Watchdog says patients at Northamptonshire hospital ‘deserve better’
Some patients surveyed at Kettering General Hospital were let “distressed” by their care, Northamptonshire’s health watchdog has said. Northampton Chronicle
Friday, 5 December 2014
News story: New models of out-of-hours GP care could reduce A&E attendances in England
News story: New models of out-of-hours GP care could reduce A&E attendances in England
The regulator believes the NHS may be able to reduce attendances at A&E and provide better services for patients if it was able to adapt aspects of the model of out-of-hours emergency care used successfully by the public health service in Holland.
This is one of the suggestions from an investigation into how other comparable health systems overseas are meeting the challenge of delivering higher quality care at lower cost.
After studying aspects of healthcare in 7 other countries, Monitor concluded that no other single comparable system offered a way to deliver consistently higher quality care at lower cost than the NHS across the board. The NHS was the least expensive with spending per head per year at $3,659, significantly lower than the average of $6,087 for the countries Monitor studied.
However, the report identified that there are 3 specific service models in use abroad that might be able to offer benefits if used more widely by the NHS:
patients who need urgent treatment at night or weekends first contacting an out-of-hours GP, based in a specialist clinic that is often co-located with an A&E department. Fewer than half the number of patients per thousand (around 120 per year) in the Netherlands attendA&E compared with England (around 278 per year). This already happens, for example, in Cambridgeshire where patients undergo a triage from a qualified nurse and can access out-of-hours GP services, some of which are co-located in A&E.
a 3-tier network of maternity care with more structured links between maternity and paediatric services and agreed protocols for transfers. Under this approach the lowest-risk mothers-to-be give birth close to home, while higher-risk patients are treated at more specialist units, for example with neonatal intensive care beds or facilities for premature babies. The NHS already uses this sort of “risk-tiering” approach in services like stroke andA&E, but the report says the NHS could learn from the experience of Stockholm in Sweden, and Ontario in Canada.
patients who have complex care needs, but live in rural areas, using technology such as video links to access highly specialist care from the kind of expert doctors that might not be available at their local hospital. This is happening in areas such as Surrey, where a telestroke service currently operates.
David Bennett, Chief Executive of Monitor, said:
The NHS is already delivering care in innovative ways but we need continually to be looking for examples of good care at home and abroad, and adopting them as fast as possible.
Implementing new models of care is central to the Five Year Forward View and this report sets out some practical examples of how other health systems are addressing similar challenges.
Professor Terence Stephenson, Chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said today:
The NHS is not alone in facing the challenges of delivering higher quality patient care at lower cost. The NHS is already delivering innovation, but Monitor’s report provides a welcome insight into how other comparable health systems abroad are meeting this challenge.
This is a useful contribution to the wider debate about how the NHS needs to change.
Read the full report: ‘Exploring international acute care models’
The regulator believes the NHS may be able to reduce attendances at A&E and provide better services for patients if it was able to adapt aspects of the model of out-of-hours emergency care used successfully by the public health service in Holland.
This is one of the suggestions from an investigation into how other comparable health systems overseas are meeting the challenge of delivering higher quality care at lower cost.
After studying aspects of healthcare in 7 other countries, Monitor concluded that no other single comparable system offered a way to deliver consistently higher quality care at lower cost than the NHS across the board. The NHS was the least expensive with spending per head per year at $3,659, significantly lower than the average of $6,087 for the countries Monitor studied.
However, the report identified that there are 3 specific service models in use abroad that might be able to offer benefits if used more widely by the NHS:
patients who need urgent treatment at night or weekends first contacting an out-of-hours GP, based in a specialist clinic that is often co-located with an A&E department. Fewer than half the number of patients per thousand (around 120 per year) in the Netherlands attendA&E compared with England (around 278 per year). This already happens, for example, in Cambridgeshire where patients undergo a triage from a qualified nurse and can access out-of-hours GP services, some of which are co-located in A&E.
a 3-tier network of maternity care with more structured links between maternity and paediatric services and agreed protocols for transfers. Under this approach the lowest-risk mothers-to-be give birth close to home, while higher-risk patients are treated at more specialist units, for example with neonatal intensive care beds or facilities for premature babies. The NHS already uses this sort of “risk-tiering” approach in services like stroke andA&E, but the report says the NHS could learn from the experience of Stockholm in Sweden, and Ontario in Canada.
patients who have complex care needs, but live in rural areas, using technology such as video links to access highly specialist care from the kind of expert doctors that might not be available at their local hospital. This is happening in areas such as Surrey, where a telestroke service currently operates.
David Bennett, Chief Executive of Monitor, said:
The NHS is already delivering care in innovative ways but we need continually to be looking for examples of good care at home and abroad, and adopting them as fast as possible.
Implementing new models of care is central to the Five Year Forward View and this report sets out some practical examples of how other health systems are addressing similar challenges.
Professor Terence Stephenson, Chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said today:
The NHS is not alone in facing the challenges of delivering higher quality patient care at lower cost. The NHS is already delivering innovation, but Monitor’s report provides a welcome insight into how other comparable health systems abroad are meeting this challenge.
This is a useful contribution to the wider debate about how the NHS needs to change.
Read the full report: ‘Exploring international acute care models’
NHS should welcome 'citizen whistleblowers'
NHS should welcome 'citizen whistleblowers'
Why the NHS should listen to 'citizen whistleblowers'. BBC News
Why the NHS should listen to 'citizen whistleblowers'. BBC News
Managing quality in community health care services
Managing quality in community health care services
Community health care services provide vital care out of hospital for millions of people. From children’s services to care for older people and end-of-life support, the community sector plays a key part in meeting the challenges facing our health and care system. This report presents findings from a small-scale study into how quality is managed in community services. It explores how community care providers define and measure quality and recommends important next steps to support better measurement and management of quality. The King's Fund
Report
Blog
The King's Fund - publications
Community health care services provide vital care out of hospital for millions of people. From children’s services to care for older people and end-of-life support, the community sector plays a key part in meeting the challenges facing our health and care system. This report presents findings from a small-scale study into how quality is managed in community services. It explores how community care providers define and measure quality and recommends important next steps to support better measurement and management of quality. The King's Fund
Report
Blog
The King's Fund - publications
Obesity will take eight years off your life, study says
Obesity will take eight years off your life, study says
Being obese can cut your life expectancy by eight years, and deprive you of 19 years of good health, according to new estimates based on sophisticated computer modelling. Independent
Being obese can cut your life expectancy by eight years, and deprive you of 19 years of good health, according to new estimates based on sophisticated computer modelling. Independent
Aspirin for women under 65 does more harm than good
Aspirin for women under 65 does more harm than good
Experts say healthy women should start taking aspirin at the age of 65, but that doing so before then has too great a risk of stomach bleeding. Telegraph
Experts say healthy women should start taking aspirin at the age of 65, but that doing so before then has too great a risk of stomach bleeding. Telegraph
More mothers should breastfeed for 18 months to save NHS money, say researchers
More mothers should breastfeed for 18 months to save NHS money, say researchers
Breastfeeding saves the NHS money by preventing illness, claim economists, and women should consider doing it for longer. Telegraph
Breastfeeding saves the NHS money by preventing illness, claim economists, and women should consider doing it for longer. Telegraph
Health care assistants call for regulation
Health care assistants call for regulation
A new RCN survey of health care assistants has shown that 85% of health care assistants feel they should be regulated, and that 89% are prepared to pay towards professional regulation. RCN
A new RCN survey of health care assistants has shown that 85% of health care assistants feel they should be regulated, and that 89% are prepared to pay towards professional regulation. RCN
Inquest clears doctors of blame for deaths of transplant patients
Inquest clears doctors of blame for deaths of transplant patients
Death of Darren Hughes and Robert Stuart given worm-infected kidneys ‘unintended [outcome] of necessary intervention’
Doctors were not to blame for the deaths of two transplant patients who died after being given kidneys infected with parasitic worms, a coroner has ruled.
Robert Stuart, 67, from Cardiff, and Darren Hughes, 42, from Bridgend, each had an organ swap operation at the University hospital of Wales, Cardiff, last year. Guardian
Continue reading...
Death of Darren Hughes and Robert Stuart given worm-infected kidneys ‘unintended [outcome] of necessary intervention’
Doctors were not to blame for the deaths of two transplant patients who died after being given kidneys infected with parasitic worms, a coroner has ruled.
Robert Stuart, 67, from Cardiff, and Darren Hughes, 42, from Bridgend, each had an organ swap operation at the University hospital of Wales, Cardiff, last year. Guardian
Continue reading...
Drug found to help repair spinal cord injuries
Drug found to help repair spinal cord injuries
“Renewed hope for patients paralysed by spine injuries,” The Independent reports.
This hope is due to the possibility of developing a new drug based on a molecule called intracellular sigma peptide. The drug helped restore varying degrees of nerve functions in rats that had spinal cord injuries.
The spinal cord is a cable of nerve cells that transmits signals from the brain to the rest of the body. Damage to the spinal cord can result in paralysis; the higher up the injury occurs, the greater the degree of paralysis.
In this study, researchers identified some of the processes that create a barrier to nerves being able to sprout out through the nerve scar tissue. This sprouting could potentially repair the injury. They then developed a drug that could cause a disruption to this barrier.
Rats with a spinal cord injury were given a daily injection of the drug for seven weeks, 11 weeks after the injury, 21 out of 26 rats had regained some function in their bladder and/or hind legs.
Further tests will be conducted to see if the drug can be made more effective. Longer-term tests will be required to look for any side effects before any human studies can be performed.
“Renewed hope for patients paralysed by spine injuries,” The Independent reports.
This hope is due to the possibility of developing a new drug based on a molecule called intracellular sigma peptide. The drug helped restore varying degrees of nerve functions in rats that had spinal cord injuries.
The spinal cord is a cable of nerve cells that transmits signals from the brain to the rest of the body. Damage to the spinal cord can result in paralysis; the higher up the injury occurs, the greater the degree of paralysis.
In this study, researchers identified some of the processes that create a barrier to nerves being able to sprout out through the nerve scar tissue. This sprouting could potentially repair the injury. They then developed a drug that could cause a disruption to this barrier.
Rats with a spinal cord injury were given a daily injection of the drug for seven weeks, 11 weeks after the injury, 21 out of 26 rats had regained some function in their bladder and/or hind legs.
Further tests will be conducted to see if the drug can be made more effective. Longer-term tests will be required to look for any side effects before any human studies can be performed.
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