NHS leadership: to err is human, to stay still is unforgivable

NHS leadership: to err is human, to stay still is unforgivable‘Leadership is the moral energy to move people’. We are perhaps used to the refrain that ‘leadership is all about people’, but the word ‘move’ caused my ears to prick up when I heard this phrase at the recent Future of NHS Leadership Summit.

With many acknowledging the case for change in our health system, a call for leadership to ‘move people’, or prompt them into action, seemed apt. This is especially relevant when interpreted in the context of The King’s Fund’s work on collective leadership, which highlights the importance of everyone taking collective responsibility for the success of their organisation.

Gender gap in psychosis treatment

Gender gap in psychosis treatment Men who display symptoms of psychosis are recorded as being untreated for fifty per cent longer than women, based on those where information recorded. This is according to figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre

Exploring the cost of care at the end of life

Exploring the cost of care at the end of life This analysis estimates the hospital and non-hospital costs for people in the last 90 days of life. It also explores whether reduced hospital activity and costs at the end of life were likely to be offset by increased care costs in other health and social care settings using the Marie Curie home-based palliative care nursing service. The results suggest that cost savings might be available if community-based support were made more widely available to help people to die in their own homes, where that was their preference. Nuffield Trust

• Research report
• Press release

Antibiotic treatments 'fail' 15% of the time

Antibiotic treatments 'fail' 15% of the time “Antibiotic treatments from GPs 'fail 15% of the time’,'' BBC News reports. In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers estimated that just under one in seven antibiotic prescriptions in 2011 "failed".

This study examined the failure rates of antibiotics prescribed by GPs in the UK for common infections over a 21-year period – from 1991 to 2012. Most of the failures (94%) were cases where a different antibiotic needed to be prescribed within 30 days, suggesting that the first antibiotic had not worked.

In general, the overall failure rate remained fairly static over the course of three decades; 13.9% in 1991 only increased to 15.4% by 2012.

When considering specific types of infection in combination with specific classes of antibiotics, there were notable changes in failure rates. For example, when the antibiotic trimethoprim was prescribed for an upper respiratory tract infection, failure rates increased from 25% in 1991 to 56% in 2012. Reassuringly, failure rates with commonly prescribed antibiotics (such as amoxicillin) currently remain fairly low.

Single national licensing exam for all doctors to come on stream

Single national licensing exam for all doctors to come on stream GMC says ‘passport to practice’ will be fairer and more reassuring for the public. OnMedica

Too many care homes are 'truly awful,' watchdog chief warns

Too many care homes are 'truly awful,' watchdog chief warns Heartbreaking failings to care for the elderly must be consigned to history, says the chief inspector of adult social care, as a new system of regulation is introduced. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Care ratings to target 'shocking lack of respect' The Daily Telegraph
• Vulnerable pensioner, 88, died after care home nurses lowered her into a scalding hot bath and she died from her burns  Daily Mail

Alcohol-related mental health problems are a huge issue for older people

Alcohol-related mental health problems are a huge issue for older people Tony Rao, a community psychiatrist, spends his days managing vulnerable older people who may be at risk of self-harm.

The first thing that I do when I wake up is take a look at my BlackBerry. We have patients under the home-treatment team, which means that there can be a crisis at any time of the day or night that requires urgent attention. Once Ive finished that, I plan my travel for the morning, looking at bus routes to home visits. These visits can take far longer than other medical assessments. Assessments of older people with mental health problems generally take between 60 and 90 minutes, as aspects of both mental and physical health need to be covered.

Once back at my community mental health team, I check my caseload using an electronic patient record system, to check on the progress of patients currently on in-patient wards and to update myself on events for community patients within the past 12 hours. Continue reading... The Guardian

The only NHS hospital run by private firm provides ‘poor’ care, inspectors say

The only NHS hospital run by private firm provides ‘poor’ care, inspectors say The only NHS hospital run by a private company has come under fierce criticism from inspectors for a catalogue of alleged failings, including incidents of patients being treated in an “undignified and emotionally abusive manner”. Hinchingbrooke Hospital, in Cambridgeshire, was taken over by Circle Health in a £1bn deal in 2011, in an arrangement hailed by a Conservative health minister at the time as a “good deal for patients and staff”. The Independent

See also:

• Patients neglected at privately-run NHS hospital, watchdog finds The Guardian

Hospitals asking GPs to send fewer patients on to overstretched A&E departments

Hospitals asking GPs to send fewer patients on to overstretched A&E departments GPs throughout England are receiving emails from their local hospitals warning that A&E departments are under severe pressure and urging family doctors not to send so many patients on. The Independent