Northampton General Hospital must cut agency nurses spend by almost £1m

Northampton General Hospital must cut agency nurses spend by almost £1m Northampton General Hospital bosses must slash current spending on agency nurses by almost £1m a year based on latest figures. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Blue light services bungle sees broken-armed rider left in a ditch near Northamptonshire for two hours and 40 minutes

Blue light services bungle sees broken-armed rider left in a ditch near Northamptonshire for two hours and 40 minutes A stricken motorcyclist was left in a ditch near the Northamptonshire border with a broken arm for close to three hours after a mix up between three neighbouring police forces. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Ditch crash biker sent 'pillar-to-post' BBC Northampton
• Crash victim left in ditch by police BBC Northampton

Foundation trust and NHS trust mergers 2010 to 2015

Foundation trust and NHS trust mergers 2010 to 2015 Mergers of trusts in the NHS are often instigated by national bodies so that NHS trusts can gain foundation trust status or failing providers can be rescued from financial difficulties. This report looks at 20 mergers between 2010 and mid-2015 and finds that significant sums of money are being spent on such mergers (£2 billion on just 12 mergers over this period), often based on faulty reasoning and a lack of evidence that mergers offer lasting solutions. The King's Fund

See also:

• NHS mergers: putting all our baskets into one egg? The King's Fund

Financial fraud costs the NHS more than £5 billion a year

Financial fraud costs the NHS more than £5 billion a year Most of this is occurs in the payroll, procurement and pharmaceutical services, claims analysis. OnMedica

See also:

• The Financial Cost of Healthcare Fraud Report 2015 PKF Accountants
• Fraud 'costing NHS over £5bn a year' BBC News
• NHS losing billions to 'fraud by doctors and dentists' The Daily Telegraph
• NHS fraud could cost £1b because of government cuts The Independent
• Department of Health rejects 'highly speculative' estimate of general practice fraud Pulse

Transforming healthcare in England’s core cities

Transforming healthcare in England’s core cities This report shows how CCGs in England’s core cities are taking up the challenge set out in the Five Year Forward View and transforming the way in which healthcare is delivered to the benefit of their local population. The key themes of the report are: developing new partnerships, ensuring equity of care across diverse populations, improving wellbeing, and finding better ways to provide healthcare services. NHS Clinical Commissioners

Nothing general about general practice, NHS ad campaign tells students

Nothing general about general practice, NHS ad campaign tells students The NHS in England has launched a social media advertising campaign to attract more doctors into general practice. GP Online

See also:

• New campaign launched to inspire young medics to choose general practice Health Education England

UK cancer patients being denied drugs due to inflated prices, say experts

UK cancer patients being denied drugs due to inflated prices, say experts Research reveals how drug firms are charging the NHS such high prices the health service no longer offers them to patients

Cancer patients are being denied drugs on the NHS that could lengthen their lives because of unnecessarily exorbitant prices, say experts.

The drugs are cheap to make, and are available to patients in some other countries at much lower prices, according to new research. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Cancer patients denied best medicines because drug firms charge more in Britain The Independent

New NHS contract will worsen shortage of junior doctors, Jeremy Hunt told

New NHS contract will worsen shortage of junior doctors, Jeremy Hunt told Trainee doctors group says changes to terms and conditions present ‘immediate risk to provision of healthcare’ and will weaken NHS for generations.

Imposing a punitive new contract on young doctors will exacerbate already serious staffing shortages in key areas of frontline NHS care, their leaders have warned Jeremy Hunt.

In a sharply worded letter they have told the health secretary that forcing junior doctors to work even more antisocial hours while ending overtime pay will weaken the NHS for generations Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• How much are junior doctors paid, and why are they threatening to strike? The Daily Telegraph
• Letter from medical Royal College presidents to Jeremy Hunt – in full The Guardian
• This is how we staunch the flow of junior doctors out of the NHS The Guardian
• Junior doctors’ new contract is a disaster | Letters The Guardian
• General practice is facing a perfect storm | Letters The Guardian

Alzheimer's scandal: Government adviser Dame Sally Davies backtracks over claims she tried to discredit study

Alzheimer's scandal: Government adviser Dame Sally Davies backtracks over claims she tried to discredit study It is alleged that Dame Sally received confidential information under the strict embargo terms of the journal Nature. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Chief medical officer Sally Davies 'tried to discredit impact of Alzheimer's study' The Daily Mail

Health apps approved by NHS 'may put users at risk of identity theft'

Health apps approved by NHS 'may put users at risk of identity theft' Health apps accredited by the NHS may not be adequately protecting personal information from hackers, a university study has claimed. The Independent

See also:

• NHS approved apps 'leaking' ID data BBC News
• The NHS health apps that leave your data vulnerable to hackers The Daily Mail
• NHS-backed apps 'putting privacy at risk' The Daily Telegraph
• NHS-accredited health apps putting users’ privacy at risk, study finds The Guardian

NHS unveils 'hospital chains' scheme in bid to secure the future of small, local clinics

NHS unveils 'hospital chains' scheme in bid to secure the future of small, local clinics The NHS will secure the future of small local hospitals by placing them in “hospital chains” led by some of the country’s leading medical institutions. The Independent

See also:

• Millions of patients to benefit from radical new hospital collaboration drive NHS England
• NHS chief: Top doctors to be sent to rural hospitals The Daily Telegraph
• NHS approves creation of hospital 'chains' in drive to save money The Guardian