Two care homes to close and 343 jobs at risk in Northamptonshire County Council cuts

Two care homes to close and 343 jobs at risk in Northamptonshire County Council cuts A total of 343 jobs could be lost at Northamptonshire County Council after the authority announced proposals to cut £77 million from its budget next year. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Plans by Northamptonshire County Council to cut £77 million off budget are ‘unrealistic’, claims opposition Northampton Chronicle and Echo

New trust could take over Northamptonshire County Council’s children’s services by September 2016

New trust could take over Northamptonshire County Council’s children’s services by September 2016 Children’s services at Northamptonshire County Council could be outsourced to a new not-for-profit organisation within a year as part of multi-million pound cost saving plans announced today. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Burton Latimer GP practice requires improvement, say inspectors

Burton Latimer GP practice requires improvement, say inspectors A doctors surgery in Burton Latimer has been told it must improve after an out-of-date medicine was found in its medicine cupboard. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS vanguards: redesigning the aeroplane in flight

NHS vanguards: redesigning the aeroplane in flight Last month, the 50 vanguard sites in the New Care Models programme met for a series of events in London to take stock of progress. The majority of the sites – those announced in March 2015 – have now been running for 200 days.

As at previous meetings, the enthusiasm was palpable – this is a group of people who believe their projects can make a difference – but so was the weight of expectation. The intention is for the vanguards to make a major contribution to addressing the NHS’s financial challenges – both through improvements in their local systems and blueprints that can be adopted across the rest of the NHS.

As others have argued, the vanguards face the challenge of ‘redesigning the aeroplane in flight’ – making significant changes to the configuration of local health and care systems, all the while sustaining existing services in a difficult environment, with limited spare cash and growing service pressures. The King's Fund

Research and analysis: Allied health professionals: interventions that improve public health

Research and analysis: Allied health professionals: interventions that improve public health Public Health England commissioned a team of academics led by Sheffield Hallam University to undertake an initial review to:

• identify examples where there is good evidence of impact on public health by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs)and therefore an opportunity to broaden practice
• identify areas which require more focus to demonstrate impact by AHPs on public health

This report describes the key findings of this work.

Cancer cash crisis

Cancer cash crisis This report finds that NHS in England spends more than £500 million a year on emergency care for people diagnosed with the four most common cancers alone. Of this, more than £130m is spent treating people more than six months after their diagnosis, when initial treatment has usually finished. The report warns that a lack of post-diagnosis support for people living with cancer is putting increased pressure on overstretched A&E departments as the health service faces another winter of high demand. Macmillan Cancer Support

The socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of United Kingdom junior doctors in training across specialities

The socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of United Kingdom junior doctors in training across specialities This study finds that junior doctors who opt to become surgeons in the NHS are more likely to be male, white and from a better-off background. It also found that in general, junior doctors from better-off socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to go into general practice than other specialties. The research also confirmed a persistent gender gap - more surgeons are male and more GPs are female. Centre for Health Economics

Girls are twice as likely as boys to experience cyber-bullying

Girls are twice as likely as boys to experience cyber-bullying  Findings reported in new survey of 120,000 15-year olds, alongside information about body image, wellbeing and diet. Health and Social Care Information Centre

Flavouring found in e-cigarettes linked to 'popcorn lung'

Flavouring found in e-cigarettes linked to 'popcorn lung' "Smokers who use e-cigs 'are risking harm to their lungs'," the Daily Mail reports after US researchers discovered some brands contained diacetyl, a buttery flavouring linked to lung disease in people who worked in microwave popcorn factories.

Two other chemicals linked to lung damage were also found in the cigarette alternatives, calling their safety into question.

Diacetyl was detected in 39 of the 51 flavours tested, ranging from barely measurable levels to concentrations of 239 micrograms per e-cigarette.

Diacetyl, a safe food flavouring, has been used to give microwave popcorn its buttery taste. But it has also been implicated in the case of eight popcorn factory workers who developed a lung condition called severe bronchiolitis obliterans after breathing it in.

Nicknamed "popcorn lung", bronchiolitis obliterans causes scarring of the lungs and loss of function that can become so severe the only treatment option may be a lung transplant.

Much of the alarm caused by this study hangs on the strength of evidence from previous reports linking these chemicals to lung damage.

However, this study didn't look at this issue directly, so whether there is a link between e-cigarettes and "popcorn lung" is currently unknown. NHS Choices

Share of life in good health 'rising'

Share of life in good health 'rising' The proportion of life spent in good health is increasing in England, even as life expectancy continues to rise, a study suggests. BBC News

Lariam: Medical experts condemn MoD for giving soldiers anti-malarial drug with psychiatric side effects

Lariam: Medical experts condemn MoD for giving soldiers anti-malarial drug with psychiatric side effects The Commons Defence Select Committee recently announced an inquiry into the MoD's use of the drug. The Independent

Care bodies demand crisis talks with Osborne over support shortfall

Care bodies demand crisis talks with Osborne over support shortfall Care homes will close, say four health bodies in letter to ministers, and ask what has happened to £6bn from care-cap savings

Leading care and health bodies are demanding crisis talks with ministers over the unravelling of measures in George Osborne’s spending review that were supposed to prop up the tottering social care system.

Four groups representing care and health organisations are warning of an accelerating rate of closures of care homes and companies providing homecare. Their warnings follow analysis by the two most respected NHS thinktanks which declared Osborne’s support package “another setback for people who need social care”. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Vital care services 'remain at risk' BBC News

NHS rationing 'is denying patients care' as cash crisis deepens

NHS rationing 'is denying patients care' as cash crisis deepens Survey of doctors reveals concern about adults and children being denied treatment, resulting in emergency care or worsening of long-term conditions.

Patients are being denied mental health care, new hips and knees, and drugs to boost their recovery from illnesses including cancer as the NHS increasingly rations treatments to try to overcome its growing cash crisis.

A survey of doctors reveals that three-quarters said they had seen care rationed in their area over the last year – including treatments such as speech therapy, operations to remove varicose veins, Botox to help children with cerebral palsy move better and even potentially life-saving stem cell transplant surgery. Continue reading... The Guardian