Students working for free at Northampton General Hospital face court action after refusing to pay £10 a day for parking

Students working for free at Northampton General Hospital face court action after refusing to pay £10 a day for parking Students who work in Northampton General Hospital (NGH) without pay are facing court action after failing to pay parking charges which were raised from £1 to £10 per day. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

NHS increases budget for cancer drugs fund from £280 million in 2015/15 to an expected £340 million in 2015/16

NHS increases budget for cancer drugs fund from £280 million in 2015/15 to an expected £340 million in 2015/16 The NHS Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) published the outcome of its review of drugs included in the Fund.

The budget for the CDF will grow from £200 million in 2013/14, to £280 million in 2014/15, and an estimated £340 million from April 2015. This represents a total increase of 70 per cent since August 2014.

The CDF review announced today also will create projected savings of approximately £80 million through a combination of negotiated price reductions and improved clinical effectiveness. If action had not been taken to review the CDF drugs list, the Fund is projected to have grown to around £420 million next year, necessitating offsetting cuts in other aspects of cancer treatment such as radiotherapy, cancer diagnoses, cancer surgery, and other important NHS services for other patient groups.

Dozens died during 999 downgrade

Dozens died during 999 downgrade Dozens of patients whose 999 calls were downgraded by an ambulance emergency centre later died, a report reveals. BBC News

Ebola nurse no longer critically ill

Ebola nurse no longer critically ill UK nurse Pauline Cafferkey is no longer critically ill with Ebola, London's Royal Free Hospital says. BBC News

Circle's withdrawal from Hinchingbrooke hospital is no cause for celebration

Circle's withdrawal from Hinchingbrooke hospital is no cause for celebration The failing privately-run NHS hospital is back in public hands, but those celebrating another outsourcing fiasco are missing a larger problem

The announcement that Circle has withdrawn from its contract to run Hinchingbrooke hospital after the Care Quality Commission put it into “special measures” has predictably delighted those who are against outsourcing NHS services to the private sector.

But patients and the public should not rejoice at Circle’s decision. The hospital was in a financial mess and faced with closure when Circle took it over three years ago. Its debts were £39m on a turnover of £73m and Circle agreed to eliminate the debt and leave the NHS with several million pounds to spare. It planned to achieve this by reducing running costs by 5% a year, a total saving of £311m over the 10-year contract. Continue reading... The Guardian

Charities offer to help out in A&E to relieve pressure on staff

Charities offer to help out in A&E to relieve pressure on staff Some of Britain’s leading charities will urge the Government to let them make a “radical intervention” at accident and emergency (A&E) departments in a bid to relieve crippling pressure on medical staff. The Independent

See also:

• Why the A&E crisis is a tribute to the health service's success The Daily Telegraph
• A&E crisis exposed: the real pressures facing the NHS and the valiant doctors and nurses trying to keep it on track The Daily Telegraph

Fall in life expectancy raises alarm amid fears that cuts and pressure on NHS may be to blame for earlier deaths

Fall in life expectancy raises alarm amid fears that cuts and pressure on NHS may be to blame for earlier deaths Health officials are investigating a “statistically significant, sustained” decline in life expectancy among elderly people in some parts of England, amid warnings that cuts to social care and pressures on the NHS may be contributing to earlier deaths. The Independent