Plans submitted to turn St Edmund’s hospital site into a multi-million pound elderly care facility

Plans submitted to turn St Edmund’s hospital site into a multi-million pound elderly care facility Multi-million pound plans to convert the eyesore former St Edmund’s Hospital into a specialised care facility for the elderly have been unveiled – only hours after a fire at the site. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Derelict hospital to be care complex BBC Northamptonshire

Five million patients to benefit from new era of patient care

Five million patients to benefit from new era of patient care The NHS has chosen the first 29 ‘vanguard’ geographies that will take the national lead on transforming care for patients in towns, cities and counties across England.

269 groups of nurses, doctors and other health and social care staff from across the country put forward their ideas for how they want to redesign care in their areas, and then helped choose thefirst 29 of the most innovative plans.

Drawing on a new £200 million transformation fund and tailored national support, from April the vanguards will develop local health and care services to keep people well, and bring home care, mental health and community nursing, GP services and hospitals together for the first time since 1948.

For patients, this will lead to a significant improvement in their experience of health services. It is estimated more than five million patients will benefit, just from this first wave. For example, this could mean: fewer trips to hospitals as cancer and dementia specialists and GPs work in new teams; a single point of access for family doctors, community nurses, social and mental health services; and access to tests, dialysis or chemotherapy much closer to home.

Public mental health leadership and workforce development framework

Public mental health leadership and workforce development framework The purpose of this framework is to help develop public health leadership and workforce capability in mental health.

It identifies six key ambitions, as well as some core principles for the workforce. Each ambition outlines current priorities and suggests key competencies that we need to expand and grow if mental health is to genuinely be addressed with the same energy and given the same priority as physical health, recognising that it underpins our quality of life. Public Health England

• Framework
• Executive summary
• Associated documents

Cigarette plain packaging vote due

Cigarette plain packaging vote due MPs are expected to approve the introduction of standardised packaging for cigarettes later. BBC News

The cost of the cuts: the impact on local government and poorer communities

The cost of the cuts: the impact on local government and poorer communities How are austerity measures affecting local government and communities?

Cuts to local authority budgets are having a profound effect on the services people receive. The poorest communities and residents are being hardest hit and those least able to cope with service withdrawal are bearing the brunt. Joseph Rowntree Foundation

HRT review finds increased risk of blood clots and stroke

HRT review finds increased risk of blood clots and stroke "Women on HRT pills should be aware that there is a small chance of an increased risk of blood clots and possibly stroke," BBC News reports.

This story is based on an update of a review on the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases (cardiovascular diseases).

The updated results supported their previous findings that HRT did not reduce the risk of deaths from any cause or from cardiovascular causes during follow-up. However, it did increase the risk of stroke and blood clots (for example deep vein thrombosis – DVT).

Researchers estimated that for every 1,000 women taking HRT, an extra six would experience stroke and an extra eight would experience a blood clot.

The review is robust and the trials of good quality. Still, there are some important points to note. The trials did include different doses and types of oral HRT given over different time periods, but results may not be representative of each of these individually. Also, the women were, on average, about 60 years old at the start of the trials, so results may not be representative of women who start taking HRT at a younger age.

20 NHS bosses award themselves higher salary than PM

20 NHS bosses award themselves higher salary than PM Some 70 executives of new regional bodies earn more than the £125,000 maximum recommended by the NHS, with one boss taking home £280,000 - double the Prime Minister. The Daily Mail

See also:

• More than half of CCG leaders paid above recommended levels GP Online

NHS Change Day: the 10 best campaigns

NHS Change Day: the 10 best campaigns Raising awareness of sepsis and helping women through the menopause are just two of the grassroots projects championed on NHS Change Day. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• How NHS Change Day will benefit patients The Guardian
• How NHS Change Day became the biggest movement in the health service's history The Guardian