Rise in mental health bed occupancy

Rise in mental health bed occupancy Mental health bed occupancy has hit its highest level in at least five years, the latest NHS England figures show.

Mental health beds had an average occupancy of 89.5% in 2014-15, the highest level in the dataset’s five year history. The figure marks a rise in occupancy of 2.9% on 2010-11 levels. The number of available beds fell from 23,515 in April 2010 to 21,374 in April 2015, a drop of 9.1%.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends a ward occupancy level of 85% for effective care continue reading Community Care

See also:

• Bed Availability and Occupancy NHS England

NHS England asks NICE to suspend safe staffing programme

NHS England asks NICE to suspend safe staffing programme NHS England has asked NICE not to begin new activity in its safe staffing programme.

NHS England will now take forward the issue of staffing work as part of a wider programme of service improvement. It is looking at alternative approaches to helping NHS providers to achieve the right levels and mix of staff. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

See also:

• NHS Employers respond to safe staffing levels review NHS Employers
• NICE suspends work on safe staffing guidance Royal College of Nursing
• A&E safe staff levels shelved as costs spiral The Daily Telegraph
• NHS patient safety fears as health watchdog scraps staffing guidelines The Guardian
• NHS workforce must change to meet demands on health service The Guardian
• Nurses warn NHS not to cut their numbers after watchdog announces end to review of safe-staffing levels The Independent

NHS facing 'very, very big challenge'

NHS facing 'very, very big challenge' The NHS must stop wasting money if it is to meet the "very, very big challenge" it faces, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says. BBC News

See also:

• Speech: Safety and efficiency in the NHS Department of Health
• Money, money, money - those NHS finances BBC News
• Jeremy Hunt says 'Hospitals MUST cut their costs' The Daily Mail
• Jeremy Hunt orders hospitals to rein in spending The Guardian

Five Year Forward View: Time to Deliver

Five Year Forward View: Time to Deliver At the NHS Confederation conference on Thursday 4 June 2015, the seven principle national health bodies published Five Year Forward View: Time to Deliver.

Time to Deliver is primarily a tool for NHS managers. It looks at the progress made to date towards delivering the Five Year Forward View, and sets out the next steps we need to take if we are to achieve the shared ambitions within in.The paper kicks-starts a period of engagement with the NHS, patients and other partners on how we can respond to the long-term challenges and close the health and wellbeing gap; the care and quality gap; and the funding and efficiency gap. NHS England

Talent management: developing leadership not just leaders

Talent management: developing leadership not just leaders In light of the high number of board-level vacancies in the NHS and an increasing reliance on expensive locum and agency staff, NHS organisations need to have effective strategies in place to develop future leaders. This paper helps boards and other NHS leaders to decide which processes and systems need to be in place to support the recruitment, development, retention and deployment of an agile workforce. The King's Fund

• Research paper
• The King's Fund - blogs

£200 million lost from public health budget

£200 million lost from public health budget The Government today announced a consultation on plans to remove £200 million from local authority public health budgets. Royal College of Nursing

Five-year 'death test' for older adults launched online

Five-year 'death test' for older adults launched online"Are you dying to know? Scientists develop death test to predict if you'll make it to 2020," The Daily Telegraph reports. The test is based on analysis of data collected from the UK Biobank.

This is essentially a huge ongoing cohort study that collected data from almost 500,000 middle- to older-age adults in the UK over an average of five years. This data was then used to create an online death risk calculator.

The researchers looked at around 650 different measurements, including blood tests, family history, health and medical history to work out which were most strongly associated with risk of death over the next five years.

This was then used to create an online risk calculator of death. For this, the researchers focused on factors that were easy for people to self-report. For example, you probably have no clue what size your red blood cells are or what your cholesterol level is, but you do know how many children you have.

The factors included in the tool do not necessarily cause death, but are associated with an increase in risk. Many of these factors cannot be changed, such as already having a longstanding illness, but some can be, such as smoking – the strongest predictor of death in people with no medical illness.

S Korea doctor deepens Mers scare

S Korea doctor deepens Mers scare A South Korean doctor disobeyed an order to stay away from the public after contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome from a patient, it has emerged. BBC News

See also:

• Mers: Outbreak of virus with no known cure and a mortality rate of 40% spreads panic in South Korea amid fears it may have mutated The Independent
• Mers virus: What are the symptoms, what is it and where in the world has it affected? The Independent

Call for blood donors amid stark drop

Call for blood donors amid stark drop A campaign is calling for new blood donors in England and Wales following a 40% drop in fresh volunteers in the past decade. BBC News

See also:

• New blood donors in decline: 40% fewer new blood donors in 2014/5 than 2004/5 NHS Blood and Transplant

Plan for 'global army' of medics

Plan for 'global army' of medics Plans for a global taskforce of 10,000 medics and scientists to tackle major disease outbreaks will be presented at the G7 summit, the BBC understands. BBC News

'If vanguards work, the return on investment is to the wider NHS'

'If vanguards work, the return on investment is to the wider NHS' As new models of care are set to transform the NHS, Claire Read speaks to three trusts to find out what prompted their bid to be a vanguard site and their journey so far. Health Service Journal

GP flu consultations 'nearly double' epidemic levels last winter, data show

GP flu consultations 'nearly double' epidemic levels last winter, data show The number of GP consultations for flu-like symptoms last winter was almost double epidemic levels, according to data from Public Health England. GP Online

Is letting dementia patients live in the past the best form of care?

Is letting dementia patients live in the past the best form of care? Butterfly Household Model of Care lets patients believe that they are working, getting married or having a family again. The Daily Telegraph

UK has highest rate of cocaine use among young adults in Europe, says new report

UK has highest rate of cocaine use among young adults in Europe, says new report Britain has the highest rate of cocaine use among young adults in Europe, a report indicates. The Independent

See also:

• European Drug Report 2015 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
• United Kingdom country overview: A summary of the national drug situation European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

NHS England to scrap key waiting time targets and end weekly reporting of A&E figures

NHS England to scrap key waiting time targets and end weekly reporting of A&E figures The NHS in England is to scrap two key waiting times targets and end the weekly reporting of A&E figures, despite mounting pressures on the health service. The Independent

See also:

• Jeremy Hunt revises NHS performance targets to remove 'perverse incentives' The Guardian