Shocking inspection report reveals East Midlands Ambulance Service is on verge of “falling apart”

Shocking inspection report reveals East Midlands Ambulance Service is on verge of “falling apart”:
A damning inspection report of East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAC) has revealed it is at “breaking point” and in desperate need of more vehicles and staff. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also

• EMAS Inspection Report CQC
• Ambulance service fined millions for missing national target Nothamptonshire Telegraph

Green light for £260 million technology fund to make the NHS safer

Green light for £260 million technology fund to make the NHS safer: Doctors and nurses are to get better information about patients so people get safer care thanks to a new £260 million NHS technology fund, announced by NHS England today.

GPs 'will not shore up unsafe NHS'

GPs 'will not shore up unsafe NHS': Family doctors are not prepared to shore up an emergency health care system left unsafe by "political meddling", a GP leader is to warn in a speech. BBC News

See also:

• GP chief to launch scathing attack on Jeremy Hunt over out-of-hours care The Guardian
• Government accused of using 'anti-GP rhetoric' to mask its own failings The Guardian
• What's causing the crisis in A&E? The Guardian
• GP contract 'not to blame' for A&E pressure, NHS leaders say GP Online

Community nursing service under fire

Community nursing service under fire: Health unions say the state of NHS services for people who can't get to a GP in many parts of England is "lamentable". BBC News

See also:

• VIDEO: Lack of district nurses 'adds stress' BBC News

GP practice silos 'stifle innovation'

GP practice silos 'stifle innovation': Innovation in primary care has been held back because there are too many small GP practices in England working in 'silos', a senior NHS England official has claimed. GP Online

Patients urged to email or phone GP rather than have a face-to-face consultation

Patients urged to email or phone GP rather than have a face-to-face consultation:

Head of NHS Confederation says it would take pressure off GP services and A&E Related items from OnMedica Telehealth expansion to be headed by CCGs Future of NHS 111 comes under scrutiny Hunt wants GPs to ‘take back OOH responsibility’ Shake-up needed of urgent care Does “24 hour supermarket” healthcare make patients healthier?

Woman, 31, died after being left with unqualified healthcare worker who mixed up blood samples and scribbled medical records on plastic surgical gloves

Woman, 31, died after being left with unqualified healthcare worker who mixed up blood samples and scribbled medical records on plastic surgical gloves: Michelle Jannetta, from Milton Keynes, died at Milton Keynes Hospital after taking an overdose of painkillers. An inquest heard that staff continued to think she was faking her illness even when she was in a coma. The Daily Mail

Surgeons fear online performance data will damage reputations

Surgeons fear online performance data will damage reputations: Individual rates to be published for the first time in a move hailed as a 'watershed moment' for the profession.
The leader of England's surgeons has warned that the imminent publication of data about individual performance could destroy careers and harm patients if it is wrongly interpreted.

Judges rule back-to-work assessments 'unfair' to mentally ill

Judges rule back-to-work assessments 'unfair' to mentally ill: Iain Duncan Smith's drive to cut the number of people living on disability benefits has suffered a blow after judges ruled that back-to-work assessments discriminate against people with mental health conditions. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Two win sickness benefit challenge BBC News

Staff voice fears over quality of care in NHS

Staff voice fears over quality of care in NHS:
Three out of four senior health service staff complain that quality of care is not given sufficient priority in the NHS, according to a survey. The Independent

See also:

• Quality of care in NHS not seen as priority Public Service
• Majority of NHS professionals do not think that quality of care is treated as a priority in the NHS The King's Fund
• Leadership Survey 2013 King's Fund