Care home claims it ‘did not cut staffing levels’

Care home claims it ‘did not cut staffing levels’ A care home which suffered an outbreak of norovirus last month has refuted suggestions it did not have enough staff to cope. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Protecting and promoting patients’ interests: licence exemptions: guidance for providers

Protecting and promoting patients’ interests: licence exemptions: guidance for providers All providers of NHS healthcare services in England will need a licence from Monitor from April 2014, unless they are exempt. The licence will set out the conditions that licence holders will have to meet in order to provide NHS services. Department of Health

Millions wait a week to see a GP

Millions wait a week to see a GP Millions of patients in England are waiting a week or longer for a GP appointment, figures reveal. BBC News

See also:

• VIDEO: Millions wait a week to see a GP BBC News
• 27m patients to wait a week or more to see GP in 2014 due to diversion of doctor posts to hospitals Royal College of General Practitioners

Updated guidance on the use of settlement agreements and the process for making severance payments

Updated guidance on the use of settlement agreements and the process for making severance payments Following changes to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 we have updated the guidance on the use of settlement agreements and confidentiality clauses and the NHS employers guidance on the process for making severance payments. NHS Employers

Can frankincense really fight cancer?

Can frankincense really fight cancer? “Frankincense ‘fights cancer’,” is the festive health headline from the Mail Online. The “aromatic substance from the Nativity story could help treat ovarian tumours,” it says.

The news is based on a University of Leicester press release entitled “Christmas gift brings treatment hope for cancer patients”. Unfortunately, many more Christmases are likely to pass before anyone is treated with frankincense for ovarian cancer.

CCG budget set to top £100bn

CCG budget set to top £100bn NHS England says new funding allocations will not punish most deprived areas. OnMedica

How organ donation is getting nudge in the right direction: trial could pave way for 100,000 extra donors each year

How organ donation is getting nudge in the right direction: trial could pave way for 100,000 extra donors each year

More than 100,000 extra people every year would sign up to become organ donors if they were asked to do so in the right way, a pioneering government trial has found. The Independent