Cancer patients in Northampton waiting too long for treatment went up 20 per cent in one year

Cancer patients in Northampton waiting too long for treatment went up 20 per cent in one year The number of cancer patients waiting more than 62 days for their first chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other treatment at NGH is on the rise, according to latest figures. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust announce out of hours health visitors advice line

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust announce out of hours health visitors advice line
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) is excited to announce their out of hours health visitors advice line.

Following a successful bid to NHS England, NHFT were awarded additional funds to provide an advice line for a three month pilot to help alleviate winter pressures and attendance at A&E. Northamptonshire Herald and Post

Procurement and competition rules Can the NHS be exempted?

Procurement and competition rules Can the NHS be exempted? In this briefing, The King’s Fund seeks to clarify whether a new government could extract the NHS from European Union procurement and competition rules.

See also:

• Tearing up the NHS competition rule book The King’s Fund

Future in mind: promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing

Future in mind: promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing This report of the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce makes a number of proposals the government wishes to see by 2020. These include tackling stigma and improving attitudes to mental illness; introducing more access and waiting time standards for services; establishing ‘one stop shop’ support services in the community; and improving access for children and young people who are particularly vulnerable. It sets out how much of this can be achieved through better working between the NHS, local authorities, voluntary and community services, schools and other local services. It also makes it clear that many of these changes can be achieved by working differently, rather than needing significant investment. Department of Health

Peer support workers in mental health: Is the NHS ready for this?

Peer support workers in mental health: Is the NHS ready for this? Liz Hughes asks: Is the NHS ready for peer support workers in mental health? A recent qualitative study highlights some of the challenges facing peer supporters and the NHS organisations in which they work. The Mental Elf

Privately-run hospital scheme 'poor'

Privately-run hospital scheme 'poor' Oversight of the contract to run the first privately-managed NHS hospital was "poor and inadequate", a House of Commons committee chairwoman says. BBC News

Could epilepsy drug help treat Alzheimer's disease?

Could epilepsy drug help treat Alzheimer's disease? A drug commonly used to treat epilepsy could help "slow down" the progress of Alzheimer's disease, reports The Daily Express. According to the news story, the drug levetiracetam was shown to "help restore brain function and memory".

The story is based on a study analysing the short-term effect of the drug in 54 people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This is where people have problems with their memory and are at an increased risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Dementia is a common condition that affects about 800,000 people in the UK. Most types of dementia cannot be cured.

Researchers found people with the condition showed overactivity in one part of the brain during one memory test involving image recognition.

This overactivity and performance on the test was better when participants had been taking 125mg of levetiracetam twice a day for two weeks, compared with when they had taken inactive "dummy" capsules.

This study was small, short-term and showed improvement on a single memory test. It is not possible to say from this study whether continuing to take the drug would reduce a person's chances of developing dementia.

Exclusive: GPs need tenfold rise in dementia diagnosis to hit NHS target

Exclusive: GPs need tenfold rise in dementia diagnosis to hit NHS target GPs would need to increase dementia diagnosis tenfold in March to hit a controversial target set by NHS England, analysis by GPonline reveals. GP Online

Doctors warned to ensure patients are aware of risks of treatment after Court ruling

Doctors warned to ensure patients are aware of risks of treatment after Court ruling MDU recommends making a record of the information given after Supreme Court says Bolam test is not enough. OnMedica

Closure of small pharmacies threatens to overload GPs and A&E

Closure of small pharmacies threatens to overload GPs and A&E Chemists play a vital role in isolated communities, but their funding will be stopped at the end of the month.

In less than three weeks nearly 100 small yet essential pharmacies across the country will lose their viability top-up payment from NHS England. Yet the majority of owners, like me, are still stuck in negotiations with local area teams. We have no clarity on future funding. Our patients and staff are angry, anxious and confused. Continue reading... The Guardian

Barts NHS Trust in special measures after deaths of newborn and mother

Barts NHS Trust in special measures after deaths of newborn and mother The country’s biggest NHS Trust has been placed in special measures, in the wake of a damning inspection report that catalogued unsafe care caused by staff shortages and a bullying culture at one of its main hospitals. The Independent

See also:

• NHS trust put into special measures BBC News
• Barts in special measures E-Health Insider
• Largest NHS trust put in special measures after damning CQC report The Guardian
• RCN responds to Barts Health NHS Trust being placed in special measures Royal College of Nursing