Monday 7 March 2016

Real trust rather than regulated trust should be the foundation on which improvement in the NHS is built

Real trust rather than regulated trust should be the foundation on which improvement in the NHS is built Last week we launched a report setting out the case for the NHS in England to adopt a quality improvement strategy.

This case received strong endorsement from Don Berwick and Maxine Power, looking from different ends of the quality improvement telescope, and from the leaders who attended the launch event. The sense that now is the time to rediscover the importance of quality improvement was palpable with a feeling of urgency about translating the principles in our report into practice. The King's Fund

NHS to introduce new £600m financial incentive to improve staff health

NHS to introduce new £600m financial incentive to improve staff health The NHS in England is step up its efforts to improve the health of its 1.3 million staff by offering financial incentives to support their heath and provide them with healthy food options.

Simon Stevens, the Chief Executive of NHS England, said he hoped that more employers from public and private sectors would follow the health service example.

Management by geographical area or management specialised by disorder? A mixed-methods evaluation of the effects of an organisational intervention on secondary mental health care for common mental disorder

Management by geographical area or management specialised by disorder? A mixed-methods evaluation of the effects of an organisational intervention on secondary mental health care for common mental disorder In 2010, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust established a programme replacing the borough directorates responsible for adult mental health services with three clinical academic groups (CAGs), each of which took on a subset of adult services straddling all four boroughs. This study aimed to understand the CAG programme by using realistic evaluation and assess whether it has led to changes in activity and health care quality. National Institute for Health Research

VIDEO: New funding to help prevent stillbirths

VIDEO: New funding to help prevent stillbirths Every day in the UK 11 babies are stillborn - and research shows we still lag behind other wealthy countries when it comes to tackling the issue. BBC News

Dementia awareness plan for over-40s

Dementia awareness plan for over-40s People over 40 in England are to be given more information about dementia to help improve early diagnosis of the condition, the health secretary says. BBC News

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Health campaign targets over-40s

Health campaign targets over-40s Unhealthy middle-aged people must improve their lifestyles if they want to enjoy a healthy retirement, a new government campaign is warning. BBC News

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Zika vaccine possible 'within months'

Zika vaccine possible 'within months' A Zika vaccine could be ready for human trials in the summer, according to the man in charge of the US government's research programme. BBC News

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RCGP revalidation overhaul to scrap doubling of CPD points for 'impact'

RCGP revalidation overhaul to scrap doubling of CPD points for 'impact' The RCGP has backed plans to simplify GP revalidation from April by scrapping a mechanism that allows doctors to claim double credits for CPD by demonstrating the impact of their learning. GP Online

NHS denies reports women will be pressurised to have babies so their organs can be harvested

More than a million Britons have been to see GPs over rent worries, says Shelter

More than a million Britons have been to see GPs over rent worries, says Shelter Doctors treat stress and anxiety as more than half the people in England fear losing their homes. The Independent

There's a long list of NHS inquiries, but what have they actually changed?

There's a long list of NHS inquiries, but what have they actually changed? From Mid Staffs to Morecambe Bay, inquiries into poor care are cathartic. But too often they have unintended consequences, or are ignored.

The claim by the chair of the Morecambe Bay inquiry (pdf) that the NHS risks “another avoidable disaster” by failing to implement the recommendations in his report highlights the dangers of using inquiries to drive service improvements.

According to Nursing Times, Dr Bill Kirkup claimed that almost a year after the inquiry into failures in maternity care at Furness general hospital that contributed to the deaths of at least 11 babies and one mother, there has been progress on only 10 of the 26 national recommendations the report made. Kirkup was particularly concerned that his calls for the introduction of investigations by professional regulators, national reviews into isolated rural services and a review of the NHS complaints system have yet to be fully implemented. Continue reading... The Guardian

Migrants on the NHS: 'You're targeted because you have an accent'

Migrants on the NHS: 'You're targeted because you have an accent' Mary was hit with a £5,000 bill after her son got meningitis. Campaigners say NHS staff are put in an impossible position when forced to decide on eligibility.

When Mary’s 17-year-old son, the oldest of her five children, began complaining of pain and taking medication early last year, she put it down to stress. Though her family had a GP, it was some months before she took the teenager to the surgery to find out exactly what was wrong.

What happened next – the scare of a serious illness, the joy of recovery, the shock of a bill for more than £5,000, and the eventual realisation the NHS should not have charged for his treatment in the first place – is, according to some people concerned at ministers’ renewed emphasis on recovering health costs from overseas visitors to the UK, a salutary reminder of the possible consequences. Continue reading... The Guardian

Hospice UK attacks plan to extend NHS charges for non-EU patients

Hospice UK attacks plan to extend NHS charges for non-EU patients Including end-of-life care is ‘inappropriate’, says charity as it joins GPs in opposing proposals to widen charging regime.

The hospice movement has condemned moves by the Department of Health in England to include end-of-life care in its plans to widen charges for treating overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS.

Hospice UK, the charity that champions the work of about 200 organisations, said the suggestion was inappropriate and not in keeping with the principle of “free, unprejudiced care”. Continue reading... The Guardian

Hospital suspends consultant who stopped surgeon operating while wearing headscarf

Hospital suspends consultant who stopped surgeon operating while wearing headscarf Vladislav Rogozov is being investigated by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals' NHS Trust after going public with concerns on blog. The Daily Telegraph