New approach for end of life care at Kettering hospital

New approach for end of life care at Kettering hospital A new approach to improve the way people are cared for in the last year of their lives is being developed at Kettering General Hospital. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Revealed: Number of people tested for Ebola at Northampton General Hospital

Revealed: Number of people tested for Ebola at Northampton General Hospital The Northants Herald and Post has discovered the number of people who were tested for Ebola at Northampton General Hospital, in the wake of the announcement that the outbreak has been 'declared over'.

The figure has been obtained in a Freedom of Information request, following the news that - after 30,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths - the Ebola epidemic which ravaged West Africa has been declared over by the World Health Organisation.

NHS commits to major transformation of mental health care with help for a million more people

NHS commits to major transformation of mental health care with help for a million more people The NHS in England today (Monday) commits to the biggest transformation of mental health care across the NHS in a generation, pledging to help more than a million extra people and investing more than a billion pounds a year by 2020/21.

It is making the move in response to the final report of an independent task force, chaired by the Chief Executive of Mind Paul Farmer, set up by the NHS as part of its Five Year Forward View to build consensus on how to improve services for people of all ages.

The task force gives a frank assessment of the state of current mental health care across the NHS, highlighting that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime and the cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society is £105bn a year. NHS England

See also:

• The five year forward view for mental health  The Independent Mental Health Task-force
• NHS mental health task force report launched MIND
• This is the dawn of a new age for mental health care – Paul Farmer (MIND) NHS England
• Mental health care 'is ruining lives' BBC News
• NHS mental health funding 'falls' BBC News
• VIDEO: NHS mental health funding 'falls' BBC News
• VIDEO: 'I wanted to end my life when I was six' BBC News
• NHS chief declares war on post-natal depression and eating disorders The Daily Mail
• David Cameron makes personal commitment to helping mental health sufferers The Daily Telegraph
• Mental health services face long road to reform ITV News

Productivity in acute hospitals – are the recommendations of the Carter Review realistic?

Productivity in acute hospitals – are the recommendations of the Carter Review realistic? The final report of the Carter Review on operational productivity in acute hospitals is the culmination of an impressive work programme. Since its inception in June 2014, the review team has engaged with 136 acute hospitals in England, 40 per cent of which Lord Carter personally visited. In terms of engagement with local leaders in the acute sector, this must surely set the standard.

The report gives a detailed account of the extent of variation across acute hospitals. Though it is often difficult to prove that this variation is unwarranted, it is hard not to be persuaded that there is the potential for significant savings. While identifying exactly where the variation lies is a necessary first step in reducing it, it will not be sufficient on its own given the long history of efficiency reviews in the NHS, going back to the Rayner reviews of the early 1980s and beyond. Is the report as convincing in its approach to implementation? The King's Fund

Cross-national comparative mixed-methods case study of recovery-focused mental health care planning and co-ordination: Collaborative Care Planning Project (COCAPP)

Cross-national comparative mixed-methods case study of recovery-focused mental health care planning and co-ordination: Collaborative Care Planning Project (COCAPP) This study aimed to obtain the views and experiences of various stakeholders involved in community mental health care; to identify factors that facilitated, or acted as barriers to, personalised, collaborative and recovery-focused care planning and co-ordination; and to make suggestions for future research. National Institute for Health Research

OECD reviews of health care quality: United Kingdom 2016

OECD reviews of health care quality: United Kingdom 2016 This report reviews the quality of health care in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, seeking to highlight best practices, and provides a series of targeted assessments and recommendations for further quality gains in health care. It aims to understand why the NHS in the four nations of the UK do not consistently demonstrate strong performance on international benchmarks of quality despite being a global leader in quality monitoring and improvement. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development

Tomorrow’s world: the future of ageing in the UK

Tomorrow’s world: the future of ageing in the UK This report argues that our ageing society offers significant social and economic opportunities but only if policy makers plan better for the long term. It argues that society is currently not adequately responding to ageing and highlights the key issues within health and social care, housing and retirement funds in relation to this. The report proposes ten long-term indicators of progress including a greater focus on prevention in health care and that the government should deliver a long-term settlement for social care. International Longevity Centre - UK

GSK fined for deals with competitors

GSK fined for deals with competitors The pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and some generic drugs firms have been fined for being anti-competitive. BBC News

See also:

• GlaxoSmithKline fined £37.6m for cheating NHS and taxpayer The Independent

One in ten people dying from cancer 'given inadequate pain relief in final days'

One in ten people dying from cancer 'given inadequate pain relief in final days' Data from Macmillan Cancer Support equates to more than 12,500 people spending their last 48 hours in pain. The Independent

See also:

• National Survey of Bereaved People (VOICES), 2014 Office for National Statistics
• Thousands who die with cancer spend last days in pain, study finds The Guardian

Sarah Hayes on being the only 111 call handler for 400k people without any training

Sarah Hayes on being the only 111 call handler for 400k people without any training I’ll never forget a night I was left on my own – with no nurse or paramedic – in a 111 call centre covering the whole of Dorset, writes former senior call adviser Sarah Hayes. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Pictures of paramedic and call handler sleeping shame NHS' out-of-hours hotline The Daily Mail
• Call handler who failed William Mead now training hotline's new recruits The Daily Mail

Cancer Research UK find patients with 'unfashionable' cancers face longer waits

Cancer Research UK find patients with 'unfashionable' cancers face longer waits Over the past two years more than 11,000 cancer sufferers had to wait three-and-a-half months or longer to begin chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. The Daily Mail

Jeremy Hunt on the NHS: 'I think this decade needs to see the quality revolution'

Jeremy Hunt on the NHS: 'I think this decade needs to see the quality revolution' The health secretary explains why he is proud of the NHS, why he thinks junior doctors will come to appreciate their new imposed contract in time and why quality is now more important than waiting times

On the railings of Richmond House in Whitehall hangs a lopsided strip of cardboard that reads, in multicoloured letters, “You just failed the NHS, JH, not us.” In his spacious ministerial office, two floors above, Jeremy Hunt, currently a hate figure among junior doctors for imposing on them a contract he says they will come to appreciate in time, is explaining that vilification comes as no surprise to a health secretary.

“The NHS remains the single biggest reason why most people are proud to be British” Continue reading... The Guardian

Hospitals may refuse to impose Jeremy Hunt’s new contract on junior doctors

Hospitals may refuse to impose Jeremy Hunt’s new contract on junior doctors Tory unrest grows over health secretary’s gamble as opt-out could lead to a flood of local deals with trusts

Hospitals may go it alone and refuse to impose the new contract on junior doctors proposed by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, on NHS trainee medics from August. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• News story: Independent review of junior doctors' morale, training and support Department of Health
• GMC statement in response to Health Secretary's statement on junior doctors' contract General Medical Council
• Doctors' dispute 'could become a war' BBC News
• Jeremy Hunt faces a backlash after he rules a new contract will be imposed on striking junior doctors as more than 42,000 sign a petition overnight The Daily Mail
• Junior doctors vow to fight on after Jeremy Hunt imposes new contracts The Guardian
• Andrew Mitchell's daughter calls for sacking of Jeremy Hunt The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt is dishonest or stupid. Either way, he must be sacked | Letter from Dr Hannah Mitchell The Guardian
• Tory activists prevent doctors from attending event with Jeremy Hunt The Guardian
• The Observer view on the junior doctors’ dispute | Observer editorial The Guardian
• Junior doctors: Hospitals could refuse to impose Jeremy Hunt's new contract The Independent
• Junior doctors: Jeremy Hunt vote-of-no-confidence petition reaches 250,000 signatures The Independent
• Junior doctors: Andrew Mitchell's daughter calls for Jeremy Hunt to go for 'alienating an entire generation' The Independent
• Hospital chief executives against junior doctor contract imposition OnMedica

Government set to axe plans to introduce sugar tax

Government set to axe plans to introduce sugar tax Campaigners react with fury to reports that the Government will reject the proposal for a sugar tax of up to 20 per cent. The Daily Telegraph

Eugenics is inevitable because parents will always want to 'enhance' their children, experts warn

Eugenics is inevitable because parents will always want to 'enhance' their children, experts warn There is a worry that doctors are performing unregulated and dangerous procedures if offered enough cash. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Rogue IVF clinics likely to be first to create GM babies, scientists warn The Independent