Thursday 19 February 2015

Patient safety fear GP 'defies NHS'

Patient safety fear GP 'defies NHS' A doctor who stopped taking new patients because of "safety" concerns is continuing to do so, despite being told he is in breach of his NHS contract.BBC Northampton 

Implementing the NHS five year forward view: aligning policies with the plan

Implementing the NHS five year forward view: aligning policies with the plan This paper calls for fundamental changes to how health services are commissioned, paid for and regulated to deliver the vision of the NHS five year forward view. The Forward View, published in 2014 by NHS England and other national bodies to broad approval, outlined how NHS services must change to move towards the care models required for the future. England, it argued, is too diverse for ‘one size fits all’ solutions. However, without significant changes to policy and new approaches to NHS leadership, this paper warns that the Forward View could suffer the same fate as many other NHS policy documents – and fail to deliver on its ambitions. It makes practical recommendations on what to do now to remove barriers to developing new care models and to support their implementation. Looking ahead, it argues that national leadership of the highest order will be needed to meet the challenges inherent in delivering these changes. The King's Fund

The emotional wellbeing of older carers

The emotional wellbeing of older carers This report, the second in a two part series, focusses on the findings on the subjective wellbeing of older carers.

The research finds that:
• Long term caregiving was associated with declines in quality of life and life satisfaction for carers, and an increased risk of depression.
• Giving up caregiving was associated with increased depression amongst both male and female carers.

The report addresses the wider context of these findings, highlighting how our ageing population could potentially lead to large increases in the number of older carers, with the number of carers over 65 already having risen by 35% since 2001. It also highlights the day-to-day realities faced by many older carers, including a high risk of emotional distress; the loss of friends, either because of a lack of time to socialise or because friends were unable to properly understand the constraints and strains of caring; and potential health risks. International Longevity centre UK

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NHS child mental health care pledge

NHS child mental health care pledge Parents of children with mental health problems in England will get more say on their care, says the NHS after a survey suggests major problems. BBC News

NHS England and Monitor set out new tariff option for providers for 2015/16

NHS England and Monitor set out new tariff option for providers for 2015/16 Simon Stevens, CEO of NHS England and David Bennett, CEO of Monitor have today written to providers of NHS-funded services setting out a new enhanced tariff option for 2015-16. It is worth up to £500m more to providers than the original package that was consulted on last November, which was prior to extra funding being made available to the NHS in December’s Autumn statement.

Details of the approach are set out in the below letter to providers, and a parallel letter from CCG leaders and Simon Stevens to CCG commissioners, also below.

Simon Stevens said “The NHS is looking for certainty about next year, and a constructive and shared approach to helping hospitals with the genuine pressures they’re facing. This new funding option offers that, without sacrificing critical new investments in primary and mental health services. In the round, it gives the NHS collectively our best chance of sustaining high quality services today, while also getting going on major efficiency improvements and the more fundamental changes in care set out in the Five Year Forward View.”

NHS 'paying too much for medicines'

NHS 'paying too much for medicines' The price the NHS agrees to pay for new medicines in England could cause more harm than good by depleting funds for other services, a report argues. BBC News

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NHS misses a year of cancer targets

NHS misses a year of cancer targets The NHS in England has repeatedly missed a key target for rapidly treating cancer patients, official figures for 2014 show. BBC News

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Private health firms pocket £18 million a day - that's £6 billion in the last year - from the NHS budget 

Private health firms pocket £18 million a day - that's £6 billion in the last year - from the NHS budget New figures from the Department of Health show that last year £6.6 billion was taken from the NHS coffers to pay private health providers - a 50 per cent rise from before the coalition took power. The Daily Mail

General election 2015: who’s promising what for the NHS?

General election 2015: who’s promising what for the NHS? It’s not just what the political parties are saying on health that marks them out, but how they’re saying it.

The emerging health policies for the main political parties reveal sharp differences in content and presentation - yet all three fail to offer a convincing plan for change.

Labour’s policy is laced with anti-private sector rhetoric and makes ambitious promises on everything from cancer tests to staff recruitment. The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have allied themselves to NHS England’s Five Year Forward View by promising to meet the £8bn funding gap it identifies, while placing its health policies in the context of wider public sector reforms and increased local control. The Guardian

NHS England isn’t even pretending it will pilot the ‘new models of care’

NHS England isn’t even pretending it will pilot the ‘new models of care’ It’s good to know if a policy works before it is rolled out, yet NHS England doesn’t see the need to try out new projects as part of its Five Year Forward View.

Let’s run this one up the flagpole and see who salutes. The business world has its own approaches to trying out new ideas, and its own distinctive idioms for doing so. Public services pride themselves on more considered, scientific ways of establishing what works when it comes to spending the taxpayer pound.

But as the most ambitious benefit reform of the modern era gets the go-ahead after only limited piloting, it’s worth asking if such pride is really justified.

How will these models be assessed and what route will there be from vanguard to preferred option – or failed concept?

NHS England is avoiding the term 'pilot' for its new models of care, preferring 'early adopters' and 'first cohort' Continue reading... The Guardian

HIV vaccine tests showing very positive results, researchers say

HIV vaccine tests showing very positive results, researchers say A new kind of vaccine has shown “striking” results in tests against HIV, raising hopes of a therapy to protect people from AIDS. The Independent

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