Leadership alliance formed to respond to the independent review of the Liverpool Care Pathway

Leadership alliance formed to respond to the independent review of the Liverpool Care Pathway All patients, irrespective of whether or not they are on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) or any other integrated care pathway, should receive high quality, compassionate care in the last days and hours of life, and their families should be supported. But this is not always the case and we must address that inconsistency.

In the report by the independent review of the LCP the review panel called for a coalition of regulatory and professional bodies to lead the way in creating and delivering the knowledge base, the education, training and skills and the long-term commitment needed to make high quality care for dying patients a reality, not just an ambition.  A Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People (LACDP) is being set up under the chairmanship of Dr Bee Wee, National Clinical Director for End of Life Care at NHS England, to do this.

Updated locums guidance published

Updated locums guidance published NHS Employers has published an updated version of our guidance on the appointment and employment of NHS locum doctors. NHS Employers

Standards of care for people who self-harm must be improved, says NICE

Standards of care for people who self-harm must be improved, says NICE The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a quality standard to improve the quality of care and support for children, young people, and adults who self-harm.

Adult safeguarding: updated statement of government policy

Adult safeguarding: updated statement of government policy The purpose of this document is to provide an update on the government’s policy on safeguarding adults vulnerable to abuse and neglect. It includes the statement of principles for local authority social services and housing, health, the police and other agencies to use, for both developing and assessing the effectiveness of their local safeguarding arrangements. NHS Networks

Health and wellbeing boards and integrated care

Health and wellbeing boards and integrated care The guide addresses areas that they need to address to make sure that they reach their full potential, including local authority budget cuts, increasing demands due to an ageing population, the restructuring of the NHS, the public health agenda and the implementation of integrated care. NHS Networks

Hospital care: clear differences between mental health service users and others

Hospital care: clear differences between mental health service users and others Longer hospital stays and fewer procedures on average, for mental health service users, new analysis shows. IC QOF

Does racial discrimination affect the mental health of children and young people?

Does racial discrimination affect the mental health of children and young people? Recent adult mental health policy initiatives, such as the Delivering Race Equality programme (PDF) show the increasing recognition of racial discrimination in NHS mental health services. In 2012 the NHS Confederation issued guidance on achieving race equality in mental health, which was summarised on the Mental Elf a while ago. These UK policy developments on [read the full story...] Mental Elf

Two-thirds of nurses have considered resigning, says survey

Two-thirds of nurses have considered resigning, says survey  Royal College of Nursing report finds plummeting morale and stress levels soaring amid cuts and poor working conditions

Almost two-thirds of nurses have considered quitting their jobs in the last 12 months because they are so stressed, a survey has found.

Swingeing cuts to the numbers of nurses in the NHS have left many feeling overburdened and unable to give the care they would want.

A Royal College of Nursing (RCN) survey of 10,000 staff found that 62% had thought about leaving over the last year because they were under so much stress in their job.

GPs letting receptionists decide who gets seen

GPs letting receptionists decide who gets seen Untrained staff operating 'telephone triage' at one in eight practices as doctors complain of time wasted by £1bn worth of unnecessary visits. Telegraph 

Shingles vaccine campaign to start

Shingles vaccine campaign to start People in their 70s across the UK will be routinely vaccinated against shingles from September 2013. BBC News