Friday 19 February 2016

Swingeing £84m cuts to be scaled back to £65m at Northamptonshire County Council

Swingeing £84m cuts to be scaled back to £65m at Northamptonshire County Council Sweeping plans to cut £84 million from Northamptonshire County Council’s budget next year have been scaled back by about £20 million following a public outcry. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Where will my child go? ask parents after Northampton disability club is axed after county council cutbacks

Where will my child go? ask parents after Northampton disability club is axed after county council cutbacks A Saturday club that provides parents of disabled children in Northampton a few precious hours respite is to be axed as part of service cuts. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Delivering the benefits of digital health care

Delivering the benefits of digital health care This report sets out the possibilities to transform health care offered by digital technologies, with insight about how to grasp those possibilities and benefits from those furthest on in their digital journey. The Nuffield Trust

Developing a Framework for Evaluating the Patient Engagement, Quality, and Safety of Mobile Health Applications

Developing a Framework for Evaluating the Patient Engagement, Quality, and Safety of Mobile Health Applications This issue brief describes criteria for evaluating mobile apps for high-need, high-cost populations based on their potential to improve patient engagement and on their quality and safety. The authors then discuss results of their efforts to test and refine those criteria using a sample of apps available through the Apple iOS and Android app stores. The Commonwealth Fund

Person-centred care in Europe: a cross-country comparison of health system performance, strategies and structures

Person-centred care in Europe: a cross-country comparison of health system performance, strategies and structures The document provides an overview of the different approaches taken to providing quality healthcare across Europe. It looks specifically at the person-centred care interpretations and strategies taken in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. It aims to advance understanding of the ways in which different national services have chosen to focus on the needs of their users and have adapted to address financial pressures and efficiency challenges. The Picker Institute Europe

New blood test to spot heart conditions

New blood test to spot heart conditions A new blood test could help diagnose people with inherited heart conditions, the British Heart Foundation says. BBC News

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Sugar tax 'would cut future obesity'

Sugar tax 'would cut future obesity' A 20% tax on sugary drinks in the UK would prevent 3.7 million people becoming obese over the next decade, a report predicts. BBC News

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VIDEO: 'Racism was rife in mental health system'

VIDEO: 'Racism was rife in mental health system' One of the most comprehensive studies of mental health care in England ever conducted has sharply criticised provision for men of African and Caribbean heritage. BBC News

Scotland sets out health and social care blueprint for next decade

Scotland sets out health and social care blueprint for next decade The Scottish government has set out a blueprint for the future of health and social care services over the next 10 to 15 years.

The National Clinical Strategy aims to deliver a range of improvements and reforms to modernise the way care is provided, taking account of the nation’s ageing population, the shift to more multidisciplinary working, and rapid advances in research and technology. OnMedica

Number Of Children Waiting In A&E With Mental Health Problems Soars, New Figures Show

Number Of Children Waiting In A&E With Mental Health Problems Soars, New Figures Show The number of children with mental health problems forced to spend long hours in A&E has soared under the Tory-led Government, new figures reveal.

The total number of cases of under-18s reporting to NHS Accident and Emergency units with 'psychiatric conditions' – and having to wait more than the Government’s target of four hours - has nearly trebled since David Cameron came to power in 2010.

The number was 769 in 2010/11, but has leapt to 2,197 in 2014/15- an increase of 185.7% - according to new Parliamentary answers by ministers. The Huffington Post

E-cig revolution? Only 1 in 6 smokers has converted

E-cig revolution? Only 1 in 6 smokers has converted 78% of current smokers have either used e-cigs and disliked them, or never want to try them. The Independent

Doctors warn new contract will lead to worse outcomes for cancer patients

Doctors warn new contract will lead to worse outcomes for cancer patients More than 470 doctors have written to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, about the negative effects new terms will have on cancer care in England.

More than 470 cancer doctors have written to Jeremy Hunt to say imposing a new contract will have “negative effects” on cancer care in England.

The letter, which has been signed by consultants and junior doctors working in oncology, said the health secretary’s decision to impose a contract would only damage the recruitment of cancer doctors and would do nothing to retain doctors already in the NHS. Continue reading... The Guardian

An NHS tax? Osborne won’t like it, but the public will

An NHS tax? Osborne won’t like it, but the public will Converting national insurance into a tax for health and social care – which cannot be treated separately – would be the best way of funding the NHS

The NHS is one of our most cherished institutions. The Commonwealth Fund, a private American foundation that supports independent research on health, judged it to be overall the best, and easily the best value for money, of any national system of healthcare. Yet today it faces an existential crisis. Continue reading... The Guardian

Leicester hospital in swine flu outbreak as 14 cancer patients diagnosed with illness

Leicester hospital in swine flu outbreak as 14 cancer patients diagnosed with illness Affected patients at Leicester Royal Infirmary put into isolation and given antiviral drugs as hospital wards they were in are closed. The Daily Telegraph

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