No hospice cuts 'until aid secured'

No hospice cuts 'until aid secured' There will be no cutbacks at two Northamptonshire hospices until alternative charitable aid is secured, the NHS says. BBC News - Northampton

Health care centre opening in Corby

Health care centre opening in Corby A purpose-built state of the art health centre in Corby will be open its doors for the first time next week. Evening Telegraph

Corby ambulance station will not close, MP says

Corby ambulance station will not close, MP says The proposed closure of Corby ambulance station will not go ahead, according to the MP for the area. Evening Telegraph

Press release: Minister launches radical new procurement strategy to save the NHS £1.5 billion

Press release: Minister launches radical new procurement strategy to save the NHS £1.5 billion A radical new blueprint for how our NHS buys everything - from rubber gloves and stitches to new hips, building work, bed pans and temporary staff - has been unveiled by health minister Dr Dan Poulter today.

Dr Poulter’s new strategy for NHS procurement is set to radically change what our NHS does with its money by cutting wasteful spending - so cash can be ploughed back into the front line for patient care. It details ambitious plans to save £1.5 billion by getting our NHS to use its money more smartly and more efficiently.

The government’s NHS reforms are already making £1.5 billion of back office savings each and every year for our NHS by reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, but Monday’s document will show how our NHS can save much more, and support economic growth, by changing the way it buys supplies and does business.

• NHS gets own price comparison website BBC News
• NHS Confederation comments on Government's procurement strategy NHS Confederation

Guidance: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Directions 2013

Guidance: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Directions 2013 These directions are an interim measure to ensure NHS Choices services remain available until the new ‘Health and Social Care Digital Service’ online services, which will replace NHS Choices, are delivered.

They came into effect on 1 August 2013. Department of Health

NHS England to launch £50 million fund to improve innovation

NHS England to launch £50 million fund to improve innovation NHS England has published details about a new innovation evaluation fund, specifically focused on those prescribed specialised services which it is responsible for directly commissioning. The introduction of the fund will significantly improve and speed up the process of adopting new innovations within these services and contribute to the aims of the NHS as described by the Outcomes Framework including saving lives, helping patients recover from acute episodes of illness, and transforming services for long term conditions.

The Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund (SSCIF) will transform the way that new innovations are identified, tested and adopted. The fund will open for business w/c 2 September 2013, and will specifically focus on innovations in those clinical areas that are defined as prescribed specialised services commissioned directly by NHS England.

Applications to the SSCIF will be invited via an open web-based submission process. The first stage of the application process – the Step 1 Self-Assessment form – is now ‘live’, providing applicants with an opportunity to see whether or not their innovation is likely to meet the necessary criteria for progressing through the SSCIF process.

It is anticipated that innovations will cover a diverse range of areas including care pathways, workforce, technologies, devices and diagnostics. Applicants are expected to include manufacturers, patient groups, voluntary sector organisations, commissioners, NHS frontline staff and non-NHS service providers. NHS Commissioning Board

See more information about the SSCIF.

Patient platform to save £1 billion

Patient platform to save £1 billion The integrated customer service platform being developed by NHS England is expected to save the NHS more than £1 billion by encouraging patients to get involved in online self-care. EHI News

Stroke care shakeup has saved lives and money, says study

Stroke care shakeup has saved lives and money, says study Closing stroke units in many London hospitals and sending patients to a few specialised centres has been a success

Closing stroke units in many London hospitals and sending patients to a few highly specialised centres instead has saved money and hundreds of lives, according to a study.

Since July 2010, ambulances have often bypassed the nearest hospital to take patients with stroke symptoms to one of the eight hyper-acute stroke units in the capital. Before that, patients could have been taken to any of 30 hospitals for initial treatment.

Patients now spend the first 72 hours in one of the specialist units and afterwards may be moved to one of the larger number of hospitals that provide continuing care and rehabilitation.

Gene that doubles the risk of schizophrenia identified

Gene that doubles the risk of schizophrenia identified A gene thought to be involved in nerve development can double the risk of schizophrenia when it is damaged, according to a pioneering study into one of most costly mental illnesses. Independent

A&Es miss waiting time targets as NHS 111 slides

A&Es miss waiting time targets as NHS 111 slides Major accident and emergency departments have failed to meet waiting-time targets for two weeks running, the latest figures suggest. Independent