Health chiefs at a Northamptonshire hospital told to make “urgent” improvements

Health chiefs at a Northamptonshire hospital told to make “urgent” improvements: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today told Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust it must make urgent improvements to comply with the national standards of quality and safety. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• KGH criticised over lack of cleanliness and delays Evening Telegraph
• Hospital told to improve urgently BBC Northamptonshire

Drinkers' field hospital in Northampton put on hold - Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Drinkers' field hospital in Northampton put on hold - Northampton Chronicle & Echo:

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Drinkers' field hospital in Northampton put on hold Northampton Chronicle & Echo The aim was to intercept ill and injured revellers before they went to Northampton General Hospital's over-run A&E department, but numbers of patients have dropped so much the scheme has now been halted. A spokeswoman for EMAS said: “The scheme is not ...

Three die from new C. diff strain

Three die from new C. diff strain: Three patients in Scotland die after catching a new strain of the Clostridium difficile bug - the first reported cases worldwide. BBC News

See also

• New strain of superbug C. Diff kills three hospital patients in Scotland The Daily Mail

Why does the NHS keep making the same mistakes?

Why does the NHS keep making the same mistakes? The NHS non-emergency 111 telephone line may be a new feature - but the chaos surrounding its roll out is as old as the health service itself. BBC News

Under-50s' breast cancers top 10,000

Under-50s' breast cancers top 10,000: The number of British women under 50 having breast cancer diagnosed has reached 10,000 annually for the first time. BBC News

See also:

• Under-50s with breast cancer at record high The Daily Telegraph
• Breast cancer cases soar to 27 a day among the under-50s... and experts fear modern lifestyles are to blame The Daily Mail

'Manipulation' of vaccination fears

'Manipulation' of vaccination fears: MMR scare 'could have international consequences' BBC News

Insight Dashboard goes public

Insight Dashboard goes public: An Insight Dashboard being developed by NHS England to display patient experience data will be made available to the public. E-Health Insider

Patients need more help with medicine, say experts

Patients need more help with medicine, say experts:

Up to 50% of patients don’t take medicine as prescribed Related items from OnMedica Talk to teens more about medicines they take, pharmacists urged Texts can help patients take their meds Online access to meds without prescription on rise, warn pharmacists New symbol denoting meds under extra scrutiny adopted across Europe

The state of caring 2013

The state of caring 2013: This report details the results of a survey of over 3,000 carers across the UK and shows that many are struggling alone without advice or support and are seeing caring taking a toll on their health, family finances and careers as a result. It also highlights five challenges to improve carers’ lives.

• Report
• Carers UK - publications

Supporting structures: a soft intelligence report on commissioning support units (CSUs)

Supporting structures: a soft intelligence report on commissioning support units (CSUs): This report gathers together data from inteviews from 18 CSU managing directors and includes budgets and lists of core CCG customers along with structures and strategies of the CSUs which together employ more than 7,000 staff. It provides an insight into the challenges faced by CSUs and views on private sector involvement.

• Report
• Campden Health - news

Primary concerns: a survey of healthcare professionals

Primary concerns: a survey of healthcare professionals: This survey of GPs, practice managers and nurses reveals a lack of support for the recent NHS reforms. As well as polling participants on attitudes towards the changes and the impact of these changes, the survey also asked NHS staff about their opinions on the quality of care and alternative therapies.

• Report
• Campden Health - news

New bird flu strain requires vigilance researchers warn

New bird flu strain requires vigilance researchers warn: Most of the UK media are reporting on a worrying new strain of bird flu in China – the H7N9 strain of the bird flu virus.

According to the media, virology experts at a recent press conference warned that the virus "should not be taken lightly". This warning was prompted by new genetic research into the disease and by news that the virus is thought to have killed 24 people and infected at least 126 in China.

NHS data: 'People have become over-concerned about protecting confidentiality'

NHS data: 'People have become over-concerned about protecting confidentiality': Dame Fiona Caldicott's report emphasises that patients are at risk if clinicians base decisions on inadequate data.
Plans to share patient information electronically date back to the Blair government's over-ambitious and now defunct NHS national programme for IT. And despite the coalition's aim that all 6,000-plus GP practices in England must offer patients online access to their records by 2015, so far only 61 are doing so.

Nurses warned that children at private hospital were being put at risk

Nurses warned that children at private hospital were being put at risk: A private hospital put lives at risk after ignoring whistleblowers who warned operations were being carried out unsafely, an investigation has found. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Child surgery halt over failings BBC News

GPs pressured to sign sick notes

GPs pressured to sign sick notes: Doctors are routinely issuing sick notes to patients who have no medical reason to be off work, Government research has suggested. The Daily Telegraph

Doctors condemn Government's decision to hold plans for plain cigarette packaging

Doctors condemn Government's decision to hold plans for plain cigarette packaging:
Senior doctors will tomorrow condemn the Government's decision to delay its plans to force cigarettes to be sold in plain packets. The Independent

The MAGIC programme: evaluation

The MAGIC programme: evaluation The evaluation follows up on the MAGIC (Making Good Decisions in Collaboration) programme that aims to support clinical teams in primary and secondary care to embed shared decision making with patients in their everyday practice.  It shows that a positive change within health systems and individual patients can be made. The Health Foundation