Monday 3 June 2013

County crackdown on drink driving starts today

County crackdown on drink driving starts today: A month-long crackdown on people who drink or take drugs before getting behind the wheel starts on the 1st of June 1. Northamptonshire Telegraph

New project to help dementia patients in Corby

New project to help dementia patients in Corby: A new singing group for people with dementia is being launched by the Alzheimer’s Society in Corby. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Consensus on death diagnosis urged

Consensus on death diagnosis urged: Doctors at a European meeting of anaesthetists will call for global agreement on the criteria and length of time taken to diagnose death. BBC News

Automatic enrolment key messages

Automatic enrolment key messages: Feedback from employers and stakeholders on automatic enrollment has identified some key messages that are useful to reinforce. NHS Employers

Small actions speak volumes to patients and help put them at the centre of care, says David Worskett

Small actions speak volumes to patients and help put them at the centre of care, says David Worskett: Why is it so hard to put patients at the centre of care? Despite the very best intentions of so many professional and dedicated staff, in the tug-of-war between system and patient, the system so often wins. Part of the problem is that patients are at their most vulnerable when they are ill – frightened … Continue reading » NHS Voices

Joint Crisis Plans to prevent compulsory admissions: a good idea stymied by poor execution?

Joint Crisis Plans to prevent compulsory admissions: a good idea stymied by poor execution?: Good mental health care should involve the patient in determining their treatment, and should involve the least restrictive form of care possible. Although the Care Programme Approach (CPA) has resulted in patients in England routinely participating in planning their care, compulsory admissions to psychiatric hospitals have continued to rise over the past decade. Involuntary treatment [read the full story...] The Mental Elf

Personal health budgets in England - making them work in mental health

Personal health budgets in England - making them work in mental health: This report is the result of research conducted with people with mental health problems to find out what they want from the services and support that they use to manage their mental health, and what role personal health budgets might play in improving their experience of care and their health and wellbeing outcomes. The key issues identified included access to a choice of treatments and being involved in joint-care planning.

No evidence Nordic diet prevents heart disease

No evidence Nordic diet prevents heart disease: "Roll out the reindeer and berries for Nordic health fix," The Daily Telegraph tells us, reporting that a Scandinavian diet can lower cholesterol and may reduce the risk of heart disease. Meanwhile, the Mail Online website tells us to "forget the Mediterranean diet" in favour of Nordic foods.
There is a wide range of evidence that the Mediterranean diet, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as beans, wholegrains, olive oil and fish, can be good for the heart. But is the same true for the staples of Nordic diets? The current study is not able to answer this question for us.

Mike Richards to become first chief inspector of hospitals

Mike Richards to become first chief inspector of hospitals: Doctor credited with major progress in cancer care now charged with improving hospital standards
A doctor credited with instigating significant improvements in NHS cancer care has been appointed as the first chief inspector of hospitals, a post David Cameron suggested be created after the Mid Staffs scandal.
Professor Sir Mike Richards, who was the government's cancer tsar from 1999-2012, will be responsible for ensuring that hospitals across England are delivering safe, compassionate, high-quality care.
David Prior, chairman of the NHS regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC), where Richards will be based, said the inaugural inspector would play a vital role in improving hospitals' care and performance.
Richards will head a team of specialist inspectors who will visit hospitals where concerns have been raised about standards and how patients are treated as well as regional teams of inspectors.
He will also have the difficult task of devising the new system of rating acute and mental health hospitals' performance demanded by health secretary Jeremy Hunt in a way that also commands the confidence of NHS bosses whose organisations will be monitored more closely than ever before.
Richards, an ex-breast cancer oncologist, will join the CQC from NHS England, where he has been leading efforts to reduce avoidable mortality from big killers such as cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Don Berwick, the ex-healthcare adviser to president Barack Obama whom Cameron has asked to review patient safety in the NHS, said: "It is crucial to the success of the chief inspector of hospitals that the inspector be trusted by clinical leaders, staff, and managers throughout the NHS. Mike Richards perfectly fits that bill; he is ideally equipped by background, achievements, and personality to engender trust between managers and clinicians" The Guardian

NHS negligence claims rise by 20 per cent in just one year

NHS negligence claims rise by 20 per cent in just one year: Claims against NHS for negligence rise 20 per cent in one year following succession of hospital scandals. The Daily Telegraph

Ten years after Sars, now we have Mers

Ten years after Sars, now we have Mers:
Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, did not mince her words. The deadly Sars-like virus that has spread in recent months from the Middle East to Germany, France and the UK, killing more than half of those it has infected, is a "threat to the entire world". The Independent

Ailing health service is 'held together by sticking plasters' says NHS leader

Ailing health service is 'held together by sticking plasters' says NHS leader:
The NHS is being held together by “sticking plasters” that “will only last so long”, the head of the NHS Confederation has warned. The Independent

See also:

Hypothetical case scenarios - procurement, patient choice and competition regulations

Hypothetical case scenarios - procurement, patient choice and competition regulations: "These case scenarios are not intended to address all of the issues that might arise under the Regulations, but to highlight some of the core issues that each of the scenarios appear to raise and the key factors that are likely to be relevant to the question of whether or not the conduct is consistent with the Regulations." Monitor