Tuesday, 20 May 2014
AstraZeneca rejects £69bn Pfizer bid
AstraZeneca rejects £69bn Pfizer bid UK drugs company AstraZeneca rejects the improved "final" £69bn takeover offer from US firm Pfizer. BBC News
All in this together?
All in this together? MHP Health has published All in this together, investigating how councils are using the Better Care Fund.
- Local authorities allocated £349m across the two years to maintaining eligibility criteria aimed at ensuring access to existing services. Money allocated to maintaining service eligibility was higher than any other category of spend in each year, 23% in 2012-13 and 24% in 2013-14
- Less than 4% of the funding transfer was allocated towardsmental health services in 2012-13 and 2013-14 combined – this despite the fact that achieving parity of esteem between mental and physical health is a priority for NHS and social care services
- Services aimed at helping people recover following periods of hospitalisation are also an identified priority of councils with £1 in every £5 allocated through the transfer funding across 2012-13 and 2013-14 aimed at improving patient recovery and early hospital discharge
Power to the people: the mutual future of our National Health Service
Power to the people: the mutual future of our National Health Service This report calls for radical overhaul of the UK health service tackling the lifestyle and long-term conditions that it estimates will cause a £19 billion deficit in the NHS. It argues for a move away from acute care in hospitals and integrated care based in the community delivered through health mutuals. ResPublica
Health union ballots members on appetite for strike action
Health union ballots members on appetite for strike action Move prompted by what it dubs government’s ‘divide and rule’ pay offer. OnMedica
Strong leadership needed to overcome financial pressures on the NHS
Strong leadership needed to overcome financial pressures on the NHS Leadership needs to be shared and distributed throughout the NHS with leaders engaging with colleagues
The NHS needs leadership of the highest calibre if it is to respond successfully to financial and service pressures that are unprecedented in its history. We need to move on from a concept of heroic leaders who turn around organisational performance to seeing leadership as shared and distributed throughout the NHS. Leaders must engage their colleagues in bringing about improvements in patient care, and transforming the way in which care is provided.
Turning these ideas into practice is a challenge in an organisation where many leaders have adopted a pacesetting style in which they have set demanding goals and led from the front in delivering them. The dominance of pacesetting is not surprising when successive governments have used targets and performance management to drive improvements in patient care across the NHS. But it is unlikely to be sufficient to enagage or motivate staff to play their part in making the changes now needed to use constrained budgets as effectively as possible. Continue reading... The Guardian
The NHS needs leadership of the highest calibre if it is to respond successfully to financial and service pressures that are unprecedented in its history. We need to move on from a concept of heroic leaders who turn around organisational performance to seeing leadership as shared and distributed throughout the NHS. Leaders must engage their colleagues in bringing about improvements in patient care, and transforming the way in which care is provided.
Turning these ideas into practice is a challenge in an organisation where many leaders have adopted a pacesetting style in which they have set demanding goals and led from the front in delivering them. The dominance of pacesetting is not surprising when successive governments have used targets and performance management to drive improvements in patient care across the NHS. But it is unlikely to be sufficient to enagage or motivate staff to play their part in making the changes now needed to use constrained budgets as effectively as possible. Continue reading... The Guardian
Price of dementia: the families struggling to get NHS help
Price of dementia: the families struggling to get NHS help Dementia Awareness Week aims to raise understanding of the often heartbreaking process of trying to get NHS funding
Thousands of relatives and carers of dementia sufferers are battling to receive funding towards crippling care bills. Under the NHS Continuing Healthcare scheme, older people can qualify to have care and nursing home fees paid in full if they are judged to have chronic health needs. This money can help alleviate the burden for families who are otherwise forced to spend every penny and sell their home to meet the cost of care.
There is no ceiling on the amount that can be paid out, no means test and it is not age related. Yet access to this fund can be a particular struggle for people suffering from dementia. Continue reading... The Guardian
Thousands of relatives and carers of dementia sufferers are battling to receive funding towards crippling care bills. Under the NHS Continuing Healthcare scheme, older people can qualify to have care and nursing home fees paid in full if they are judged to have chronic health needs. This money can help alleviate the burden for families who are otherwise forced to spend every penny and sell their home to meet the cost of care.
There is no ceiling on the amount that can be paid out, no means test and it is not age related. Yet access to this fund can be a particular struggle for people suffering from dementia. Continue reading... The Guardian
What is Mers? Potentially deadly “camel virus” spreading from the Middle East
What is Mers? Potentially deadly “camel virus” spreading from the Middle East
Mers, which stands for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since killed more than 173 people – almost a third of those infected. The Independent
Mers, which stands for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since killed more than 173 people – almost a third of those infected. The Independent
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