Healthwatch Northamptonshire say winter pressure on county hospitals is intense

Healthwatch Northamptonshire say winter pressure on county hospitals is intense Healthwatch Northamptonshire has been informed of the current pressures at both Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital.

Both hospitals are currently experiencing very high demand for services following an increase in patients with respiratory conditions and complex conditions requiring urgent hospital admission. Northampton Herald and Post

See also:

• Trolleys carrying waiting A&E patients lined corridors at Northampton General Hospital Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Sixty Dutch nurses taken on by Northampton General Hospital Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• HOSPITAL CRISIS: Northampton General Hospital forced into 'red alert' as it struggles to cope with patient numbers Northampton Herald and Post
Northampton General Hospital cancels operations due to 'busiest winter ever recorded' in county Northampton Herald and Post
• KGH on black alert during busiest winter on record Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS England’s Medical Director launches search for pioneering healthcare innovators

NHS England’s Medical Director launches search for pioneering healthcare innovators Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, today launched the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme.

Together with hosts UCLPartners and The Health Foundation, NHS England is inviting healthcare pioneers from around the world to apply to develop and scale their tried and tested innovations across parts of the NHS.

The programme will focus on the conditions and cultural change needed to enable the NHS to adopt innovations at scale and pace, aiming to improve outcomes and give patients more equitable access to the latest products, services and technology.

'Game-changing' antibiotic find

'Game-changing' antibiotic find The decades-long drought in the search for new antibiotics to tackle drug-resistant infections could be over, after a breakthrough by US scientists. BBC News

See also:

• Super-antibiotic that could wipe out diseases from MRSA to TB is hailed as a 'game-changer' by scientists The Daily Mail
• First new antibiotic in 30 years could be key to beating superbug resistance The Independent

'Outrage' at NHS cancer drugs move

'Outrage' at NHS cancer drugs move Two drug companies have attacked a decision to remove their treatments from a special fund designed to give access to new therapies in England. BBC News

See also:

• Anger as fund cuts six breast cancer drugs The Daily Mail

Patients 'getting stuck in hospital'

Patients 'getting stuck in hospital' Hospitals are reporting they are facing problems discharging patients as they struggle to cope with A&E pressures. BBC News

See also:

• AUDIO: A&E doctor: We can't turn people away BBC News
• VIDEO: Addenbrooke's declares 'major incident' BBC News
• 'Just busy and performing well? Crisis, more like': Outraged A&E consultant blasts David Cameron's 'lies' about the state of the NHS and challenges him to a debate about the escalating crisis The Daily Mail
• A&E crisis: foreign nurses and untrained volunteers drafted in to plug dangerous shortfall The Daily Telegraph
• ‘Bedblockers’: the fit-to-leave patients deepening hospital crisis The Guardian
• The Secret Doctor: A&E is run on pure fear: how much more can we take? The Guardian
• Cameron accuses Miliband of seeking to ‘weaponise’ the NHS during election The Guardian
• Corporate feasting will devour the NHS The Guardian
• Why is the NHS in trouble? Seven reasons why A&Es are struggling The Guardian
• NHS crisis: Extra cash is not reaching critical areas effectively The Independent
• Health secretary summoned to Commons to explain A&E crisis OnMedica

GPs to be audited for performance on sepsis care

GPs to be audited for performance on sepsis care Part of package of measures to step up efforts to curb human and financial costs of ‘hidden killer’. OnMedica

Litigation reform could save NHS billions, argues medical defence body

Litigation reform could save NHS billions, argues medical defence body Spiralling costs of settling legal claims can no longer be ignored, says MDU. OnMedica

Is the new CQC rating system consistent across health and social care?

Is the new CQC rating system consistent across health and social care? Three adult social care providers have been rated ‘outstanding’, but two in three hospitals are seen as falling short. The Guardian