Corby women urged to attend cervical cancer screenings

Corby women urged to attend cervical cancer screenings Health leaders in Corby are urging women aged between 25 and 49 to attend regular cervical cancer screenings after figures revealed that only 70 per cent of those eligible were screened in 2014. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• A third of Northamptonshire women don’t go for their cervical cancer screening test Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS test beds and information-sharing: supporting the integration of new health care technology

NHS test beds and information-sharing: supporting the integration of new health care technology To kick off 2016, we published ‘The digital revolution’co-authored with Dr Cosima Gretton, looking at new and developing digital technologies that will change health and social care. These technologies could potentially be put to use in the NHS, but the main challenge lies in persuading health care providers to take up new models and methods of care. The King's Fund

Industrial action ballot thresholds in important public services

Industrial action ballot thresholds in important public services Find out about the government's introduction of new rules for industrial action and the implications for the NHS. NHS Employers

Higher quality dementia care

Higher quality dementia care This policy briefing paper outlines the fact that one in three people over the age of 65 will develop dementia and the annual societal costs to the UK exceed £26 billion. Centre for health Economics

Rules of engagement: lessons from PANORAMA

Rules of engagement: lessons from PANORAMA The PANORAMA Panel was a patient engagement project where, over the course of two years, 31 panelists from across Ontario met to share their lived experiences and insights as patients and family caregivers on a range of issues related to improving people’s healthcare experience. This report outlines key moments in the engagement process that require extra thought and preparation. These recommendations aim to ensure that patient engagement initiatives deliver results for organizations, and also make participants feel valued and respected in the process. The Change Foundation

New report sheds light on A&E attendances in England

New report sheds light on A&E attendances in England New analysis of more than 19 million Accident and Emergency (A&E) attendances (2) in England has been published today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre

See also:

• Accident and Emergency Attendances in England - 2014-15 Health and Social Care Information Centre
• Soaring numbers of pensioners rushed to hospital by ambulance The Daily Telegraph
• Care cuts criticised after sharp rise in ambulance calls to over-90s The Guardian

Short home care visits 'plague system'

Short home care visits 'plague system' Unacceptably short 15-minute home care visits to elderly and disabled people are still plaguing the care system in England, a report suggests. BBC News

See also:

• Suffering at home alone: a report on the lack of time in our home care system Unison
• Councils still insisting on 15 minute homecare visits (press release) Unison

NHS trust remains in special measures

NHS trust remains in special measures The first NHS hospital to be privately run will remain in special measures after the Care Quality Commission said it "requires improvement". BBC News

Loneliness blamed for increasing visits to GPs and referrals for social care

Loneliness blamed for increasing visits to GPs and referrals for social care More than three quarters of GPs see between one and five lonely people a day. OnMedica

Care homes face crisis as CQC inspectors threaten mass walkout over pay cuts

Care homes face crisis as CQC inspectors threaten mass walkout over pay cuts Hundreds of staff are on the brink of quitting the care home inspectorate after their roles were outsourced to a private firm – which is making them reapply for the jobs on less than half their pay.

The mass exodus of staff from the CQC threatens to undermine the health and social care regulator’s ability to ensure elderly people are being properly looked after. The Independent

How Zika virus spread around the world

How Zika virus spread around the world With new cases emerging every day, the virus with links to alarming birth defects and neurological syndromes has now completely circumnavigated the world, mostly in a matter of months. That's pandemic behaviour, a leading virologist says. The Independent

See also:

• Zika 'emergency team' set up - WHO BBC News
• 'Growing Zika crisis' in Brazilian city BBC News
• Zika outbreak: The mosquito menace BBC News
• Zika: Vaccine trials for disease linked to 'shrunken heads' could start this year, officials say The Independent

NHS caesarean death: landmark corporate manslaughter trial collapses

NHS caesarean death: landmark corporate manslaughter trial collapses Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust and anaesthetist Errol Cornish acquitted of manslaughter charges over death of Frances Cappuccini

A landmark manslaughter case against an anaesthetist and an NHS trust over the death of a woman hours after she gave birth to her second child has collapsed after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust was accused of corporate manslaughter in connection with the death of schoolteacher Frances Cappuccini, 30, the first prosecution of a health service body since the offence was introduced in 2008. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Caesarean mother death trial halted BBC News
• Judge orders jury to find NHS hospital and doctor NOT GUILTY over Frances Cappuccini’s death The Daily Mail
• Frances Cappuccini: NHS trust and anaesthetist cleared over death of mother after postnatal surgery The Independent

NHS to fund hand transplants in a world first

NHS to fund hand transplants in a world first NHS to offer hand transplants for the first time, as surgeons prepare to offer the first 'double transplant'. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS to carry out hand transplants BBC News
• NHS to begin offering hand transplants in April The Guardian
• NHS patients to receive first hand and arm transplants The Independent