Friday 4 January 2013

Appeal for blood donors as supplies run short

Appeal for blood donors as supplies run short: The NHS has appealed for blood donors to come forward after revealing stocks have fallen. Evening Telegraph

Northamptonshire county councillor backs benefit cuts for obese

Northamptonshire county councillor backs benefit cuts for obese: A senior Northamptonshire councillor said he agrees “in principle” with the idea of councils cutting certain benefits from people who refuse to lose weight. Northampton Chronicle & Echo

What are the prospects for health and social care in 2013?

What are the prospects for health and social care in 2013?: ‘Ring out the old, ring in the new’ declared Tennyson in his New Year’s elegy, though 170 years later the lesser known line ‘ring out old shapes of foul disease’ may be more apposite to prospects for health and care in 2013.

NHS Improvement turns spotlight on stroke

NHS Improvement turns spotlight on stroke: The new publications include resources for continuing care, patient and public engagement and rapid response.

Patients to be asked to rate their doctors

Patients to be asked to rate their doctors: People are to be routinely asked to rate the quality of treatment they receive from their family doctor under an initiative to drive up care standards across the National Health Service. The Independent

See also:

Obese 'may face cut to benefits'

Obese 'may face cut to benefits': Overweight or unhealthy people who refuse to attend exercise sessions could have their benefits slashed, a Conservative council suggests. BBC News

See also:

Delivering Dilnot: paying for elderly care

Delivering Dilnot: paying for elderly care: This report includes comments from a wide range of contributors, including Paul Burstow, former Care Services Minister under the Coalition; Lord Sutherland, former chair of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care under Labour; as well as carers and elderly patients. It emphasises that tough political deceisions must be made to deliver reform, and proposes how this can be funded a way that is fair and sustainable. It also looks at the private sector contribution to delivering the necessary insurance products.

Action on obesity: comprehensive care for all

Action on obesity: comprehensive care for all: This report outlines the issues around obesity in the UK, including the variations in treatment across the country, the related health issues, and the wider impact on public health. It sets out recommendations on how the NHS could adapt to meet the demands of an increasingly obese nation.

GPs concerned over separated parents seeking children's medical records

GPs concerned over separated parents seeking children's medical records: Children's medical records are increasingly becoming a battleground for separated parents seeking access to them, it is claimed. The Daily Telegraph

See also:


NHS healthcare assistants should be 'properly regulated'

NHS healthcare assistants should be 'properly regulated': As ministers announce that more than 50,000 low-paid and unregulated healthcare assistants will have to receive formal care training, Peter Bradley, editor of the British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, explains what regulation will mean. The Daily Telegraph

Transplant first for Britain as 51-year-old Mark Cahill is given new hand

Transplant first for Britain as 51-year-old Mark Cahill is given new hand:
A 51-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to receive a new hand in a pioneering eight-hour transplant operation. The Independent

Flu activity update: 3 January 2013

Flu activity update: 3 January 2013: Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) up to 30 December 2012 show that flu activity continues to increase based on a number of indicators, including GP consultation rates in England and the proportion of calls to NHS Direct.

Parents with Drug Problems

Parents with Drug Problems:  How Treatment Helps Families This report helps to shape a more accurate picture of parental substance misuse in England and how it affects families National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse