Thursday 8 November 2012

The franchising of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust

The franchising of Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust: The first private company awarded a franchise to run an NHS hospital has made improvements in some clinical areas, but big financial challenges remain. The National Audit Office

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Survey finds UK experience of dentistry is highly rated

Survey finds UK experience of dentistry is highly rated: The report follows the survey of 1,000 consumers to explore their experience of dentistry in the UK and found eight out of ten patients who had seen a dentist in the past two years were highly satisfied with their treatment. NHS Networks

Dementia challenge progress report published

Dementia challenge progress report published: A progress report published today gives an update on the first 7 months of the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge. The report, ‘Delivering major improvements in dementia care and research by 2015: A report of progress’, outlines the aims, achievements and ambitions of the challenge’s 3 champion groups.

NHS 'institutional racism' claims

NHS 'institutional racism' claims: Why are there so few black executives in the health service? BBC News

Recovery, public mental health and wellbeing

Recovery, public mental health and wellbeing: The Centre for Mental Health has published 'Recovery, public mental health and wellbeing'. This paper explores how recovery and recovery-oriented practice have the potential to transform mental health services, but suggests it is important to examine the whole range of resources and opportunities that can support quality of life for people with mental health problems. It sets out the ways that providers, those using or working in mental health services, voluntary groups, commissioners, those in public health or with a role on Health and Wellbeing Boards, can support recovery through the development of public health and community based approaches.

Equally accessible? making mental health services more accessible for learning disabled or autistic people

Equally accessible? making mental health services more accessible for learning disabled or autistic people: People with learning disabilities or autism deserve equal access to mental health services and good treatment, but they currently receive variable treatment across England. NHS Confederation

Improving GP services in England: exploring the association between quality of care and the experience of patients

Improving GP services in England: exploring the association between quality of care and the experience of patients: Using data from more than 8,000 general practices in England, this paper examines the association between patients’ perceptions about the non-clinical aspects of care and practice performance on measures of
clinical quality. It identifies clinical effectiveness and patient experience as key domains of health care quality; that there is a correlation between positive patient experiences and higher QOF outcome scores; and that patients' experience of using their GP services can affect their use and interaction with those services.

Changes to trends in disease-related deaths

Changes to trends in disease-related deaths: ‘Cancer overtakes heart disease as number one killer’, is the news in The Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph, and other papers, report that a third of people now die from some form of cancer, according to 2011 statistics.
Taking a more glass half-full approach, The Guardian reports that heart deaths have been halved by healthier lifestyles, while conceding that cancers have become the biggest group of killers and that Alzheimer’s disease-related deaths are on the increase.

GP commissioner survey finds support for increased competition

GP commissioner survey finds support for increased competition: Almost nine in 10 likely to ban or limit some treatments and 50% likely to make greater use of alternative providers
Leaders of the GP commissioning groups that were created under the government's NHS reforms would limit treatments to patients and favour increasing competition from private companies, and a substantial minority advocate closing accident and emergency departments, a poll reveals.
The survey by the Health Service Journal of 116 board members of the new commissioning groups in the English NHS found that four-fifths were concerned that "political opposition to service change" would be a barrier to them making significant improvements to services in the next year.
Almost nine in 10 said they were likely to ban or limit some treatments they did not think were "clinically justified" in the next year. More than a quarter said they were likely to carry out a major service reconfiguration, including downgrading or closing an A&E unit, in the next year.
In a sign that the GP groups are more pro-market than previous NHS structures, 50% of respondents said they were likely to make greater use of alternative providers and increased competition. The Guardian

NHS managers' standards set after Mid-Staffs

NHS managers' standards set after Mid-Staffs: All NHS managers should sign up to new standards pledging that care and compassion is the at the heart of their work, in the aftermath of the Mid-Staffs and other scandals, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary has said. The Daily Telegraph

NHS 'pay-for-performance' scheme saves 900 lives

NHS 'pay-for-performance' scheme saves 900 lives: A 'cash incentive' scheme that rewards NHS hospitals for cutting death rates has helped saved almost 900 lives, a study shows. The Daily Telegraph

Surgeon Ian Paterson faces inquiry over 1000 'unnecessary' breast operations

Surgeon Ian Paterson faces inquiry over 1000 'unnecessary' breast operations: A surgeon being investigated by the General Medical Council amid allegations about his treatment of more than 1,000 breast cancer patients is also facing a criminal inquiry, police have confirmed.The Independent

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