Data and patient safety - are we asking the right questions?

Data and patient safety - are we asking the right questions? Publishing data alone won’t improve care, but what just might is using this information to inform operational decisions and making it visible to patients, carers and families when they enter a ward, says John Illingworth. The Health Foundation

Sacking over poor elderly home care

Sacking over poor elderly home care One staff member is sacked and seven suspended from an Essex care home after an undercover Panorama investigation finds poor care. BBC News

Learning Disability Census: new analysis including anti-psychotic medication use and physical 'incidents' for inpatients

Learning Disability Census: new analysis including anti-psychotic medication use and physical 'incidents' for inpatients New analysis of the 2013 Learning Disability Census, commissioned in response to events at Winterbourne View Hospita4 has been published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. This report provides further information on inpatients with learning disabilities in England, being treated in specialist units, following publication of the initial findings in December 2013.

The census shows that two thirds of these inpatients (68 per cent or 2,220) had been given anti-psychotic medication in the 28 days preceding the census. Of these, 93 per cent (2,064) had been given them on a regular basis.

See also:

• Care home residents 'doped up' BBC News

Comorbidities: a framework of principles for system-wide action

Comorbidities: a framework of principles for system-wide action This document sets out the current challenges faced in the health and social care system in treating people with 2 or more long term health conditions. It proposes changes to the system to improve care. Department of Health

• Framework
• DH news

Ageing alone: loneliness and the oldest old

Ageing alone: loneliness and the oldest old This report argues that loneliness should be a public health priority and explores practical steps that can be taken to reduce levels of loneliness among the oldest old. Addressed to politicians and policy makers in both central and local government, leaders and innovators in the voluntary and community sector, and wider society as a whole, the report urges them to give more priority to the services and support that we know can help older people avoid ageing in loneliness and isolation. CentreForum

• Report
• Press release

How much does high quality care cost?

How much does high quality care cost? This briefing outlines the results of an FTN members' survey and reveals the full scale of extra investment that NHS foundation trusts and trusts are making to improve patient care following the Francis and Keogh reviews and the introduction of the new CQC inspection regime. It calls for a new approach to funding service developments and improved financial risk sharing. Foundation Trust Network

• Briefing
• Infographic

Report helps explain Gulf War illness

Report helps explain Gulf War illness Disorder caused by chemical exposures. OnMedica

6 HUNDRED University of Derby students put at risk of HIV by healthcare worker

6 HUNDRED University of Derby students put at risk of HIV by healthcare worker More than 600 past and present students from the University of Derby have been contacted and advised to attend screening for HIV and hepatitis. The Daily Mail

GP services have reached crisis point warns BMA

GP services have reached crisis point warns BMA Shortage of GPs predicted as large numbers plan to retire while fewer junior doctors are willing to enter general practice, British Medical Association warns. The Daily Telegraph

Doctors who oppose morning-after pill on conscience grounds face qualifications bar

Doctors who oppose morning-after pill on conscience grounds face qualifications bar Guidelines confirm that doctors and nurses who oppose controversial emergency contraception on 'moral or religious' grounds cannot receive key specialist qualifications. The Daily Telegraph