Crisis response falls team: reducing admissions and repeat falls

Crisis response falls team: reducing admissions and repeat falls A case study looks at how EMAS is tackling demand on hospitals and the potential negative outcomes associated with hospital admission in Northamptonshire. NICE Evidence Services

Staff Friends and Family Test early experiences

Staff Friends and Family Test early experiences A new briefing document has been created following discussions with HR Directors who shared their ideas and emerging lessons about the Staff Friends and Family Test. NHS Employers

2.2 million pounds spent every day on diabetes drugs in primary care

2.2 million pounds spent every day on diabetes drugs in primary care More than 120,000 prescription items dispensed each day. Health and Social Care Information Centre

See also:

• Prescribing for Diabetes, England - 2005-06 to 2013-14 Health & Social Care Information Centre
• Cost of diabetes drugs in primary care tops £2m every day OnMedica
• NHS diabetes treatments in England cost more than £800m last year The Guardian
• Diabetes drugs account for 10% of NHS drugs budget The Independent
• NHS spending more than £2m a day on diabetes medication Daily Mail
• Diabetes drugs cost NHS £2.2m per day The Daily Telegraph

Testing the bed-blocking hypothesis: does higher supply of nursing and care homes reduce delayed hospital discharges?

Testing the bed-blocking hypothesis: does higher supply of nursing and care homes reduce delayed hospital discharges? Hospital bed blocking occurs when hospital patients are ready to be discharged to a nursing home but no place is available, so that hospital care acts as a more costly substitute for long-term care. This paper investigates the extent to which higher supply of nursing home beds or lower prices can reduce hospital bed blocking. It uses new local authority level administrative data from England on hospital delayed discharges in 2010-13. The results suggest that delayed discharges do respond to the availability of care-home beds but the effect is modest: an increase in care-homes bed by 10% (250 additional beds per local authority) would reduce delayed discharges by about 4%-7%. It also finds strong evidence of spillover effects across local authorities: higher availability of care-homes or fewer patients aged over 65 in nearby local authorities are associated with fewer delayed discharges. Centre for Health Economics

Canada to give WHO Ebola vaccine

Canada to give WHO Ebola vaccine Canada says it will donate up to 1,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine to help battle the disease's outbreak in West Africa. BBC News

Council leaders call for overhaul of children's mental health services

Council leaders call for overhaul of children's mental health services Local Government Association says young are falling through gaps caused by funding cuts.

Services for children with mental health problems need a complete overhaul so youngsters and their families are not forced to deal with a complex system at such a difficult time in their lives, council leaders have said.

The current "fragmented" system means children are forced to navigate myriad different mental health organisations to access care, the Local Government Association (LGA) said. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS cancels 16,000 operations at the last minute in just three months: Total postponed for non-medical reasons is highest for nine years

NHS cancels 16,000 operations at the last minute in just three months: Total postponed for non-medical reasons is highest for nine years A staggering 15,661 scheduled operations were cancelled at the last minute for non-medical reasons between April and June, according to official figures. Daily Mail 

Heart patients to be given placebo by paramedics in controversial trial

Heart patients to be given placebo by paramedics in controversial trial Patients whose hearts stop will be given a placebo instead of adrenalin by paramedics during attempts to save their lives in a study branded 'ethically questionable' The Daily Telegraph

Philip Morris International threatens to sue Government if plain packaging introduced

Philip Morris International threatens to sue Government if plain packaging introduced One of the world’s largest tobacco companies is threatening to sue the Government for billions of pounds in compensation if it makes plain cigarette packaging compulsory. The Independent 

Essex GP surgery tells patients not to post critical comments on Facebook and Twitter

Essex GP surgery tells patients not to post critical comments on Facebook and Twitter A GP surgery in Essex has told its patients not to use social media to complain about service on Facebook and Twitter, warning of a “zero tolerance policy”. The Independent