Wednesday 4 March 2015

KGH nurse who doctored sicknote is struck off

KGH nurse who doctored sicknote is struck off A nurse who altered a doctor’s sicknote and forged signatures on her timesheets while working at Kettering General Hospital has been struck off. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Guidance: Helping school nurses to tackle child sexual exploitation

Guidance: Helping school nurses to tackle child sexual exploitationThe child sexual exploitation pathway document from the Department of Health aims to consolidate best practice by:

  • helping practitioners to recognise child sexual exploitation and to understand its effects on health and wellbeing
  • summarising the evidence base, including the types of child sexual exploitation, its prevalence and consequences
  • identifying the school nurse role at different levels of service and outlining a core offer from the school nursing service

Improving postgraduate medical training through the adoption of Better Training Better Care

Improving postgraduate medical training through the adoption of Better Training Better Care This briefing aims to demonstrate to board members how using innovative solutions in medical education can help to improve quality of care and patient safety and can also make cost savings. Employers, educational supervisors and trainees will want to look at the successes of the pilots and consider which of the pilots might be suitable for local adoption, or whether other innovative solutions in education and training could lead to similar successes. NHS Employers

Unison votes to accept NHS pay deal

Unison votes to accept NHS pay deal NHS staff have voted to accept a government pay offer, Unison has announced. BBC News

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Hospital investigation cost £19.5m

Hospital investigation cost £19.5m The costs of sending special administrators into the troubled Mid Staffordshire NHS trust rose to almost £19.5m, a health watchdog reveals. BBC News

Care.data on hold until election

Care.data on hold until election Lingering questions dogging NHS England's controversial care.data programme will hold up progress on its pilot phase until after the May general election, Tim Kelsey has confirmed for the first time. E-Health Insider

Is long-term paracetamol use not as safe as we thought?

Is long-term paracetamol use not as safe as we thought? "Daily paracetamol could raise the risk of heart attacks, stroke and early death," the Mail Online reports.

A new review of previous observational studies found that long-term use of paracetamol was linked with a small increased risk of adverse events such as heart attacks, gastrointestinal bleeds (bleeding inside the digestive system) and impaired kidney function.

It is important to be aware that, as these are observational studies, there is the potential for various sources of bias. The studies were highly variable in their study populations. For example, four studies included female nurses, one male doctor, one person with kidney disease, and other adults prescribed paracetamol (i.e. they weren’t taking it over the counter). They also examined highly variable paracetamol exposures (e.g. days of use per month, grams intake in a lifetime, or number of prescriptions). Overall, this gives quite a mixed group of study designs and results, which may be influenced by many things, including inaccurate estimations of intake and significant health differences between users and non-users of paracetamol.

Nevertheless, the findings that paracetamol could potentially have adverse longer-term effects, particularly when used at higher doses, is important, especially as the drug is used by millions. Therefore, further investigation is needed.

NHS savings plan led to cuts of some ‘low-value’ treatments

NHS savings plan led to cuts of some ‘low-value’ treatments But cuts were inconsistent varying between trusts. OnMedica

Speed up efforts to improve poor mental heath care in NHS, say MPs

Speed up efforts to improve poor mental heath care in NHS, say MPs A report by the all-party parliamentary group on mental health says there is little evidence of progress towards parity with physical health.

Progress in ending “institutional bias” against mental health patients in the NHS is unacceptably slow and must be accelerated in the next parliament, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has said.

Despite pledges to achieve parity of esteem with physical health, a report by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on mental health says that people with mental health problems receive substandard care that would not be tolerated elsewhere in the NHS. Continue reading... The Guardian

Emergency care fund failing to reach A&E departments, research shows

Emergency care fund failing to reach A&E departments, research shows Report suggests only 1% of £700m fund allocated to improving emergency services ended up directly in A&Es, with some of it used to pay off trust debts

Less than 1% of the £700m allocated by the government for emergency care in England this winter ended up directly in A&E departments, according to a survey of senior clinicians working on the NHS frontline.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which commissioned the research, published on Wednesday, said the results suggested the cash was not spent in a way that would improve emergency services, with some of it even being used to pay off trust debts. Continue reading... The Guardian

Report prompts NHS to launch a review into maternity care across England

Report prompts NHS to launch a review into maternity care across England The NHS is to launch a review of maternity services in England in the wake of a damning report that said a “lethal mix” of incompetence and cover-up led to the preventable deaths of 11 babies and one mother at a rural hospital in Cumbria. The Independent

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500% increase in GP practises seeking advice on closure

500% increase in GP practises seeking advice on closure There has been a 500 per cent rise in the number of GP surgeries approaching senior NHS manager for advice about shutting their doors or merging with nearby practises. The Independent