‘I’ve got a moth in my ear’: East Midlands Ambulance Service reveals time-wasting 999 calls

‘I’ve got a moth in my ear’: East Midlands Ambulance Service reveals time-wasting 999 calls The East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) has revealed details of time-wasting 999 calls it received in 2015. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

NHS campaigners put up ‘not for sale’ boards in Northamptonshire

NHS campaigners put up ‘not for sale’ boards in Northamptonshire NHS campaigners erected dozens of ‘not for sale’ boards across Kettering. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

GPs told by CCGs to find alternatives for co-proxamol prescriptions

GPs told by CCGs to find alternatives for co-proxamol prescriptions CCGs are sending letters to GPs telling them to switch prescriptions for co-proxamol to paracetamol because of escalating costs for the drug since it was removed from the Drug Tariff in October.

NHS Nene Valley CCG and NHS Basildon and Brentwood CCGs have told their members to switch patients to alternative medication after fears that the annual spend will far outreach the £3.2 million spent in 2014 on co-proxamol. Pulse

Planning for 2016/17 and beyond: from survival to sustainability

Planning for 2016/17 and beyond: from survival to sustainability Since the 2015 Spending Review last November, a flurry of letters, guidance and other documentation has been unleashed on NHS leaders. Key among these is the NHS planning guidance 2016/17–2020/21 and a series of letters sent to trust chief executives in mid-January, outlining new measures that aim to curb spending and ensure the provider sector breaks even by the end of next year.

Our latest briefing summarises some of the fundamental changes that this will bring, and offers a commentary on what it might mean for the NHS over the next five years. The King's Fund

Review shows how NHS hospitals can save money and improve care

Review shows how NHS hospitals can save money and improve care Implementing the recommendations will help end variations in quality of care and finances that cost the NHS billions, Lord Carter has advised Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in his final report.

His review found unwarranted variation in running costs, sickness absence, infection rates and prices paid for supplies and services.

As part of the review, a ‘model hospital’ has been developed which will advise NHS trusts on the most efficient allocation of resources and allows hospitals to measure performance against other trusts.

Following the model hospital examples could save hospitals £5 billion a year by 2020 to 2021 and put an end to the variations the review uncovered across the NHS, including:

• average running costs for a hospital (£ per square metre) vary from £105 at one trust to as high as £970 for another
• infection rates for hip and knee replacements vary from 0.5 to 4%
• prices paid by different hospitals for hip replacements range from £788 to £1,590
• the use of floor space - one trust uses 12% for non-clinical purposes and another uses as much as 69%
• sickness absence rates differ from 3.1% to 5%

As well as reviewing hospitals across England, Lord Carter’s review looked at healthcare systems abroad, including in the US, Germany, Australia, Italy and France where hospitals have a greater focus on efficiency because they have established the clear link it has with patient care. Department of Health

See also:

• Carter Review - final report and recommendations NHS Employers

Doctors' union irresponsible, says Hunt

Doctors' union irresponsible, says Hunt Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt accuses the British Medical Association of "totally irresponsible" behaviour over a lengthy industrial dispute. BBC News

See also:

• VIDEO: Hunt blamed for doctors' low morale BBC News
• Junior doctors' strike: BMA 'totally irresponsible', says Jeremy Hunt The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt accuses BMA of 'total irresponsibility' over doctors dispute - video The Guardian
• Junior doctors rally in central London – video The Guardian
• Vanessa Redgrave pays tribute to NHS staff at junior doctors rally The Guardian
• My placards: ‘I’m fed up with the spin around the junior doctor strike’ The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt squirms as Andrew Marr reads out letters from junior doctors The Independent

New drive for 'paperless' NHS

New drive for 'paperless' NHS The latest government attempt to improve the use of technology in the NHS in England is launched, with the aim of making services faster and more convenient. BBC News

Zika 'linked to nerve disorder deaths'

Zika 'linked to nerve disorder deaths' Colombia says three people have died after contracting the Zika virus and developing a rare nerve disorder. BBC News

See also:

• RCGP statement on the Zika virus Royal College of General Practitioners
• Active Zika found in saliva and urine BBC News
• Panama may release genetically modified mosquitoes to stop Zika virus spread The Daily Mail
• Releasing millions of GM mosquitoes 'could solve zika crisis' The Daily Telegraph
• Zika virus: women told to "think twice" before kissing The Daily Telegraph
• Guillain-Barré syndrome: The other deadly disease lurking in Zika mosquitoes
• Zika: Pregnant British holidaymakers with bookings to Caribbean and US face uncertainty amid risk of virus spreading The Independent
• Zika virus: Colombia confirms over 3,100 cases in pregnant women The Independent
• Zika: Virus passed on during blood transfusions in Brazil The Independent
• Zika: British team say they have a remedy for the virus The Independent

MPs slam government for its poor management of Cancer Drugs Fund

MPs slam government for its poor management of Cancer Drugs Fund An influential panel of MPs has taken the government to task for its poor management of the Cancer Drugs Fund, including its failure to properly assess the value of the Fund to patients and taxpayers. OnMedica

See also

• Cancer Drugs Fund Twentieth Report of Session 2015–16 Public Accounts Select Committee
• Cancer drugs fund poorly managed and over budget, MPs say GP Online

Care Quality Commission begs for help from charities it has just replaced

Care Quality Commission begs for help from charities it has just replaced Experts who made 500 inspections a month for the care home watchdog refused to reapply for their jobs. The Independent

One chart that shows the horrifying scale of FGM around the world

One chart that shows the horrifying scale of FGM around the world UNICEF estimates there are over 200 million global victims of female genital mutilation. The Independent

See also:

• Mental health support for FGM victims BBC News
• Female genital mutilation: Men urged to 'speak out' to end FGM The Independent
• FGM case reported in England every 109 minutes, as WHO says worldwide cases rise above 200million The Independent

NHS cost-cutting plans 'could prompt staff reductions and rationing of care'

NHS cost-cutting plans 'could prompt staff reductions and rationing of care' Nursing experts and former health minister warn new measures could lead to managers cutting staff to 'unsafe levels'. The Independent

Hospedia doubles cost of NHS hospital TV service

Hospedia doubles cost of NHS hospital TV service NHS patients are paying up to £40 a week to access TV and internet services in their beds using technology provided by a US company. The Daily Mail

Cutting ever deeper: councils left no choice but to hollow out elderly care

Cutting ever deeper: councils left no choice but to hollow out elderly care Cambridgeshire is just one of many authorities forced to cut social care, leaving increasing numbers of elderly people stuck in hospital wards or waiting in A&E

The debating chamber of Cambridgeshire council belongs to a distant age. When it was built, local councils ran local services.

Once the site of the university city’s medieval castle, it must have seemed a fitting successor to a fortification intended to ensure mastery of the surrounding area. There is throne-like seating for council leaders, and a hemisphere of benches of sturdy wood and leather for the councillors. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Feeding cats, collecting dentures: what the Red Cross does to get patients home The Guardian

London hospital trust heading for biggest overspend in NHS history

London hospital trust heading for biggest overspend in NHS history Health minister reveals Barts set to run up £134.9m deficit, as NHS sources say trusts cannot balance books due to poor funding

The biggest hospital trust in the country is set to run up a £134.9m deficit this year – by far the largest ever overspend in the history of the NHS. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Barts Health Trust in east London heading for biggest budget overspend in the history of the NHS The Independent

Childhood obesity is a national emergency, says Jeremy Hunt

Childhood obesity is a national emergency, says Jeremy Hunt Health secretary promises robust action to tackle obesity, as Jamie Oliver says campaigners will ‘get more ninja’ if sugar tax is not adopted

Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has described the rise in childhood obesity as a “national emergency” and promised a “gamechanging” response from the government.

In an interview on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, he said the government would introduce either a sugar tax or something “equally robust” when it publishes its childhood obesity strategy. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Obesity: Government strategy to combat Britain's weight crisis 'a mistake', says former obesity tsar The Independent

One hundred babies locked up in prison

One hundred babies locked up in prison One hundred babies were locked up in prisons last year, David Cameron will warn this week as he makes a passionate plea for radical reforms to the justice system. The Daily Telegraph