Tuesday 2 December 2014

Northamptonshire health experts campaign for earlier HIV diagnoses

Northamptonshire health experts campaign for earlier HIV diagnoses Health experts at Northamptonshire County Council are calling for earlier diagnoses of HIV cases after it was revealed that the county is 17 per cent above the national average for late diagnoses. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

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NHS England, Monitor and the TDA issue joint guidance to the NHS

NHS England, Monitor and the TDA issue joint guidance to the NHS NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority will work together to co-produce one set of guidance for NHS commissioners, NHS trusts and foundation trusts. All three will collectively build on the recently published Five Year Forward View; galvanising the need for a joined-up approach to secure sustainable high quality care across the health and care system.

The 2015/16 planning round provides an important opportunity to establish a foundation for longer term transformation, based on the Five Year Forward View, and to refresh and ensure sustained progress on last year’s two-year operational plans.

New plans on paying for a better and more responsive NHS

New plans on paying for a better and more responsive NHS NHS England and Monitor have today published plans describing radical changes to how healthcare is paid for, which will enable the NHS to introduce new models of care.

This would enable the NHS to put into practice its long-standing commitment to better integrate hospital, community and mental health care, and provide a payment system to help introduce the examples of care models outlined in the Five Year Forward View launched in October 2014.

The use of so-called ‘capitation’ payments to NHS providers- bringing hospitals, community and mental health into line with the way GPs are funded – would particularly benefit the frail elderly and those with multiple care needs, such as the 17 million people with long-term conditions.

Monitor and NHS England are encouraging commissioners and providers to adopt this new payment model when negotiating the local price-setting arrangements. The organisations propose such arrangements should increasingly become the norm under reforms to the national tariff, which would see it become a framework of rules, rather than just a list of prices.

Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England said: “NHS payment systems are a means, not an end. Much of the current tariff system was designed to help the NHS achieve a set of goals in the 2000s, such as slashing long waiting lists for routine surgery, which have been achieved. The new challenge is to support the triple integration of care the Forward View highlights: between primary and specialist care, physical and mental health services and health and social care. Today we signal a new, locally flexible direction of travel to advance these goals”.

I’m still me: a narrative for coordinated support for older people

I’m still me: a narrative for coordinated support for older people This document, produced in collaboration with UCLPartners and Age UK, sets out how integrated care and support looks and feels to older people and is written from their point of view. It outlines five themes that older people say are key to coordinated support: independence, community interactions, decision making, care and support and terminology. National Voices

Mother challenges NHS ombudsman

Mother challenges NHS ombudsman The mother of a young woman who died in hospital challenges the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman in the High Court. BBC News

Home care services 'close to crisis'

Home care services 'close to crisis' The home care system in England is close to crisis because of the way workers are exploited, a report says. BBC News

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Can a pill cure binge drinking and dementia?

Can a pill cure binge drinking and dementia? "Wonder' drug could cure binge drinking, Alzheimer's and dementia," the Mail Online reports. But before you raise a glass or two, these are premature claims based on research in rats that has not yet been proven, or even tested, in people.

Researchers gave rats alcohol to mimic the habits of human binge drinking. After three weeks of binging, the rats had signs of damage to their brain and performed worse at tasks that involved running through mazes.

When the scientists gave some of the mice a compound called ethane-β-sultam, it significantly reduced the alcohol-associated brain damage and inflammation, and resulted in improved performance in the maze tests.

This research suggests there may be a way to reduce the effects of excessive alcohol consumption on brain cells. But this is not a "cure" for binge drinking. Researchers only looked at short-term effects in rats, so the effects in humans remain unknown.

Also, the study only focused on the potential protective effects of the drug on the brain. Excessive alcohol consumption can also damage the liver. But the drug was not designed to work in this way and this was not looked at as part of the study.

Claims the compound could also be used to treat dementia are also pure speculation at the moment, as this was not tested.

Doubts over Osborne's £2bn NHS pledge

Doctors and patients demand more cash for mental health

Doctors and patients demand more cash for mental health They say mental health funding has been eroded while demand has rocketed. OnMedica

Autumn Statement: David Cameron announces new fund to tackle dementia

Autumn Statement: David Cameron announces new fund to tackle dementia The Prime Minister says that the Autumn Statement will contain a pledge to provide £15 million for the fight against dementia. The Daily Telegraph

Google’s £125 cancer test arrives in Britain – but with a health warning

Google’s £125 cancer test arrives in Britain – but with a health warning A Google-backed company that offers a personal genetic screening to test for diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s will be available in the UK from today despite deep public health concerns in the US. The Independent

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