Child health: Winning war on obesity

Child health: Winning war on obesity  A report has revealed we are starting to win the war on childhood obesity but there has been a worrying rise in the number of children and young people who self harm. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northampton General Hospital needs new building to solve A&E crisis says chief executive

Northampton General Hospital needs new building to solve A&E crisis says chief executive Building a combined centre for GPs and social services on the Northampton General Hospital site is the only long-term answer to its frequent A&E crises, the trust’s chief executive has said. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Guidance: Funding transfer from the NHS to social care 2014: directions

Guidance: Funding transfer from the NHS to social care 2014: directions The directions and explanatory note concern the transfer of £1.1bn in the financial year 2014 to 2015 from the NHS to local authorities for social care.

This funding consists of £900m to support adult social care which has a health benefit and an additional £200m for preparing for implementation of mandatory pooled budgets between local authorities and clinical commissioning groups in financial year 2015 to 2016 (i.e. the Better Care Fund). The local authority and clinical commissioning groups must agree together how to use the money.

These directions should be read together with the conditions relating to payments between NHS bodies and local authorities. Department of Health

Guidance for unplanned admissions enhanced services

Guidance for unplanned admissions enhanced services The service is designed to help reduce avoidable unplanned admissions by improving services for vulnerable patients and those with complex physical or mental health needs, who are at high risk of hospital admission or readmission. It forms part of the GMS contract changes for 2014/15. More... NHS Employers

Is frequent mouthwash use linked to oral cancer?

Is frequent mouthwash use linked to oral cancer? "Experts warn using mouthwash more than twice a day can give you cancer," the Daily Mirror reports. The news comes from a European study that examined the oral health and dental hygiene of people diagnosed with cancers of the mouth, throat, vocal chords or oesophagus (collectively called "upper aerodigestive cancers").

The researchers found that people with the poorest oral health (including wearing dentures and bleeding gums) had a more than doubled risk of these cancers compared with those with the best oral health.

Similarly, they found that those with the poorest dental care (including frequency of tooth brushing and visiting the dentist) had a more than double risk compared with those with the best dental care.

Importantly, these associations remained after adjustment for smoking and alcohol consumption – established risk factors for these cancers – and for other factors that may influence risk, such as socioeconomic status.

But despite the Mirror's headline, the link between oral cancer and mouthwash is less clear. The association was only significant when looking at very frequent use (three times a day).

Cancer's unequal burden

Cancer's unequal burden This report finds that there is a large variation in survival and the long-term impact on survivors’ health for breast, prostate, lung and brain cancers. It urges NHS leaders and GPs to adopt the solutions in the report and use the research to better plan cancer services. These include improving early diagnosis; providing equal access to the best available treatment; implementing the ‘cancer recovery package’; and encouraging people with cancer to be physically active. Macmillan Cancer Support

EWTD has impacted on quality of doctor training, report says

EWTD has impacted on quality of doctor training, report says Independent review recommends exploring protected time for training and right of individuals to opt out of restricted hours. OnMedica

See also:

• The Implementation of the Working Time Directive, and its impact on the NHS & Health Professionals Independent Working Times Regulation Taskforce 
• Overworked doctors pose threat to patient safety The Daily Telegraph

Heavy drinkers will be eligible for liver transplants for the first time

Heavy drinkers will be eligible for liver transplants for the first time NHS Blood and Transplant says patients with alcohol-related liver disease will be eligible for liver transplants under a pilot scheme. OnMedica

See also:

• Liver transplant scheme extended BBC News
• Heavy drinkers could receive liver transplants on NHS The Independent
• Who deserves a new liver? Anyone who needs one  The Guardian

Rationing NHS care: why we need a serious debate | David Lock

Rationing NHS care: why we need a serious debate | David Lock Healthcare reform is urgently needed but politicians unwilling to make unpopular changes are wasting money, says David Lock

The NHS is not spending our tax money effectively. There is a wide professional consensus that too much is being spent on hospital buildings it cannot afford, and it is failing to reduce spending on drug treatments that do not work. But many local NHS leaders are too frightened to try and persuade the public of the case for change. Reforms are delayed for fear of upsetting politicians who seek re-election. Continue reading... The Guardian

Gay conversion therapy should have no place in NHS, says health minister

Gay conversion therapy should have no place in NHS, says health minister Norman Lamb calls for assurances from NHS England that GPs are not referring people for treatment.

Gay conversion therapy is abhorrent and has no place in a modern society, according to the health minister Norman Lamb, who has asked for assurances from NHS England that GPs do not make any referrals for such treatment.

"It is based on the completely false premise that there is something wrong with you if you happen to be gay," said Lamb, the minister for care and support. "I certainly want to do what I can, as a Liberal Democrat, to eradicate this."Continue reading... The Guardian

Landmark legal case to rule whether GP exam 'discriminates' against Asian and black doctors

Landmark legal case to rule whether GP exam 'discriminates' against Asian and black doctors

Hundreds of black and Asian doctors have had promising careers "halted" because of racial discrimination in the way GPs are examined, a leading doctor has claimed, before a landmark High Court hearing in which two pillars of the medical establishment will be accused of breaching equality laws. The Independent

Elderly 'suffer in silence' under NHS care, says watchdog

Elderly 'suffer in silence' under NHS care, says watchdog Dame Julie Mellor, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, said elderly can be too frightened or polite to complain about inadequate care. The Daily Telegraph

The Great British Vape-off debate

The Great British Vape-off debate Special report: Healthy alternative to smoking or dangerous craze? The jury remains out on e-cigarettes. The Daily Telegraph