Monday 22 February 2016

NHS England, Government and BMA agree new GP contract for 2016/17

NHS England, Government and BMA agree new GP contract for 2016/17 NHS England, the Government, and the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee have reached agreement on changes to the GP contract in England for 2016/17, to take effect from 1 April 2016.

The new contract will see an investment of £220 million for 2016/17 – part of this will provide a pay uplift of one per cent for GPs.

This agreement is the start of a process for investment, support and reform in general practice which both sides are working together to deliver, with a bigger package due to be announced soon. NHS England

Action urged on learning disability care

Action urged on learning disability care The government's "failure" to create a charter of rights for people with learning disabilities means a new commissioner is needed to "protect and promote" them, a report says. BBC News

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Transgender consultation-wait 'too long'

Transgender consultation-wait 'too long' Transgender people face "unacceptably long" waits for an initial consultation with the NHS before a further three-year wait for surgery. BBC News

NHS could be part-privatised if UK and EU agree controversial TTIP trade deal, expert warns

NHS could be part-privatised if UK and EU agree controversial TTIP trade deal, expert warns The Government would not be able to make key decisions about the NHS because ministers would be constrained by the trade deal, the report warns. The Independent

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Junior doctors furious after new 'example' rotas show them working three weekends in a row

Junior doctors furious after new 'example' rotas show them working three weekends in a row Jeremy Hunt has claimed they would never have to work 'consecutive weekends' under the new contract. The Independent

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The 340 labour ward blunders EVERY DAY from doctors to midwives

The 340 labour ward blunders EVERY DAY from doctors to midwives Most errors are classed as ‘near misses’ or low injury but some have tragic consequences with 151 women and newborns dying on maternity wards across the UK last year, figures reveal. The Daily Mail

Petition calling for meningitis B vaccine to be given to all children under 11 becomes the most signed in Downing Street history

Petition calling for meningitis B vaccine to be given to all children under 11 becomes the most signed in Downing Street history Nearly 600,000 people signed the document on the Parliament website following the death of two-year-old Faye Burdett and her parents’ heartbreaking plea for all children to be vaccinated. The Daily Mail

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Why ARE health chiefs denying lung cancer patients the wonder drug that brought this woman back from the brink? 

Why ARE health chiefs denying lung cancer patients the wonder drug that brought this woman back from the brink? Three years ago, Demi Pestell, from Northampton, former diving instructor from Northampton was effectively handed a death sentence when doctors warned she had just weeks to live. The Daily Mail

NHS deficit climbs to £2.3bn

NHS deficit climbs to £2.3bn Figures for first nine months of financial year come as regulators insist efforts to control rising costs are beginning to have an impact

The NHS deficit in England rose to nearly £2.3bn in the first nine months of the financial year, official figures have confirmed.

Following a sharp rise on the £1.6bn reported by trusts after six months, regulators insisted efforts to get a grip on rising costs were beginning to have an impact. They added, however, that pressures created by rising demands for care, high costs and problems with being able to discharge medically fit patients to suitable care outside hospital remained. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Funding is welcome, but root causes of mental illness are growing

Funding is welcome, but root causes of mental illness are growing Rise in rough sleepers, children living with an alcoholic parent and prison suicides show that more money is just the start.

The impression is being created of unstoppable momentum towards expansion and improvement of mental health services. Reports, cash and pledges of action are piling up. But it is hard to identify what will change and from where the money will come. Meanwhile, the problems that give rise to mental illnesses are growing.

Hitting hyperbolic heights this week, NHS England promised “the biggest transformation of mental health care across the NHS in a generation”. In the wake of the report (pdf) by the Mental Health Taskforce, led by Mind chief executive Paul Farmer, NHS England pledged to help millions more people and invest more than £1bn a year by 2020–21. Continue reading... The Guardian

Europe's framework for clinical trials is good news for UK scientists and patients

Europe's framework for clinical trials is good news for UK scientists and patients Ignore the propaganda of the leave campaigns: the real story of the clinical trials directive is one of UK scientists working with the EU to benefit UK patients.

As the EU referendum approaches, anyone looking to the leave campaigns for guidance on how EU membership affects UK science will find repeated references to the evils of the clinical trials directive. The message is that the EU “is hostile to the networks of scientists and entrepreneurs that the world needs to solve problems (e.g. the Single Market’s disastrous Clinical Trials Directive).”

Can the EU really be trying to prevent researchers from developing vital new medicines? If true, it would be shocking. But what do scientists themselves think? And what is the real story with clinical trials in Europe? Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS 111 service might be unfit to diagnose children, says Royal College of Paediatricians president

NHS 111 service might be unfit to diagnose children, says Royal College of Paediatricians president Professor Neena Modi says this is question mark over whether or 111 call handlers - who are not medically trained - should be carrying out assessments. The Daily Telegraph

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