Monday 14 March 2016

Dental charges in England set to increase by 5%

Dental charges in England set to increase by 5% Price hike is in response to the £22 billion cuts needed across the NHS. The Independent

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New pay circular for Agenda for Change 1/2016

New pay circular for Agenda for Change 1/2016 New pay circular issued for staff covered by Agenda for Change. NHS Employers

Making a whistleblowing policy work: progress update

Making a whistleblowing policy work: progress update This report assesses the progress on whistleblowing policies and argues that more must be done to encourage and support whistleblowers to come forward. It highlights concerns that the government's approach has been too focused on policy rather than leading by practice and that there has been a lack of urgency in dealing with this issue. House of Commons Public Accounts Committee

Disabled people face benefits change

Disabled people face benefits change More than half a million disabled people could lose out as a result of further changes over the next four years to welfare payments. BBC News

George Osborne accused of presiding over largest funding squeeze in NHS history

George Osborne accused of presiding over largest funding squeeze in NHS history Given economic forecasts and present spending, it is estimated £20bn less a year will be being spent on health by 2020. The Independent

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Jeremy Hunt urged to act against avoidable deaths from epilepsy

Jeremy Hunt urged to act against avoidable deaths from  Charity warns almost four in 10 of deaths from the condition are preventable as they call for better care and services. The Independent

That’s enough, junior doctors – the NHS has bigger problems

That’s enough, junior doctors – the NHS has bigger problems The NHS faces far more serious problems than the working conditions of one section of its workers. Now it’s up to the BMA to move towards a strike settlement

‘It’s everyone’s fight,” said the stickers that striking junior doctors handed out at picket lines and protest stalls last week. But is it really? The chief medical officer has warned that strikes will lead to patient suffering: tens of thousands of operations and appointments will have been cancelled as a result of strikes so far. The health select committee chair – a doctor herself – called them“extreme” and “appalling”.

Doctors’ union the BMA insists that the government – and the new junior doctor contract it is proposing – are an even bigger threat to patient safety. Its claims merit at least the scrutiny we’d apply to teaching or train driver unions whose strikes lead to school and tube closures.

Let’s call a spade a spade. This is a workplace dispute about terms and conditions, not a campaign to save the NHS Continue reading... The Guardian

Junior doctors' contract to be challenged in courts

Junior doctors' contract to be challenged in courts Group of doctors and patients have asked solicitors to review the potential impact of Jeremy Hunt’s “seven-day NHS” contract on patient safety

The government’s new contract for junior doctors is to be challenged in the courts by a group of doctors and patients on the grounds of patient safety.

The group have instructed Bindman’s LLP solicitors to investigate judicial review proceedings, which will centre on the detrimental impact of the proposed new contract on the safety patients as well as the stability of the NHS as a whole. Continue reading... The Guardian

Scarlet fever cases reach 50 year high: Experts warn parents to look out for red rash, nausea and high temperature

Scarlet fever cases reach 50 year high: Experts warn parents to look out for red rash, nausea and high  Last year there were 17,559 cases of the disease in England. The disease is most common in children under 10 and causes a sore throat, fever a rash and occasionally leads to pneumonia. The Daily Mail

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