Friday 1 March 2013

Web site of the month: trial of Clinicalskills.Net - your views needed

Web site of the month: trial of Clinicalskills.Net - your views needed:
For the whole of March we are having a trial of Clinicalskills.Net and would really value your feedback.

Clinicalskills.Net is an on-line service that holds sets of illustrated clinical skills guidelines. It is designed to  help you understand the principles of a particular skill.

The information about best practice for over 160 procedures is delivered in a highly accessible format using clear graphics supported by text and references. Because clinicalskills.net is highly illustrated, it is very user friendly. It can also help to facilitate study for those whose first language is not English and those returning to work after a break.

All procedures featured are evidence-based with numerous click-through links to valuable national guidance and other published papers.

Clincalskills.Net could be of value for nurses, HCAs, AHPs, medical students, junior doctors, educators and more.

You can find the log in details for the site at any of our libraries. Alternatively, if you have access to the Northamptonshire Healthcare or Northampton General Hospital  Intranet sites (the Hub and the Street), you can find the details on our pages there.

MP warns against ambulance changes

MP warns against ambulance changes: An MP says he will 'eat his hat' if ambulance response times improve as a result of plans to close 53 ambulance stations. BBC Northamptonshire

BEHIND THE HEADLINES: How did child protection in Northamptonshire come to this?

BEHIND THE HEADLINES: How did child protection in Northamptonshire come to this?: Public confidence in Northamptonshire’s child protection services is bound to be severely rocked by the revelations published in today’s Chronicle & Echo.

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Spreading innovation in healthcare

Spreading innovation in healthcare: At the Health Foundation, the innovation we promote is in how health services are organised, managed and delivered. It seems that much discussion about innovation in healthcare focuses on new technologies, but innovative behavioural change is essential if their promised benefits are to be fully realised, says Stephen Thornton. The Health Foundation

Warning over NHS competition rules

Warning over NHS competition rules: An architect of the government's NHS changes in England warns they may be undermined by rules opening the health service to more competition. BBC News

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UK-wide alcohol unit price call

UK-wide alcohol unit price call: There should be a pan-UK strategy to combat problematic drinking - including a 50p minimum price for a unit of alcohol, experts say. BBC News

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Breast cancer survival 'lower in UK'

Breast cancer survival 'lower in UK': Women with late-stage breast cancer have lower survival chances in the UK than in other high-income countries, research suggests. BBC News

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The non-executive directors' guide to hospital data

The non-executive directors' guide to hospital data: Understanding your organisation's data is an essential part of providing effective oversight. This briefing will help non-executive directors better understand NHS data and how it can be used to determine what is going on in their hospital. NHS Confederation

NHS staff survey 2012

NHS staff survey 2012: A total of 202,000 NHS staff were invited to participate in this survey by postal questionnaire. Responses were received from 101,000 staff, a response rate of 50% (compared to 53.7% in 2010). The results are primarily intended for use by NHS organisations to help them review and improve staff experience so that staff can provide better patient care. The Care Quality Commission will use the results from the survey to monitor ongoing compliance with essential standards of quality and safety. The NHS Commissioning Board will use the results to aid commissioning decisions. The survey will also support accountability of the Secretary of State for Health to Parliament for delivery of the NHS Constitution.

Effect of telehealth on quality of life and psychological outcomes over 12 months (Whole Systems Demonstrator telehealth questionnaire study): nested study of patient reported outcomes in a pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial

Effect of telehealth on quality of life and psychological outcomes over 12 months (Whole Systems Demonstrator telehealth questionnaire study): nested study of patient reported outcomes in a pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial: This trial assessed the effect of second generation, home based telehealth on health related quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms over 12 months in patients with long term conditions. It found that differences between treatment groups were small and non-significant for all outcomes. Telehealth did not improve quality of life or psychological outcomes for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, or heart failure over 12 months. These findings suggest that home based telehealth was not effective compared with usual care only.

Turning young lives around: how health and justice services can respond to children with mental health problems and learning disabilities who offend

Turning young lives around: how health and justice services can respond to children with mental health problems and learning disabilities who offend: This briefing paper seeks to encourage effective joint working between Health and Wellbeing Boards and youth justice services. It aims to ensure that local strategies reflect the needs of children and young people who offend, especially those with mental health problems and learning disabilities. It outlines a practical action agenda and provides examples of good practice.

Five 'mental disorders' may have genetic links

Five 'mental disorders' may have genetic links: Sky News reports that, "five of the most common psychiatric disorders are genetically linked." This news is based on a landmark study that examined the genetic sequences of more than 50,000 people. Some of these people had one of five common long-term conditions the researchers called 'psychiatric disorders.' These were:

Sir David Nicholson receives full backing of NHS board

Sir David Nicholson receives full backing of NHS board: Health campaigners stormed out of a meeting of senior NHS officials today as Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the NHS, was given the full backing of his board. The Daily Telegraph

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Doctors don't trust their own hospitals

Doctors don't trust their own hospitals: Up to two-thirds of doctors would not recommend that their family and friends are treated where they work, NHS figures disclose. The Daily Telegraph

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Liverpool Care Pathway: fifth of doctors quesy about always telling relatives

Liverpool Care Pathway: fifth of doctors quesy about always telling relatives: A fifth of doctors are ambivalent or even hostile to always telling relatives that they are putting a patient on the Liverpool Care Pathway, according to a survey. The Daily Telegraph

Scandal-hit Mid Staffordshire NHS trust 'to be put into administration'

Scandal-hit Mid Staffordshire NHS trust 'to be put into administration':
The scandal-hit Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust is to be put into administration, an NHS regulator has announced. The Independent

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