Planning for the Better Care Fund

Planning for the Better Care Fund The Better Care Fund is an innovative idea but the quality of early preparation and planning did not match the scale of the ambition. Current plans forecast £314m of savings for the NHS rather than the £1 billion in early planning assumptions. National Audit Office

See also:

• Care plan savings 'over-optimistic' BBC News
• Plan to reduce unnecessary hospital visits overoptimistic, say auditors The Guardian
• NHS facing £700m black hole over failing Better Care Fund The Independent

Health and wellbeing boards 'should not run NHS commissioning'

Health and wellbeing boards 'should not run NHS commissioning' Health and wellbeing boards (HWBs) are too often dominated by local councils and should not take over NHS commissioning, CCGs have said. GP Online

See also:

• A Shared Agenda – creating an equal partnership with CCGs in health and wellbeing boards NHS Clinical Commissioners

Midwife abortion objection case due

Midwife abortion objection case due The UK's highest court is to be asked to rule on whether midwives have a right to refuse to take any part in abortion procedures on moral grounds. BBC News

See also:

• Should midwives against abortion have the right to refuse any involvement in cases? Landmark decision 'could have severe impact on women's care' experts have warned The Daily Mail

New Bill set to improve worst parts of NHS reforms

New Bill set to improve worst parts of NHS reforms Moves to improve issues that raised concern from the NHS reforms of last year have been taken with the publication of a new parliamentary Bill.

The National Health Service (amended Duties and Powers) Bill focuses on reinstating and enhancing the health secretary’s duties to promote and to provide healthcare, a move welcomed by the BMA. OnMedica

CCGs’ strong financial performance at risk

CCGs’ strong financial performance at risk Managers warn worsening NHS financial position will spread to CCGs. OnMedica

Hundreds of NHS managers given pay-offs are STILL being rehired as total passing through revolving door hits 4,300

Hundreds of NHS managers given pay-offs are STILL being rehired as total passing through revolving door hits 4,300 EXCLUSIVE: The NHS under Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is rehiring 50 staff a month who have been given redundancy pay-outs, which Labour blamed on the coalition's health reorganisation. The Daily Mail

The NHS can no longer act as if minds dont matter

The NHS can no longer act as if minds dont matter The physical basis of mental illness is clear. Parity of esteem in health services is a necessity, not a luxury

A century ago, even the greatest mind doctor of them all, Sigmund Freud, predicted that one day mental illnesses would be explained physically, once scientific techniques for the study of the brain became possible. In a typically prescient but off-the-mark way, he even experimented with treating patients with a chemical remedy cocaine.

All these years later, Freuds conjecture is bolstered by firm evidence. A psychiatrist, Tim Cantopher, says that if he were to draw fluid from the spinal cord of depressed patients he would find a deficiency of two chemicals: serotonin and noradrenaline, essential neurotransmitters that regulate a host of functions in the body and brain. Continue reading... The Guardian

GPs will 'prescribe' health and fitness apps

GPs will 'prescribe' health and fitness apps New strategy will see NHS set up its own 'app store' endorsing programmes to help people lose weight, exercise more and monitor health conditions. The Daily Telegraph

New drug resistant strain of STD gonorrhea found in Australia

New drug resistant strain of STD gonorrhea found in Australia A new strain of the sexually transmitted disease (STD) gonorrhoea which is resistant to a range of antibiotics has been identified in Australia. The Independent