KGH ward closure will save £800,000

KGH ward closure will save £800,000 A ward at Kettering General Hospital is to close in June because of new arrangements in the way medical patients are looked after. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Labour candidate calls on Northamptonshire healthcare trust to withdraw plans to cut dementia care services

Labour candidate calls on Northamptonshire healthcare trust to withdraw plans to cut dementia care services Sally Keeble calls on Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to withdraw the plans pending consultations on the way forward for services for a condition that affects thousands of people across the county. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Prospective Labour MP calls on Northamptonshire healthcare trust to withdraw 'cruel' plans to cut dementia care services Northampton Herald and Post

The four health systems of the UK: How do they compare?

The four health systems of the UK: How do they compare? Since political devolution in 1999, there has been increasing policy divergence between the health systems of the four countries of the United Kingdom (UK). This report attempts to update earlier comparisons of the publicly financed health systems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in terms of funding, inputs and performance before and since devolution.

The report finds that variations in the running of the NHS across the four countries, including greater or lesser involvement of the private sector, has made little difference to outcomes. The Nuffield Trust and The Health Foundation

See also:

• Has devolution improved NHS performance? The Health Foundation
• So which country has the best NHS? BBC News
• England 'being caught up on NHS' BBC News
• Political interventions in NHS make little difference across UK, study finds The Guardian

The future provider landscape: are foundation trusts taking us down a dead end?

The future provider landscape: are foundation trusts taking us down a dead end? A year ago NHS commissioning was ripped up by its roots, divided up and then pushed back into the soil. Like the plants in my garden that get such rough treatment, commissioners are struggling to flourish. The NHS provider architecture has, so far, had more gentle treatment, and the journey towards ‘liberalisation’, that started in 2004 with the establishment of the first foundation trusts, continues. The King's Fund

Patient engagement – we need to live it, not talk it

Patient engagement – we need to live it, not talk it Without insight into, and measurement of what our patients are really thinking and capable of, and helping them set expectations, we’re firing blanks at the ‘self-management’ target with our eyes closed, says Mark Duman. The Health Foundation

Updated guidance published for avoiding unplanned admissions

Updated guidance published for avoiding unplanned admissions NHS Employers, GPC and NHS England have today published an updated version of the enhanced service Avoiding unplanned admissions: proactive case finding and care review for vulnerable people. NHS Employers

Surveillance of infectious disease

Surveillance of infectious disease This briefing describes current surveillance efforts and examines new technological developments and their likely impacts on UK and international public health. The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

Bupa's £2,000 'bribes' for members to use the NHS

Bupa's £2,000 'bribes' for members to use the NHS Bupa has been accused of dumping patients on NHS for most expensive procedures, meaning that they can increase their profits. The Daily Mail

Information governance in the NHS: the challenges and the future

Information governance in the NHS: the challenges and the future Information governance has had a difficult history in the NHS but it's time that the health service embraced it

When it comes to information governance, the NHS has experienced a few catastrophes. Take for example, the misdemeanour that saw hard drives containing the records of patients go up for sale on eBay.

Lapses like this can be attributed to the NHS contracting out its IT service to external companies rather than investing in IT professionals of its own. Dawn Monaghan, strategic liaison group manager at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) explains: "They have a service level agreement [with external companies] and don't consider that for data protection purposes they can't contract out the information governance, they still have responsibility to comply with the Data Protection Act." Continue reading...  The Guardian

High Court: GP exam for trainee doctors must not discriminate against minorities

High Court: GP exam for trainee doctors must not discriminate against minorities A High Court judge has ruled that the exam trainee doctors must take to become a GP does not unlawfully discriminate against candidates from ethnic minorities. The Independent

See also:

• GPs' exams disadvantage ethnic minority students, says high court judge The Guardian
• RCGP reaction to High Court judgment on the Clinical Skills Assessment component (CSA) of the MRCGP licensing exam Royal College of General Practitioners

Abortions are not for minor disabilities, says minister

Abortions are not for minor disabilities, says minister A minor disability such as a club foot or cleft palate should not be basis for abortion, says Jane Ellison, public health minister. The Daily Telegraph

Tamiflu: Government 'must listen' to findings

Tamiflu: Government 'must listen' to findings Dr Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of the British Medical Journal, says the system for drug regulation is "clearly flawed", while Dr Daniel Thurley, UK medical director of Roche, says he disagrees with the findings of a report questioning the efficacy of Tamiflu. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Tamiflu: how drug became last line of defence against flu The Daily Telegraph
• Government spent further £49m on Tamiflu despite known doubts about it The Guardian
• Effectiveness of Tamiflu and Relenza questioned NHS Choices review