Thursday 25 June 2015

Northamptonshire ambulance technician says her job is a ‘privilege’ as service recruits frontline staff

Northamptonshire ambulance technician says her job is a ‘privilege’ as service recruits frontline staff Forget the dramatic brief appearances in Holby City, Casualty and gritty crime dramas, says East Midlands Ambulance Service technician Liz Canham, it’s the chance to make a real difference to people’s lives that makes her job a privilege. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

2020 vision: digital efficiency and innovation in the NHS

2020 vision: digital efficiency and innovation in the NHS Every year our Digital Health and Care Congress brings together a diverse group of people, united by an interest in digital health, to share and discuss the ways that digital products and services are changing and improving health systems. This year's congress was sold out yet again, demonstrating the huge interest in this area.

Among the many fascinating talks and discussions, I want to highlight a couple of important announcements that are very relevant as the NHS races to meet two prominent policy commitments by 2020: to achieve an unprecedented £22 billion of productivity savings, and to make all patient records digital and accessible in real time across all settings for patients and staff.

Treating mind and body together – Dr Geraldine Strathdee

Treating mind and body together – Dr Geraldine Strathdee NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental Health, who is among the speakers at the Health+Care Commissioning Show, examines the need for integrated care:

Integration is now one of the most commonly used words today in healthcare.

The Five Year Forward View sets out the principles of integration: the integration of physical and mental health, integration of primary and specialist care, and integration of health and social care.

There are many interpretations, and in this blog I want to set out some of the thinking about implementation from the perspective of a mental health clinician.

Latest NHS staff sickness absence figures published

Latest NHS staff sickness absence figures published The latest figures released by the Health and Social Care Information centre (HSCIC) show that NHS staff sickness absence has risen by 0.11 per cent in the year from February 2014 (4.31 per cent) to February 2015 (4.42 per cent). NHS Employers

Patient safety is at risk, say learning disability nurses

Patient safety is at risk, say learning disability nurses A new RCN survey reveals learning disability nurses have serious concerns about the impact that cuts are having on the 1.5 million people living with a learning disability in the UK. Royal College of Nursing

CQC responds to RCGP call to 'halt' inspections

CQC responds to RCGP call to 'halt' inspections Prof Steve Field, our Chief Inspector of General Practice, said: "We are extremely disappointed that the Royal College of General Practitioners has called for an ‘emergency pause’ to our inspections of general practices, which we carry out to make sure that people across England get safe, high-quality and compassionate primary care. The safety and quality of care of people who use these services continue to be our number one priority. Care Quality Commission

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'Make work healthier' bosses told

'Make work healthier' bosses told Managers across England must "raise their game" to create happy, healthy workplaces, England's chief health advisers have warned. BBC News

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VIDEO: Ambulance service in crisis in England

VIDEO: Ambulance service in crisis in England Paramedics are being overstretched and under staffed in England with unions warning that the service would not cope with an incident in a major city. BBC News

Climate change poses major threat to health

Climate change poses major threat to health But action to fight it could be our ‘greatest ever opportunity to improve global health’ OnMedica

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Video project aims to explain research in NHS

Video project aims to explain research in NHS "Research people" follows staff in different roles across the country as they explain how their work helps treatment

A collection of short films have been produced by the by the National Institute for Health Research's Clinical Research Network to help patients develop a greater understanding of NHS-based research.

The Research People series features members of the research community from across the country explaining who they are, what they do, and how their work benefits treatments and services. Continue reading... The Guardian

Doubts linger over Jeremy Hunt's pledge for 5,000 new GPs

Doubts linger over Jeremy Hunt's pledge for 5,000 new GPs Health secretary seemed hesitant to fully commit to Conservative’s pre-election promise in two recent speeches

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has been accused of preparing to make a U-turn over the government’s pledge to recruit 5,000 more GPs by 2020 to ease the chronic shortage of family doctors.

The status of the target, which was a key Conservative pledge during the election campaign, has come into question after Hunt appeared to cast doubt on it on two separate occasions. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Dying cancer patients could volunteer to be medical guinea pigs under new law

Dying cancer patients could volunteer to be medical guinea pigs under new law Chris Heaton-Harris (Daventry) MP's new Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill will make it easier for doctors to try untested drugs on patients without the fear of being sued. The Daily Telegraph

NHS to give volunteers 'synthetic blood' made in a laboratory within two years

NHS to give volunteers 'synthetic blood' made in a laboratory within two years The first attempt at giving human volunteers “synthetic blood” made in a laboratory for the first time will take place within the next two years, the NHS has announced. The Independent

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