Thursday 30 August 2012

Rise in hate crimes towards people with disabilities

Rise in hate crimes towards people with disabilities: The number of hate crimes towards people with disabilities in Northamptonshire increased by more than 50 per cent in the last year, figures have revealed. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Right data, right payment

Right data, right payment: The findings of the Commission's annual audit of data used to underpin Payment by Results (PbR) payments. Audit Commission

UK life 'healthier for longer'

UK life 'healthier for longer': Healthy life expectancy increased by more than two years in the period 2008-10 compared with 2005-07, Office for National Statistics figures show. BBC News

Hundreds of GP practices yet to start CQC registration as deadline looms

Hundreds of GP practices yet to start CQC registration as deadline looms: Up to 500 GP practices in England have failed to contact the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to begin registration, with less than a week to go until the regulator starts assessing applications. GP Online

HPA urges back to school vaccination as measles cases continue to increase

HPA urges back to school vaccination as measles cases continue to increase: Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency(HPA) show that almost twice as many confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales have been reported in the first six months of 2012 (964) compared to the same period in 2011 (497). Overall 1,086 cases were reported in 2011, up from 380 in 2010.

The press release from the HPA states that rubella has also shown an increase with 57 cases reported between January and June this year - exceeding the annual totals for each of the previous nine years. These cases have mainly been associated with travel to other European countries. Health Protection Agency

Formal complaints about National Health Service rise by 8%

Formal complaints about National Health Service rise by 8%: The NHS Information Centre said there were 162,129 written complaints from patients or their families in year to March 2012
Written complaints to the NHS rose by more than 8% last year, with the health service receiving more than 3,000 a week, new data reveals. The NHS Information Centre said that there were 162,129 written complaints from patients or their families in the year ending March 2012, an increase of 12,364 from 2010-11.
More than 12,000 of the complaints related to the "attitude of the staff", while almost 50,000 in England were about "all aspects of clinical treatment". About 10,000 concerned "communication to patients".
Andrew Gwynne, the shadow health minister, said: "This is yet another worrying sign of an NHS heading in the wrong direction. It will not come as a surprise that more and more patients are writing formal complaints. This government is throwing the NHS into chaos with an unnecessary reorganisation of the back office, costing over £3bn, that has taken eyes off patient care."
However, the government said that the increase was because "for the first time, all NHS organisations have submitted information about their complaints". The minister of state for care services, Paul Burstow, admitted that "this has led to a small rise in the overall number of complaints recorded". The Guardian

Methadone-related deaths soar

Methadone-related deaths soar:
The number of methadone-related deaths of men in England and Wales rose by more than a third last year to its highest rate since 1997, figures showed today. The Independent

Flu may spread before symptoms show

Flu may spread before symptoms show: If you are reaching for your handkerchief it might be too late to stop the spread of flu, research suggests.The Independent

More than 3,000 written complaints a week against the NHS

More than 3,000 written complaints a week against the NHS: - New report shows rise in written complaints on previous year About 3,100 written complaints a week were made against the NHS in 2011-12 – just over ... NHS Information Centre

Mental Capacity and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 - A literature review

This MH Foundation literature review was carried out to collate academic literature relating to mental capacity issues and to the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.  The aims were to identify mental capacity issues, problem areas and successes in the practical application of mental capacity legislation as well as identify gaps in the research. The Mental Health Foundation