Thursday 6 December 2012

New therapeutic service for children & young people who are survivors of sexual abuse and violence

New therapeutic service for children & young people who are survivors of sexual abuse and violence: A new therapeutic service for children who have been sexually abused or assaulted has been launched this week. The new service is a partnership between Serenity, the county's Sexual Assault Referral... NHFT

Hospital gets average overall score in national review

Hospital gets average overall score in national review: A national report into the quality of care and use of resources has given Kettering General Hospital an average score. Evening Telegraph

Rise in assaults on NHS workers

Rise in assaults on NHS workers: There has been an increase in the number of physical assaults on NHS staff according to official figures. Evening Telegraph

Winter vomiting bug warning for Northampton General Hospital visitors - Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Winter vomiting bug warning for Northampton General Hospital visitors - Northampton Chronicle & Echo:

Northampton Chronicle & Echo
Winter vomiting bug warning for Northampton General Hospital visitors
Northampton Chronicle & Echo
Published on Wednesday 5 December 2012 11:25. Health bosses are urging potential visitors to stay well away from Northampton General Hospital if they or their family members have had diarrhoea, vomiting or 'flu-like' symptoms in the last four days ...

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Measuring accountability for outcomes: is transparency enough?

Measuring accountability for outcomes: is transparency enough?: Transparency is critically important for both health care quality improvement and informing patients and the public about what they can expect from the NHS. However, just publishing information is a soft form of accountability. The NHS Commissioning Board, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and providers need to be held to account, with plaudits if they excel, and consequences if they fall short of expected standards. Lack of a measurable expectation of stretch can leave the government open to challenge on its assertions about NHS performance in the future.

VIDEO: Winter vomiting bug cases up 64%

VIDEO: Winter vomiting bug cases up 64%: The number of confirmed cases of the winter vomiting bug, Norovirus, is 64% higher than at this time last year. BBC News

How the seasonal flu jab is made

How the seasonal flu jab is made: How the seasonal flu vaccine is made BBC News

Plan for surgeons' league table

Plan for surgeons' league table: The medical director of the NHS in England, Sir Bruce Keogh, plans to publish performance data for individual surgeons within two years. BBC News

Cameron told to come clean on NHS funds

Cameron told to come clean on NHS funds: Andrew Dilnot has issued a written rebuke to David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt over claims that health spending has risen. Public Service

Zero tolerance - Making ambulance handover delays a thing of the past

Zero tolerance - Making ambulance handover delays a thing of the past: Nobody wants to see ambulances stacked up outside hospitals waiting to hand over patients. NHS Confederation

Free to choose? reform and demand response in the English National Health Service

Free to choose? reform and demand response in the English National Health Service: This paper uses a new model to estimate whether the increased patient choice brought into effect by the NHS reforms will increase demand on hospital services, looking particularly at clinical quality and waiting times for surgical procedures. It found that demand faced by hospitals increased post-reform, giving hospitals potentially large incentives to improve their quality of care. It also found that hospitals responded strongly to the enhanced incentives due to increased demand. Findings suggest that greater choice can enhance quality, leading to significant reductions in mortality and an increase in patient welfare.

Nurses have not stopped caring | Ellie Mae O'Hagan

Nurses have not stopped caring | Ellie Mae O'Hagan: It's politically expedient to blame substandard NHS care upon cold-hearted staff rather than disastrous health policies
I've always found it strange that when a privatised institution is accused of wrongdoing, the resulting conversation usually frames those involved as bad apples that must be disposed of in order for the institution to carry on as normal. But when the same happens to a public institution, the individuals involved are ignored in favour of ideas about institutional crisis and bad behaviour becoming routine.

What matters most to NHS managers

What matters most to NHS managers:  Healthcare leaders are exhausted and overworked – but they want to do the best for their staff and patients
The annual conference of Managers in Partnership last month included a debate between members about what it means to be a good manager of health and social care and what the role of our union should be in supporting managers.

The NHS will train fewer doctors to avoid future brain drain, report warns

The NHS will train fewer doctors to avoid future brain drain, report warns: Fewer students should be admitted to medical school from next year to avoid a glut of consultants in the NHS that would be a waste of taxpayers' money and risk losing the best doctors to jobs abroad, a report has warned. The Daily Telegraph

New apps bring stroke guideline to palm of your hand

New apps bring stroke guideline to palm of your hand: Patients, carers and health professionals can now access the latest stroke guidelines via a new smartphone app from the Royal College of Physicians’ Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party.

The apps, available for Android and Apple devices, draw from the fourth edition of the National clinical guideline for strokeRead more

RCN film outlines AfC proposals

RCN film outlines AfC proposals: A new RCN film explains the proposed changes to Agenda for Change (AfC) and outlines the consultation process to RCN members.