Pressures continues at A&E Departments at Northamptonshire’s Hospitals

Pressures continues at A&E Departments at Northamptonshire’s Hospitals Health leaders in Northamptonshire are urging members of the public to only come to hospital Accident and & Emergency departments if it is absolutely necessary.

They are also urging relatives of patients who have been discharged from the hospital and are ready to go home to collect them in a timely manner to help speed up the admission of patients waiting in A&E.

Kettering General Hospital and Northampton General Hospital are continuing to experience extremely high numbers of attendees at their Accident and Emergency departments. Northants Herald and Post

A dozen pupils taken ill after reaction to meningitis jab at Northampton School for Boys

A dozen pupils taken ill after reaction to meningitis jab at Northampton School for Boys A schoolboy was taken to hospital after suffering a reaction to vaccinations at his Northampton school. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Paramedics called to school as pupils collapse after vaccinations The Mirror
• Were jabs which caused students to faint at Northampton school a 'duff batch'? Northants Herald and Post
• Warning as up to 15 kids COLLAPSE and one rushed to A&E after 'duff jabs' at school The Sun

Growing old together: Sharing new ways to support older people

Growing old together: Sharing new ways to support older people The Commission on Improving Urgent Care for Older People was launched in March 2015.

The aim of the Commission was to produce guidance for people involved in designing care for older people.

The background to the Commission is a concern that the care system is increasingly ill adapted to the needs of older people and particularly those with long-term conditions and/or frailty. This can lead to a lower quality of care for older people and also impact on the ability of the system to care for all patients. Issues include a lack of out-of-hospital services as an alternative to A&E, not enough focus on prevention and early intervention, delayed transfers of care, and the need to take a holistic view of people’s health and wellbeing and provide solutions which meet their needs. NHS Confederation

See also:

• Older people in need 'let down by NHS' BBC News
• Put senior doctors on the door of A&E to reduce needless elderly admissions, say experts The Daily Telegraph

Mentoring support for young apprentices

Mentoring support for young apprentices Find out why Leeds Teaching Hospitals introduced two levels of mentoring for young apprentices in this ThinkFuture case study. NHS Employers

High Street pharmacies 'face closure'

High Street pharmacies 'face closure' Thousands of High Street pharmacies in England face closure following Department of Health plans to cut NHS funding by £170m, a government minister says. BBC News

Zika 'could become explosive pandemic'

Zika 'could become explosive pandemic' Researchers in the US urge the World Health Organisation to take urgent action over the zika virus, linked to shrunken brains in unborn children. BBC News

See also:

• Zika virus: travel advice for pregnant women Public Health England
• Zika vaccine 'could be 10 years away' BBC News
• VIDEO: Inside high-security Zika lab BBC News
• Obama calls for urgent action on Zika BBC News
• Zika vaccine won't be ready for a DECADE because the outbreak took hold so quickly, leading expert warns The Daily Mail
• Zika virus: President Obama calls for rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to combat outbreak The Independent

Mass GP resignations 'likely' as union urges LMCs to back crisis conference vote

Mass GP resignations 'likely' as union urges LMCs to back crisis conference vote GPs are ready to back calls for the profession to resign en masse from practice contracts at this weekend's special LMCs conference, union leaders say. GP Online

Children given antidepressants are twice as likely to become suicidal, claims new study

Children given antidepressants are twice as likely to become suicidal, claims new study Children and adolescents are twice as likely to exhibit suicidal or aggressive behaviour if they take commonly prescribed antidepressants, according to a new study.

Researchers also found that reports on clinical trials by drug companies frequently downplayed the most serious side-effects, which they only discovered by looking at the raw patient data. The Independent

See also:

• Suicidality and aggression during antidepressant treatment: systematic review and meta-analyses based on clinical study reports The BMJ

NHS failing to provide diabetics with vital checks, audit finds

NHS failing to provide diabetics with vital checks, audit finds Fewer of those with type 1 and 2 diabetes getting recommended eight checks a year, leaving them at greater risk of a heart attack or stroke

Fewer and fewer diabetics are receiving vital regular health checks designed to reduce the risk of them ending up seriously ill or dying, an NHS audit has concluded.

The NHS’s failure to ensure every diabetic has all eight recommended checks every year means that many of the rising number of people with the disease are at risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke or having a limb amputated, campaigners warned. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Three quarters of diabetes patients now meeting blood pressure targets Health and Social Care Information Centre

I am a patient with a learning disability – the NHS is letting us down

I am a patient with a learning disability – the NHS is letting us down Three people with a learning disability die unnecessarily every day. If staff had the right training, this could be stopped

I know we’re lucky to have healthcare available to everyone in this country, but people with learning disabilities are not getting the quality of care they should. I have a learning disability and I know how difficult it can be to access the NHS. There are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK and research shows that 1,200 are dying avoidably in NHS care every year.

Attitudes of healthcare professionals need to improve when it comes to learning disability. I have been seen by doctors who don’t take my concerns seriously, or do not take the time to listen to what I have to say. These bad experiences put me off going to see a doctor when I need to. I know which doctors I have had a good experience with in the past, and if they aren’t available, I tend to delay my appointment until they are free. I shouldn't have to wait longer just because certain GPs don’t have a good understanding of learning disabilities and the support I need. Continue reading... The Guardian

Rubella screening in pregnancy to end as disease 'eliminated' in Britain

Rubella screening in pregnancy to end as disease 'eliminated' in Britain Pregnant women will no longer be screened for rubella susceptibility after Public Health England said the disease was now considered to be eliminated in Britain. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Rubella susceptibility screening in pregnancy to end in England Public Health England