NHS Northamptonshire reveals details of complaints made against services

NHS Northamptonshire reveals details of complaints made against services A schoolboy from Northamptonshire was wrongly told by the NHS that he could not be treated for speech and co-ordination problems because of cutbacks. Northamptonshire Chronicle and Echo

Electric vehicles scheme to be put in place at three NHS sites in Northamptonshire

Electric vehicles scheme to be put in place at three NHS sites in Northamptonshire Six new electric vehicles are to be put in place at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust sites across the county. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Research and analysis: Improving liver health in the East Midlands: a call to action

Research and analysis: Improving liver health in the East Midlands: a call to action This paper calls for action across the East Midlands to improve liver health, and draws on the evidence from the recent Lancet Commission on liver disease to identify the main factors in this fight and actions to take.

It also focuses on each of the 3 major preventable causes of liver disease:

• alcohol
• obesity
• viral hepatitis

It highlights the scale of the challenge and the opportunities for change in each area. Public Health England

NHS England launches first stage of new programme to improve young people’s mental health services

NHS England launches first stage of new programme to improve young people’s mental health services NHS England has distributed £30m of funding to improve eating disorder services aiming to achieve 95 per cent of patients being seen within four weeks or one week for urgent cases by 2020.

The funding is the first stage of a new programme to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and will be used to improve community based eating disorder (ED) services so patients are helped earlier and fewer need in-patient care.

The funding will be recurrent for five years as part of the Autumn statement announcement in 2014, and in addition to the £1.25bn pledged in the March 2015 budget for CAMHS which is also over the next five years. NHS England

Consultation on restricting public sector exit payments

Consultation on restricting public sector exit payments The government has announced plans to introduce a public sector exit payment cap of £95,000 for public sector workers, including those in the NHS. NHS Employers

Hiding HIV virus 'flushed out' by skin cancer drug

Hiding HIV virus 'flushed out' by skin cancer drug "HIV flushed out by cancer drug", BBC News reports. This headline was prompted by laboratory research showing the promising results of a cancer drug being used to treat HIV.

In the early stages of HIV infection, some of the virus effectively goes into hiding in so-called HIV "reservoirs". These viruses are not "active", so standard anti-HIV drug treatments do not kill them.

In this study, researchers found viruses in blood samples from people with HIV infection could be reactivated using a cancer drug. They believe this would mean the viruses could then be identified by standard drug treatments, and killed. The drug did not appear to be toxic to other blood cells, although it wasn't tested on living humans.

While these are promising results, the experiments are at an early stage and it is not known if it would be safe to use the drug in this way for people infected with HIV.

The drug is currently used on the skin to treat a condition called actinic keratoses, which makes it unclear what effects the drug would have if used internally.

NHS trusts told to 'redo finances'

NHS trusts told to 'redo finances' Health regulator Monitor tells hospitals and health trusts in England to "look again" at their financial plans as current proposals are unaffordable. BBC News

See also:

• NHS trusts urged to fill only 'essential' vacancies amid finances warning The Daily Mail
• NHS told to fill vacancies 'only where essential' due to looming funding crisis The Guardian
• 'Fundamental change to how the NHS is run': reaction to the letter Health Service Journal
• NHS hospitals told not to fill vacancies as cash crisis bites The Independent

Up to 10,000 patients face 'being stripped of cancer drugs'

Up to 10,000 patients face 'being stripped of cancer drugs' In meetings held behind closed doors last week, officials discussed removing up to 37 treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund list because it is running out of money. The Daily Mail

Hospital food: from kitchen to ward – in pictures

Hospital food: from kitchen to ward – in pictures Behind the scenes at the award-winning Musgrove Park hospital in Somerset. The Guardian

Jeremy Hunt has broken his promise on the elderly care cap

Jeremy Hunt has broken his promise on the elderly care cap The government said it was capping the bill faced by savers, but it's been kicked into the long grass. The Daily Telegraph

Government target for 5,000 more family doctors by 2020 jeopardised as training places for new GPs left unfilled

Government target for 5,000 more family doctors by 2020 jeopardised as training places for new GPs left unfilled Many training places for new GPs, who begin work this week, may have been left unfilled, jeopardising a Government target to have 5,000 more family doctors working in the NHS by 2020. The Independent

See also:

• Returner rates show more must be done to address north-south divide, warns GPC GP Online

Less than one per cent of NHS consultants use control loophole to 'opt out' of weekend work

Less than one per cent of NHS consultants use control loophole to 'opt out' of weekend work Jeremy Hunt’s justification for reforming NHS working practices has been called into question, after it was revealed that less than one per cent of consultants actually use a contract loophole to “opt-out” of weekend work. The Independent