Chief executive of ambulance service covering Northamptonshire to step down

Chief executive of ambulance service covering Northamptonshire to step down The chief executive of East Midlands Ambulance Service, which covers Northamptonshire, is leaving the service “for personal reasons”. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The foundation trust model: death by a thousand cuts

The foundation trust model: death by a thousand cuts For more than a decade, staff across the NHS toiled in the pursuit of foundation trust status. Monitor’s tests were unforgiving, but the prize was worth fighting for: freedom from the grasp of government and a brand that stood for quality and professionalism.

Those days seem long behind us. The foundation trust pipeline dried up as NHS funding was hit by the economic downturn. This, along with a series of changes to government policy, has eroded the freedoms that foundation trusts fought so hard for.

It is now increasingly difficult to describe a clear distinction between foundation trusts and NHS trusts, with foundation trusts subject to greater central control than at any time in their history. The new NHS planning guidance published in December 2015 and recent letters from national bodies to trust chief executives hammer the final nails into the coffin. The King's Fund

Evidence from NHS Improvement on clinical staff shortages

Evidence from NHS Improvement on clinical staff shortages NHS providers have reported shortages of qualified clinical staff. This report looks at the causes and extent of current clinical staff shortages in acute hospitals, focusing on adult nurses and consultants. It also sets out the actions NHS Improvement is taking to help support providers facing workforce shortages. Monitor

Sheltered housing 'hit by benefit cuts'

Sheltered housing 'hit by benefit cuts' Hundreds of planned sheltered accommodation units have been delayed or scrapped owing to proposed cuts to housing benefit, the BBC learns. BBC News

Doctors 3D-print 'living' body parts

Doctors 3D-print 'living' body parts Custom-made, living body parts have been 3D-printed in an important advance for regenerative medicine, say scientists. BBC News

See also:

• Fifth Element-style machine PRINTS human flesh: Ears 'grown' on the skin of mice contain cartilage and even blood vessels The Daily Mail
• 3D 'bioprinters' could soon make organs and human tissue good enough for transplant, researchers say The Independent

Bed-blocking up by 26% in England since 2011

Bed-blocking up by 26% in England since 2011 The number of days lost to bed-blocking rose by 26% in English hospitals between 2011 and 2015, finds an analysis of existing data, published by health sector union, the GMB. OnMedica

NHS hospitals pressured to 'cook the books' and underplay scale of their deficits, says whistleblower

NHS hospitals pressured to 'cook the books' and underplay scale of their deficits, says whistleblower The hospital sector is expecting to breach its target of a £1.8bn controlled deficit this financial year. The Independent

Vaccine-like treatment could one day be used to prevent cancer, study suggests

Vaccine-like treatment could one day be used to prevent cancer, study suggests Vaccine-like treatments could one day be used to prevent people from developing cancer, new research has found.

Scientists believe that rare white blood cells in the immune system known as T-cells could be programmed to stop cancers forming for many years.

The research is part of the development of the field of cancer immunotherapies, which harness the body’s immune system to attack tumours, and are hoped to be the future of combating the disease. The Independent

See also:

• T-cell immunotherapy destroys cancer cells and prevents them from returning The Daily Mail
• T-cell therapy: 'Extraordinary' results lead to paradigm shift in cancer treatment The Independent

Forget about a mental health revolution without new cash

Forget about a mental health revolution without new cash David Cameron’s promised £1bn is old money so can’t be ringfenced – and will be swallowed by existing NHS debts.

If it’s Monday, the prime minister is doing something good and kind, according to the Downing Street grid: last week it was prisons, this week it’s a mental health “revolution”. Announcing £1bn for threadbare mental health services, he launched a report detailing their dire state.

Written by the head of Mind, this hard-hitting report was widely welcomed, as was the £1bn. One in four people suffer mental health problems but three-quarters get no help at all. Suicide rates are rising, as is self-harming, with services so bad that lives are “put on hold or ruined” for lack of care, with mental health patients dying 15 to 20 years earlier than others. Beds are so scarce that 2,000 acutely ill patients a month end up sent far from home. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• New investment in mental health services Department of Health
• Press release: PM: Improve mental health treatment to get thousands more back to work Department of Health
• Five Year Mental Health plan will be our legacy – Jacqui Dyer NHS England
• RCGP response to Mental Health Taskforce report Royal College of General Practitioners
• VIDEO: 'We need to end mental health stigma' BBC News
• A worthwhile legacy (editorial) The Daily Telegraph
• Train 700 GP mental health specialists by 2020, government told GP Online
• The Guardian view on mental health: still underfunded after too many false promises (editorial) The Guardian

Seven-day NHS may not cut death rates, say Hunt's own officials

Seven-day NHS may not cut death rates, say Hunt's own officials Blow to health secretary’s case for ‘seven-day NHS’ as leaked report ‘cannot evidence’ link between consultant presence and mortality rates.

Jeremy Hunt’s key argument in his demands for a seven-day service in NHS hospitals has been called into question by his own department, in a leaked report which says it is not able to prove that fuller staffing would lower the numbers of weekend-admitted patients dying.

The report also admits it will be “challenging” to meet the government’s promise to recruit 5,000 more GPs by 2020, a Conservative pledge during the election campaign, and that 11,000 new staff will be needed to run a seven-day service in hospitals. Continue reading... The Guardian

Biggest annual rise in deaths for almost fifty years prompts warnings of crisis in elderly care

Biggest annual rise in deaths for almost fifty years prompts warnings of crisis in elderly care England and Wales show a five per cent increase in mortality rates in just one year. The Daily Telegraph