Apology after woman left waiting for ambulance two hours following street fall in Kettering

Apology after woman left waiting for ambulance two hours following street fall in Kettering East Midlands Ambulance Service has apologised after a woman had to wait two hours for an ambulance after suffering a nasty fall in Kettering. Northamptonshire Telegraph

A practical guide to self-management support

A practical guide to self-management support This new practical guide provides useful ideas for what practitioners and commissioners should consider when starting to support patients to self-manage their care. The Health Foundation

Guidance: Sexual and reproductive health and HIV: strategic action plan

Guidance: Sexual and reproductive health and HIV: strategic action plan This strategic action plan sets out Public Health England’s approach to improving the public’s sexual and reproductive health and reversing the HIV epidemic. It identifies the key areas for PHE action, and describes how PHE can work with partners at a national and regional level to improve health and reduce inequalities.

The strategic action plan focusses on four key areas for action, to reduce:

• incidence of HIV
• rates of sexually transmitted infections
• unplanned pregnancies
• rates of under 16 and under 18 conceptions

Independent report: Chief Medical Officer annual report 2014: women’s health

Independent report: Chief Medical Officer annual report 2014: women’s health The report examines women’s health in England and makes a range of recommendations to improve it. It identifies several missed opportunities for intervention in women’s health, and brings attention to ‘embarrassment’ as a needless barrier to health.

The main themes include:

• obesity and its impact on women’s health, including reproductive health
• women’s health in later life (menopause)
• women’s health in later life (pelvic floor dysfunction and incontinence)

The report has been developed with the help of expert academic and clinician input and recommends that obesity be included in the government’s national risk planning.

Professor Dame Sally Davies’s report is independent of government and is aimed at government, regulators, policy makers and healthcare professionals. Each recommendation is targeted at specific organisations. Department of Health

See also:

• Obesity 'women's biggest health threat' BBC News

Conversations, communication and co-design: engaging local people in information sharing to support health and social care integration

Conversations, communication and co-design: engaging local people in information sharing to support health and social care integration This report compares the approach from Leeds, North West London, Southend and Warrington with regards to engaging local people in information sharing to support health and social care integration. It considers how local people become engaged, how were partners and local people involved in the design of communications, how to raise awareness and manage expectations and also conclusions and recommendations for the future. Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing

NHS failure to probe deaths 'shocking'

NHS failure to probe deaths 'shocking' The government is "profoundly shocked" by the findings of a report which said the NHS failed to investigate the unexpected deaths of more than 1,000 people, Jeremy Hunt says. BBC News

MailOnline readers share pictures of the WORST hospital food served in the UK

MailOnline readers share pictures of the WORST hospital food served in the UK From cold potatoes to meals so tiny that they wouldn't feed a child being offered to heavily pregnant women, people from all over the country have shared pictures of the horrendous meals. The Daily Mail

Creating an effective healthcare workforce in six steps

Creating an effective healthcare workforce in six steps Six Steps Methodology aims to support organisations looking to better meet the needs of their local population

Skills for Health has released a free guide detailing its proven Six Steps Methodology for workforce planning, to help ensure health organisations have the right number of staff with the right skills to deliver cost effective, high quality patient care.

The guide aims to support organisations looking to make improvements as outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View to better meet the needs of their local population, by providing practical information about sustainable and evidence based workforce planning. Continue reading... The Guardian

Record numbers of 'fit' patients stuck in hospital spark fears for NHS winter crisis

Record numbers of 'fit' patients stuck in hospital spark fears for NHS winter crisis Cuts to local social care blamed for lack of patient support as NHS England figures show targets for cancer treatment and ambulance response times missed

Record numbers of patients are getting stuck in hospital in England despite being fit to leave, raising new fears that the NHS will struggle to cope with this year’s winter pressures and could run out of beds.

In all, 160,094 bed days were taken up in hospitals in England during October by patients who were unable to be discharged safely, mainly because local social care was unavailable to support them. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• VIDEO: Why hospitals are under so much pressure BBC News
• VIDEO: 'More beds needed to ease pressure on hospitals' BBC News
• NHS winter crisis deepens: A&E targets missed as 'frail and elderly' are blamed for bedblocking levels reaching record highs The Daily Mail
• NHS faces a double crisis this winter as financial day of reckoning nears The Guardian
• NHS bed-blocking reaches highest ever level as key targets missed The Independent

Patients at risk because of shortage of inspectors, MPs warn

Patients at risk because of shortage of inspectors, MPs warn The Public Accounts Committee raises concerns that the Care Quality Commission has just two thirds of the inspectors it needs. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Health regulator not effective, say MPs BBC News
• CQC 'not yet an effective regulator', MPs warn GP Online
• Care Quality Commission 'displays alarming lack of attention to detail' The Independent

Anti-vaccination school hit by chickenpox epidemic

Anti-vaccination school hit by chickenpox epidemic At least 25 per cent of pupils have been hit by the illness in the past fortnight. The Daily Telegraph