BMA announces industrial action dates

BMA announces industrial action dates British Medical Association has announced the dates they will take industrial action, over the ongoing contract reform dispute with the Government. NHS Employers

See also:

• Juniors' contract: industrial action dates set British Medical Association
• Response to BMA JDC announcing proposed industrial action schedule NHS Employers
• Junior doctors set to strike for three days in December, union announces  The Daily Mail
• The BMA's strike threats 'could be interpreted as a betrayal of the Hippocratic Oath' The Daily Telegraph
• Junior doctors to have first 'all-out' strike in history if ballot passes The Daily Telegraph
• The junior doctors' contract threatens research and medical progress The Daily Telegraph
• NHS strike: the junior doctors are lions led by donkeys The Daily Telegraph
• BMA confirms junior doctor strike dates for December GP Online
• Facing Jeremy Hunt's fear: an interview with a militant NHS doctor The Guardian
• Junior doctors to strike for three days in December if ballot is approved The Guardian
• Hunt condemns junior doctors' 'extreme' three-day strike proposal The Guardian
• Junior doctors strike: Action would harm vulnerable patients, says Jeremy Hunt The Independent
• Jeremy Hunt snubbed by trainee surgeons over inappropriate invitation to discuss junior doctor's strike The Independent

Devolution – silver bullet or Swiss cheese?

Devolution – silver bullet or Swiss cheese? In recent months, health has found itself caught up in government’s latest big idea – devolution. Adjectives such as ‘historic’ and ‘ground-breaking’ have been used by some to describe the deals signed so far, while others have suggested they herald the start of a ‘two-tier’ or ‘Swiss-cheese’ health service. But what does devolution really mean for the NHS? The King's Fund

Dementia: the R&D landscape

Dementia: the R&D landscape This research paper provides an overview of the current dementia R&D landscape. It begins with a brief overview of the current thinking on the reasons for successes and failures of dementia treatments, based on a selective literature review.Please note that you will need to register to access this report. Office of Health Economics

Agenda for later life 2015: a great place to grow older

Agenda for later life 2015: a great place to grow older This report assesses how public policy is meeting the needs of people in later life. It finds that while many areas of life for older people have improved – including digital inclusion and employment - progress in other areas has stalled or even gone backwards. This is most marked in health, care and wellbeing, continuing a trend found last year. Age UK

Homeopathy 'could be blacklisted'

Homeopathy 'could be blacklisted' Ministers are considering whether homeopathy should be put on an NHS blacklist of banned treatments, the BBC learns. BBC News

See also:

• Statement on Homeopathy and NHMRC Information Paper - Evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy for treating health conditions Australian Government National Health & Medical Research Council
• Homeopathy NHS Choices
• Ban homeopathy on the NHS because there is 'no evidence it works' The Daily Mail

Benefit sanctions against people with mental health problems up by 600 per cent

Benefit sanctions against people with mental health problems up by 600 per cent Charities have warned that sanctions are making mental health problems worse. The Independent

See also:

• Huge rise in people with mental illness having benefits stopped as ‘punishment’ Metro

Jeremy Hunt aims to cut number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths

Jeremy Hunt aims to cut number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths UK ranked 33 out of 35 high-income countries in 2011 study on stillbirths, and has one of highest rates in Europe

A drive to halve the number of stillbirths and deaths among newborn babies and mothers has been launched by health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

NHS trusts with maternity services will have to show how they are performing, and new data on stillbirth and neonatal death will be published at trust level so results can be compared. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• New ambition to halve rate of stillbirths and infant deaths Department of Health

NHS misses key targets in run-up to busy winter period

NHS misses key targets in run-up to busy winter period Number of patients seen within four hours at lowest since targets were introduced as hospitals face surge of cases over winter

The NHS in England missed several key targets for A&E admissions, cancer referrals, ambulance response times and NHS 111 calls in September as it braces itself for a busy winter period.

Against a target of 95%, 93.4% of patients attending emergency departments were seen within four hours in September. The figure was 94.3% the previous month. The A&E data for September is often cited as an indicator of pressure on the NHS as it prepares for winter. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Winter NHS pressures 'bite early' BBC News
• NHS Hospitals forced to turn patients away as bedblocking hits record high The Daily Mail
• NHS figures reveal record number of patients kept in hospital too long The Independent

Hundreds of thousands could already be infected by new sexual disease

Hundreds of thousands could already be infected by new sexual disease A new sexually transmitted disease could already have infected hundred of thousands of people, senior doctors have warned. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Scientists identify new STD that could affect hundreds of thousands of adults - and it often has NO symptoms The Daily Mail
• Hundreds of thousands of British adults could have newly-identified sexually transmitted infection The Independent