teenage mothers found to be most likely to suffer
One in 10 women who have a baby by caesarean section go on to develop an infection around their scar, which causes them pain and discomfort and forces some to go back into hospital to be treated.
Mothers who are overweight or obese, or those giving birth under the age of 20, are the groups most likely to end up contracting an infection related to their operation, according to new research.

NHS is failing patients with neurological conditions, claims report

NHS is failing patients with neurological conditions, claims report:
Poor primary care means too many people with brain illnesses are being admitted to emergency wards, says group
People with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease suffer "neglect" by the NHS, claims a report by an alliance of charities representing patients.

Nurses 'cleaning wards at cash-strapped hospitals'

Nurses 'cleaning wards at cash-strapped hospitals': Debt crisis means there is "not sufficient funding to provide a 24/7 cleaning service" at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals trust.The Daily Telegraph

Thousands of juniors start jobs in NHS 'killing season'

Thousands of juniors start jobs in NHS 'killing season': Today is Black Wednesday because death rates rise by six per cent. The Daily Telegraph

Antidepressant prescriptions account for largest annual rise in items dispensed in the community

Antidepressant prescriptions account for largest annual rise in items dispensed in the community: - Overall prescription numbers continue to rise while total cost fallsJust under 46.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants were dispensed in England... NHS Information Centre

Does ‘nurse burnout’ increase rates of infection?

Does ‘nurse burnout’ increase rates of infection?:

“Overworked nurses ‘put patients at greater risk of infection’,” is the headline in the Daily Mail.
The news is based on a survey from the US that looked at a combination of:
  • the nurse to patient ratio in 161 hospitals in Pennsylvania
  • how many cases of two common hospital-acquired infections occurred in these hospitals
  • reported feelings of ‘burnout’ by nurses working in those hospitals