Tractor selfies for mental health

Tractor selfies for mental health Hundreds of people are posing for selfies with tractors to help raise awareness of mental health issues in the farming community following the suicide of a Northamptonshire man. BBC Northampton

What impact do accountable care organisations have on care quality?

What impact do accountable care organisations have on care quality? Although there are many notable differences between the UK and US health systems, both countries are united in a common purpose: to improve the quality of care and to control its cost. Both systems use similar approaches to achieve this – namely, new care models that bring providers together, offer more co-ordinated and patient-centred care, and incentivise outcomes rather than activity. The King's Fund

National health report 2015

National health report 2015 This report, compiled by mutual health and wellbeing provider Benenden, questioned 4,000 people across the UK asking them to put a cost to some common procedures and treatments - ranging from natural child birth to liver transplants, while at the same time enquiring if they believe some of those treatments should be funded, at least in part, by the individuals on the receiving end. It also explored attitudes and sense of entitlement to those same NHS treatments, uncovering a disparity between what people believe others are entitled to and their own entitlement.

• Report
• Press release

Better knowledge, better care: animations

Better knowledge, better care: animations These animations explore the value of knowledge in health care and they take viewers on a journey explaining key concepts along the way, to build an understanding of what better knowledge means in health and care. They demonstrate that no matter where you work in the system, small changes to capture, store, share and apply knowledge can lead to improved quality of care, outcomes and patient experience. NHS Improving Quality

GMC and MSC seek views on medical professionalism for future doctors

GMC and MSC seek views on medical professionalism for future doctors The General Medical Council and Medical Schools Council have launched a joint consultation on guidelines to help medical students develop into competent and compassionate doctors that meet the expectations of patients and the public.

Many white English and Irish pensioners 'drinking to excess'

Many white English and Irish pensioners 'drinking to excess' "One in five people over 65 who drink is consuming an "unsafe" level of alcohol, say researchers," BBC News reports. Their research also found that "unsafe drinking was far more common among the white British and Irish population".

The study involved nearly 28,000 older adults (aged 65 and over) living in the Lambeth area of London. It found that people were more likely to drink alcohol above safe limits if they were male, aged closer to 65, of Irish ethnicity and higher socioeconomic status. NHS Choices

Quarter of parents feel “cut off” and lonely

Quarter of parents feel “cut off” and lonely A quarter (24%) of British parents feel lonely and isolated, regularly feeling cut off from friends and other sources of support, according to new findings released today by charity Action for Children.

See also:

• VIDEO: The dangers of loneliness as a parent BBC News

VIDEO: Mental health nurses and police team up

VIDEO: Mental health nurses and police team up Teams of mental health nurses and police are giving support on the ground to help keep mental health sufferers out of prison cells. BBC News

Low-cost robot hand wins Dyson prize

Low-cost robot hand wins Dyson prize A budget-priced 3D-printed robotic hand for amputees is the UK winner of 2015's James Dyson Award for engineering design. BBC News

Last Ebola patient discharged

Last Ebola patient discharged Sierra Leone has released its last known Ebola patient, according to the World Health Organization.BBC News

I wish patients would remember that doctors have lives too

I wish patients would remember that doctors have lives too I love my job but I and many of my medical colleagues made personal sacrifices to do it

What are patients thinking of me when I am running late? I often wonder. If our patients knew more about us and the personal sacrifices that we make as doctors, would it reassure them that we genuinely try our best for them?

Since qualifying, my husband, who is also a doctor, and I, have seen our non-medical friends accelerate past us with regards financial security and life stability. During the last 10 years, while working as a trainee surgeon and trainee GP, I have worked in 12 different hospitals and GP practices stretching from Edinburgh to Slough to Melbourne, Australia. The current structure means that junior doctors are constantly planning and applying for their next job. For a single, 24-year-old this is not too problematic, but as a 35-year-old mother, it becomes a logistical nightmare. Continue reading... The Guardian

Fire ambulances: Soaring demand prompts move for firefighters to support NHS crews

Fire ambulances: Soaring demand prompts move for firefighters to support NHS crews Bringing in firefighters to support ambulance crews could help the NHS cope with soaring demand for emergency services, medical and fire chiefs have said, following early signs of success in a pilot of “fire ambulances” in the east Midlands. The Independent