Labour candidate says Northamptonshire NHS has “Dragon’s Den-style approach” to approving surgery

Labour candidate says Northamptonshire NHS has “Dragon’s Den-style approach” to approving surgery About a quarter of applications to Northamptonshire NHS bosses for certain types of planned surgery have been rejected in the last three months, a prospective Labour MP has claimed. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Ambulance crews ‘queueing with patients in corridors of Northampton General Hospital’ for fourth consecutive day

Ambulance crews ‘queueing with patients in corridors of Northampton General Hospital’ for fourth consecutive day Ambulance crews were again queueing with patients in Northampton General Hospital corridors yesterday, for the fourth consecutive day. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Lung cancer survival rates 'poor'

Lung cancer survival rates 'poor' Half of people with lung cancer die within six months of diagnosis, says a report from Macmillan Cancer Support which looked at cancer survival rates. BBC News

Accesses to health data made public

Accesses to health data made public A list of bodies that have been allowed to access NHS patient data is released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. BBC News

See also:

• Drugs companies buy NHS patient data, register reveals The Daily Telegraph
• Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes register of data releases HSCIC

Cabinet Office agrees one year XP deal

Cabinet Office agrees one year XP deal The government has signed a deal with Microsoft to provide Windows XP support and security updates for the entire public sector, including the NHS. E-Health Insider

Ketamine tested as severe depression treatment

Ketamine tested as severe depression treatment “The illegal party drug ketamine is an ‘exciting’ and ‘dramatic’ new treatment for depression,” BBC News reports. A small study found that some people with severe depression responded well to the drug.

The study involved people with severe depression (including people with depression as part of bipolar disorder) who had failed to respond to conventional treatments.

Standardised packaging of tobacco - report of the independent review undertaken by Sir Cyril Chantler

Standardised packaging of tobacco - report of the independent review undertaken by Sir Cyril Chantler This report concludes that standardised packaging of tobacco is likely to contribute to a reduction in smoking, including reducing the rate of children taking up smoking. King's College London

GP-led local NHS bodies forced to put health services out to tender

GP-led local NHS bodies forced to put health services out to tender Research shows almost 30% of clinical commissioning groups had opened up, or were opening up, services to competition

Many GP-led local NHS bodies are being forced to put health services out to tender despite government assurances that that would not happen.

New research by Health Service Journal shows that 29.1% of the leaders of 93 clinical commissioning groups (CCG) which responded to a survey said had opened up, or were opening up, services to competition which they would not have done if they were not concerned about the impact of new rules contained in the controversial Health and Social Care Act. The Guardian

EU rules on doctors' working hours puts patients at risk, report finds

EU rules on doctors' working hours puts patients at risk, report finds Rules which ban junior doctors for working more than 48 hours a week are damaging patient care and more staff should be encouraged to opt out, a report has found. The Daily Telegraph