Friday 11 March 2016

NHS England launches national programme to combat antibiotic overusage

NHS England launches national programme to combat antibiotic overusage NHS England has today launched the world’s largest healthcare incentive scheme for hospitals, family doctors and other health service providers to prevent the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Launched against the backdrop of the International Patient Safety Conference taking place at Lancaster House in London today, funding will be made available to hospitals and other providers that reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Press release: Major programme launched to help NHS providers boost their finances

Press release: Major programme launched to help NHS providers boost their finances NHS providers will be able to access additional help with improving their finances, under a new financial improvement programme created by two national healthcare bodies.

Developed by Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority, the ‘Financial improvement programme’ will enable NHS providers to take advantage of additional improvement advice and expertise.

Providers will bring in external financial and operational support to help them make the required savings, so that patients can receive high quality care which is financially sustainable. Monitor

The one-way mirror: public attitudes to commercial access to health data

The one-way mirror: public attitudes to commercial access to health data This report has revealed that just over 50 per cent of the public are in favour of patient records being used by commercial organisations as long as there is a clear public benefit and appropriate safeguards in place. It also emphasises how unaware many people are about how patient data is already used within in the NHS, let alone by others such as academic researchers, charities and commercial organisations. Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Wellcome Trust

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Ministers 'seek 7-day consultants deal'

Ministers 'seek 7-day consultants deal' Consultants in England could be offered new NHS contracts within weeks, the BBC understands, after what ministers describe as "constructive" negotiations. BBC News

Care home offers a step between hospital and home for patients

Care home offers a step between hospital and home for patients New initiative sees independent care homes working with hospitals to provide a place for people to recuperate and alleviate pressures on acute care

A stroll up to the door of Harrogate Lodge care home in the Leeds suburb Chapel Allerton is leaf-lined and heralded with birdsong. It’s a far cry from the hospital corridor 90-year-old temporary resident Mavis found herself sleeping in a couple of weeks ago, after she had a fall at home.

Mavis has been in Harrogate Lodge for a week while she recovers from a urine infection and is well enough to go back to her home on the other side of the city. “It’s certainly quieter here,” she laughs, “and the food is lovely.” Continue reading... The Guardian

How do you radicalise a calm, dedicated doctor? Ask Jeremy Hunt

How do you radicalise a calm, dedicated doctor? Ask Jeremy Hunt The obduracy of the health secretary is putting untold pressure on the NHS and making enemies of its future leaders. The junior doctors’ strike must be resolved.

On the second day of the third strike, the junior doctors are standing as solid as ever, just over half are on strike, with most of those not striking staying in to cover emergency work. Thousands more non-urgent operations are cancelled, adding to the backlog already growing due to the extreme pressure the NHS was under long before this.

It’s an impasse. The new contract has been imposed and the government has withdrawn from all further talks while these young-ish doctors have been radicalised by the way they have been treated: they look unlikely to buckle any time soon – on the picket lines, they are garnering waves of public support in beeps, claps and whistles. Continue reading... The Guardian

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NHS hospitals now so overwhelmed patients could die, says top doctor

NHS hospitals now so overwhelmed patients could die, says top doctor The warning from doctors in acute care comes after the NHS admits it missed almost all key targets in January – its worst-ever set of figures.

Hospitals are now so overwhelmed patients could die, a doctors’ leader said on Thursday, adding that the NHS is now in an “eternal winter”.

The stark warning from doctors involved in acute care came after figures showed record numbers of sick people are having to wait longer than they should for treatment, with the NHS admitting it has missed almost all its key waiting time targets in the same month for the first time in hospitals in England. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Men with breast cancer being failed as they are 'treated like women'

Men with breast cancer being failed as they are 'treated like women' First major investigation into male breast cancer reveals significant differences in biology of disease, despite same treatments for men and women. The Daily Telegraph