Tuesday 4 November 2014

Northamptonshire health chief 'takes over Twitter' to give insight into her role

Northamptonshire health chief 'takes over Twitter' to give insight into her role The Chief Executive of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), Angela Hillery, is embarking on a twitter takeover week on the Trust's official account @nhftnhs. Over the course of the week Angela will be updating followers on what she’s doing, what her priorities are for NHFT and giving an insight on some of the challenges she faces. Northampton Herald and Post

Library information skills programme for 2015

Library information skills programme for 2015 Need to find some information to inform your practice? Need to make a decision but can't find the evidence? Found the evidence but not sure of it's validity? We can help. All of our training programme dates for 2015 are now available on the Library's web site.

People in control of their own health and care: The state of involvement

People in control of their own health and care: The state of involvement The idea that people should have a stronger voice in decisions about their health and care, and that services should better reflect their needs and preferences, has been a policy goal of politicians and senior policy-makers in health for at least 20 years. Patients want it, and the evidence shows that when they are involved, decisions are better, health and health outcomes improve, and resources are allocated more efficiently. The King's Fund

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Openness and honesty when things go wrong: the professional duty of candour

Openness and honesty when things go wrong: the professional duty of candour This joint consultation (running until the 5th January 2015) asks for views on guidance which is designed to support doctors, nurses and midwives in fulfilling their professional duty to be open and honest about mistakes. It also calls on clinical leaders and employers to support doctors, nurses and midwives by creating cultures in the workplace that are open, honest, and where people learn from mistakes so that future patients are protected from harm.General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council
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A vision for hepatitis C

A vision for hepatitis C This report calls for the government to improve hepatitis C services now to prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths. It highlights concerns from clinicians and patient and professional groups about the rising rate of hepatitis C related deaths and the need for improved screening and diagnosis. Hepatitis C Coalition

Is there really a crisis among GPs?

Is there really a crisis among GPs? A decade ago they got a new contract that allowed them to give up night and weekend cover, while seeing their pay shoot through the £100,000 a year barrier.

More recently, this government's reforms in England have put them at the heart of decision-making in the NHS by giving them responsibility for two thirds of the NHS budget.

And yet the profession, it seems, is at its wits end. A recent survey of 1,000 doctors by the British Medical Association found GPs had lower levels of morale and work-life balance than their medical colleagues elsewhere in the health service. BBC News

Ebola: Are cases levelling off?

Ebola: Are cases levelling off? We may be entering a new phase of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

There is growing - but certainly guarded - talk within the World Health Organization that the overall number of new cases is levelling off.

Officials have told me they now expect the figure to stick at around 1,000 fresh cases each week.

It is in sharp contrast to the early phase of the outbreak when the number was doubling every three to four weeks. BBC News

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Hike in checks for most vulnerable

Hike in checks for most vulnerable Applications to restrict freedom of people with illnesses like dementia and autism for their own safety rises ten-fold since a landmark court ruling. BBC News

Dying in the UK – nurses raise “profound” concerns

Dying in the UK – nurses raise “profound” concerns Almost half a million people die in the UK every year and RCN members are concerned about the ability of health services to deliver high quality care to them. Royal College of Nursing

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Weight loss surgery cuts diabetes risk in very obese

Weight loss surgery cuts diabetes risk in very obese “Weight loss surgery can dramatically reduce the odds of developing type 2 diabetes,” BBC News reports.

The underlying research identified a group of 2,167 obese adults without diabetes, the majority of whom were severely obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above.

This group had undergone weight loss surgery, so researchers compared them with a comparison group matched for age, sex and BMI, who did not have surgery. They looked at the development of type 2 diabetes in both groups.

Using the maximum follow-up period in the study (seven years), they found that the “surgery group” had an 80% reduced risk of developing diabetes compared with the “no surgery” group.

These findings are mainly applicable to those with a very high BMI (over 40). Results at lower BMIs (30 to 35) were still positive, but did not have statistical significance.

It's important to stress that weight loss surgery is no magic bullet and is associated with both short- and long-term risks and complications, such as unsightly excess skin.

Big data: enabling the future of healthcare

Big data: enabling the future of healthcare By collecting patient data, clinicians can use predictive analytics to prevent potentially deadly conditions.

Data security threat holding back digital progress in the NHS

Everyones talking about the importance of big data in healthcare. Yet, as the data piles up most of it is isolated in different silos, and health systems are struggling to turn big data from a concept into a reality. Heres how I see it having a substantial impact on the health of populations, today and in the future.

Most healthcare organisations today are using two sets of data: retrospective data, basic event-based information collected from medical records, and real-time clinical data, the information captured and presented at the point of care (imaging, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate, etc). For example, if a diabetic patient enters the hospital complaining about numbness in their toes, instead of immediately assuming the cause is their diabetes, the clinician could monitor their blood flow and oxygen saturation, and potentially determine if there's something more threatening around the corner, like an aneurysm or a stroke. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS spending on agency nurses soars past £5.5bn

NHS spending on agency nurses soars past £5.5bn Government accused of truly incompetent planning after years of training cuts push cost of temporary staff way over budget

NHS spending on agency nurses and staff has spiralled to more than £5.5bn over the past four years and is continuing to rise amid a debilitating recruitment crisis in the health service. Budgets for temporary staff this financial year have already been blown apart, it can be revealed, with spending in some parts of the NHS running at twice the planned figure.

Reliance on agencies at a cost of up to £1,800 per day per nurse comes as the number of nurse training places in England has been cut. In the last year of the Labour government, 20,829 nurse training positions were filled in England. That fell to 17,741 in 2011-12 and to 17,219 in 2012-13, rising to 18,009 in 2013-14. Continue reading... The Guardian

Nurses 'will have to be able to speak English to work in UK'

Nurses 'will have to be able to speak English to work in UK' Language tests on nurses who come to work here from elsewhere in the European Union are to be introduced for the first time. The Daily Telegraph

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Three vulnerable patients a day die due to lack of care

Three vulnerable patients a day die due to lack of care A shortage of specialist nurses trained to care for people with learning disabilities is putting the lives of thousands of vulnerable people at risk, the leading charity Mencap has warned. The Independent