Ambulance staff complain to inspectors about bullying by managers

Ambulance staff complain to inspectors about bullying by managers Whistleblowers at the ambulance service that covers Northamptonshire say they feel discouraged from raising concerns. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Nurses may not have believed Northampton woman’s fear she had broken her back inquest hears

Nurses may not have believed Northampton woman’s fear she had broken her back inquest hears An inquest into the death of a Northampton woman who died after breaking her back at Berrywood Hospital has heard how some nurses did not believe her injuries were real - even though she may have endured a fracture for 16 days. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

How are we going to keep well and healthy in Northamptonshire?

How are we going to keep well and healthy in Northamptonshire? A draft strategy on wellbeing issues affecting everyone from the very young to the elderly in Northamptonshire is being drawn up and there is still time to have a say on it. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Northamptonshire Joint Health and Wellbeing Board Strategy 2016-2020 (Draft) - Supporting Northamptonshire to Flourish Consultation Northamptonshire Joint Health and Wellbeing Board

Could changes in pension tax relief potentially release funding for health and social care?

Could changes in pension tax relief potentially release funding for health and social care? Last week the Financial Times reported that the Chancellor is actively considering a radical reform of pension tax relief – an idea he trailed in last summer’s Budget. This week, Chief Executive of NHS England Simon Stevens called for a new ‘national consensus’ on a ‘properly resourced and functioning social care system’ – that would ideally be agreed in time to be a 70th birthday present for the NHS in 2018.

Meanwhile Norman Lamb, Alan Milburn and Stephen Dorrell – all respected former health ministers, and between them representing the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives – are agitating for some form of cross-party commission on future health and social care funding. A window of opportunity may be opening. The King's Fund

Guidance: Changes to midwife supervision in the UK

Guidance: Changes to midwife supervision in the UK These proposals have been developed by the UK Chief Nursing Officers, their midwifery advisors, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Royal College of Midwives and a representative of the Local Supervising Authority Midwifery Officers.

The new non-statutory supervision will separate midwifery supervision and regulation. The regulation will be controlled by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Employers and providers of midwifery services will be responsible for improving the quality of services and support for women through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Department of Health

Agency price caps update

Agency price caps update Further reductions to the amount that can be paid to agency staff working in the NHS will apply from 1 February 2016 as the next steps to reduce agency spend are implemented. NHS Employers

UK is 'vulnerable' to next epidemic

UK is 'vulnerable' to next epidemic The UK is vulnerable to epidemics such as Ebola due to a gaping hole in the country's ability to manufacture vaccines, a group of MPs warns. BBC News

See also:

• Science in emergencies: UK lessons from Ebola Science and Technology Select Committee
• UK is 'vulnerable' to an Ebola outbreak thanks to inadequate vaccine manufacture, MPs warn The Independent

Agency midwives cost 'wasteful' NHS trusts £18m

Agency midwives cost 'wasteful' NHS trusts £18m More than 11 trusts spent in excess of £1m on agency staff over three years. The Independent

See also:

• NHS spends £17m on agency midwives in one year, figures reveal The Guardian

GE Healthcare: US healthcare giant makes fortune from NHS but pays hardly a penny in tax

GE Healthcare: US healthcare giant makes fortune from NHS but pays hardly a penny in tax One of the biggest suppliers of equipment and testing services to the NHS pays barely any corporate tax in the UK, despite receiving hundreds of millions of pounds a year from medical sales to British clinics and hospitals. The Independent

Junior doctors: Government retreats on some of its cuts to out-of-hours pay, says leaked letter

Junior doctors: Government retreats on some of its cuts to out-of-hours pay, says leaked letter The Government has retreated on some of its cuts to junior doctors’ out-of-hours pay, according to a leaked confidential letter from their chief negotiator. The Independent

See also:

• Poll shows growing support for striking junior doctors The Guardian

A&E: sharp rise in number of patients turned away

A&E: sharp rise in number of patients turned away NHS figures show there were 52 ‘diverts’ in the first two weeks of 2016, up from 35 in the same period last year

The number of hospitals that have to turn patients away from A&E rose sharply at the start of the year, compared with the same period in 2015.

Referred to as diverts, such incidents reflect the enormous pressure the health service faces,especially in winter. In the first two weeks of 2016, there were 52 diverts, compared with 35 in the same period last year, according to NHS data. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• How do I ... know when to go to A&E? The Guardian
• The future of A&E: new model hospital saving lives 'in the nick of time' The Guardian

The impact of alcohol on the NHS: 'we get the drunks in 24/7'

The impact of alcohol on the NHS: 'we get the drunks in 24/7' Healthcare professionals share their experiences of funding constraints, violent behaviour and drink-related disease and death.

I have met many people from all walks of life in my career. Alcohol is often an emotional prop, a way of coping with pain, harm, sexual assault, traumatic events, inability to find the words to talk about stress, coping with financial pressure, family life, parenting pressure, death. Individuals who hear voices use alcohol to self-medicate. So next time you look at the person getting drunk, should you be so smug as to judge them as wasting NHS resources? Or should you think differently? Our culture promotes drinking for fun and we need to work on that. But let’s look a little bit deeper and consider this more. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Problem drinkers who account for 70% of alcohol sales worth £23.7bn The Daily Mail
• Problem drinkers 'make up 60 percent of alcohol sales in England' The Daily Telegraph
• Alcohol and the NHS - five key questions The Guardian
• The great British booze problem: how a few glasses a day has led to an epidemic for the NHS – video The Guardian
• Problem drinkers account for most of alcohol industry's sales, figures reveal The Guardian
• The making of a hangover: the true impact of one night out The Guardian
• The secret alcohol liaison nurse's diary: 'Cuts are having a devastating impact' The Guardian
• How the NHS saved my life: I spent my 20s playing Russian roulette with alcohol The Guardian
• Problem drinkers account for almost 70 per cent of alcohol sales The Independent

Patients given hip implants made the wrong size

Patients given hip implants made the wrong size Investigation: Manufacturer DePuy admits "an error in the measuring techniques" when making metal-on-metal implants. The Daily Telegraph

New 'son of Saatchi Bill' will let seriously ill patients volunteer for untested life saving drugs

New 'son of Saatchi Bill' will let seriously ill patients volunteer for untested life saving drugs Chris Heaton-Harris's Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Bill could help cut the amount of time it takes to develop drugs by a third. The Daily Telegraph

Three Britons infected with dangerous Zika virus

Three Britons infected with dangerous Zika virus British travellers who picked up the disease while travelling Columbia, Suriname and Guyana have returned to the UK. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Three Britons 'contract Zika virus' BBC News
• Zika virus triggers pregnancy warnings BBC News
• 'Don't get pregnant until 2018' in El Salvador amid Zika virus fears The Daily Mail
• Zika virus: women in Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador advised to postpone pregnancy The Daily Telegraph
• Zika virus diagnosed in UK as women face more warnings to delay pregnancy The Independent
• Zika virus: The symptoms and what travellers and pregnant women need to know The Independent

Can call centre therapy solve the NHS mental health crisis?

Can call centre therapy solve the NHS mental health crisis? Fast-track treatment aims to ease growing problem in the UK, but critics say it is the clinical equivalent to online dating

An NHS counsellor lets out a deep sigh as she puts the phone down. Her latest caller has revealed a further bout of self-harming. She fans her face to cool down after another tough counselling session on the frontline of Britain’s mental health crisis.

This cramped call centre in an industrial park in west Oxford is one of dozens of locations where the NHS is finally starting to grapple on a mass scale with illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Mental illness treatment needs massive investment. The case is overwhelming The Guardian
• Why CBT is falling out of favour The Guardian