Building the House of Care

Building the House of Care This paper explores how the House of Care, a coordinated approach to personalised care and support planning, can transform the health and care of people with long-term conditions (LTCs). It contains case studies of evolving practice in Leeds and Somerset and seeks to understand how two whole health economies - individuals, communities, health and social care services and others - are working to manage the rise in the number of people with multiple LTCs and enhance their care experiences. The paper is intended for CCGs, public health teams, other front-line providers and national bodies. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Person-centred care around the world The Health Foundation

Policy paper: Deprivation of liberty standards (DoLS): consultation response

Policy paper: Deprivation of liberty standards (DoLS): consultation response The Department of Health has published its response to the Law Commission’s consultation on how the law should regulate deprivations of liberty (DoLS) for people who lack capacity to consent to their care and treatment arrangements.

The consultation proposes that DoLS should be replaced by a new system called ‘protective care’. It also proposes that there should be a new code of practice.

The Law Commission will publish its final recommendations by the end of 2016.

New guidance on managing sharps injuries released

New guidance on managing sharps injuries released Read HSWPGs new guidance on managing sharps injuries, written in partnership with staff side and employers. NHS Employers

NHS partners Tinder on transplants

NHS partners Tinder on transplants The UK's health service is working with Tinder to persuade more young people to donate organs after death. BBC News

Rise in newborns 'taken into care'

Rise in newborns 'taken into care' There has been a "huge increase" in the number of newborn babies who are subject to care proceedings in England, newly-compiled figures show. BBC News

Future for adult social care 'bleak'

Future for adult social care 'bleak' The future for adult social care services in England "looks bleak", the International Longevity Centre warns, despite government attempts to protect budgets. BBC News

See also:

• The End of Formal Adult Social Care? International Longevity Centre UK

GPs slash prescribing of 'last line' antibiotics as use in hospitals soars

GPs slash prescribing of 'last line' antibiotics as use in hospitals soars GPs' efforts to preserve 'last line' antibiotics have seen prescriptions in general practice drop by 8.5% over the past five years, Public Health England (PHE) figures show. GP Online

Patients 'waiting three years for gender identity clinic consultations'

Patients 'waiting three years for gender identity clinic consultations' Portrayal of transgender people in mainstream media triggered a surge in demand, experts say. The Independent

Hospitals run out of beds as NHS strained by norovirus

Hospitals run out of beds as NHS strained by norovirus Health service figures show several casualty units were shut around the country and no spaces free even before onset of full winter conditions.

Hospitals have run out of beds, had to temporarily close their A&E unit and been battling outbreaks of norovirus this month, even though winter has not yet brought its usual major problems for the NHS, such as flu and bad weather.

Official figures released on Friday by NHS England, for hospital performance in the first week of December, show many are already struggling to cope with the extra pressures, even before the heaviest strain of norovirus, which usually arrives in January. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• The NHS in winter - an alphabet soup of stats BBC News
• NHS winter crisis underway as figures show hospital trusts running out of beds The Independent

Stafford Hospital investigation calls for new inquest into death of three-year-old boy

Stafford Hospital investigation calls for new inquest into death of three-year-old boy Independent report into death of Jonnie Meek attacks NHS's 'closed culture' after claims hospital tried to cover up failings by forging staff statements. The Daily Telegraph