Changes ahead for school nurses, health visitors and breastfeeding services in Northamptonshire

Changes ahead for school nurses, health visitors and breastfeeding services in Northamptonshire A consultation looking at key public health nursing services for children and young people has been launched. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Fewer than two full-time nurses for Northamptonshire’s 1,000 MS patients is ‘unsustainable’

Fewer than two full-time nurses for Northamptonshire’s 1,000 MS patients is ‘unsustainable’ The NHS in Northamptonshire has 1.2 whole time equivalent nurses to look after 1,045 multiple sclerosis patients. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Readiness to change in NHS organisations

Readiness to change in NHS organisations The context facing organisations in the English NHS is hugely challenging – this much is obvious. The state of NHS finances is parlous, care delivery targets are increasingly missed, and there is recognition of – but not yet action to address – the need to integrate systems to deliver care.

Combined with increasing demands on the health care system, these multiple pressures require NHS organisations to change, adapt and innovate on a scale that would make Apple and Microsoft catch their breath.

This requires not simply tinkering with organisational change, but transforming the way health and care are delivered to ensure long-term sustainability. And this can only be achieved with the involvement, engagement and commitment of leadership and staff throughout the NHS and in other organisations and sectors. It requires changing cultures both within and across organisations. The King's Fund

The journey to integration: Learning from seven leading localities

The journey to integration: Learning from seven leading localities The LGA has long advocated the benefits of integrated, person-centred care as a key vehicle to improve people’s health and wellbeing and experience of care, alongside bringing financial sustainability to the health and care system. The findings in this report highlight how through determined collective and collaborative leadership which engages and empowers everyone in their locality, it is possible to make great strides towards these outcomes. Local Government Association

Vulnerable people are being wrongly turned away from GP surgeries

Vulnerable people are being wrongly turned away from GP surgeries Pregnant women, children, refugees and homeless people are among the vulnerable people being wrongly turned away from GP surgeries in the UK. A new report from Doctors of the World UK has found that at least two in five people attempting to register with doctor’s surgeries are being wrongly refused. The biggest barrier was people's inability to provide paperwork – be that ID or proof of address or proof.

Everyone living in the UK is entitled to free primary care and GPs are our frontline defence against poor public and personal ill health. NHS guidelines that were issued in November last year state that patients do not need proof of ID or address to register and see a doctor, but inconsistent and unclear guidance in the past has led to confusion in some practices that mean people are still being turned away by surgery staff. Doctors of the World

See also:

• Registration refused: A study on access to GP registration in England Doctors of the World 
• RCGP response to Doctors of the World report on GP access for vulnerable groups Royal College of General Practitioners

Rich and poor lifespan gap 'widening'

Rich and poor lifespan gap 'widening' The gap between the lifespans of rich and poor people in England and Wales is rising for the first time since the 1870s, research suggests. BBC News

Prison suicides hit 25-year high

Prison suicides hit 25-year high There have been six murders and 100 suicides in prisons across England and Wales in the past 12 months – the highest levels seen for at least 25 years, official figures have revealed. OnMedica

Do not resuscitate orders imposed on thousands of patients without families' consent

Do not resuscitate orders imposed on thousands of patients without families' consent Up to 40,000 patients a year are having do not resuscitate orders imposed without their families' consent, an audit has found.

Hospitals are failing to tell relations they do not intend to attempt potentially lifesaving techniques to save their loved ones, according to the Royal College of Physicians. The Independent

See also:

• Resuscitation orders 'kept from families' BBC News
• Hospital audit reveals 40k patients given Do Not Resuscitate orders without families being told The Daily Mail 
• 'Unforgivable' failings in end-of-life care revealed as 40,000 dying patients subject to secret 'do not resuscitate' orders every year The Daily Telegraph
• Do not resuscitate orders placed on patients without consent, says study The Guardian

How Boots went rogue

How Boots went rogue Britain’s biggest pharmacy used to be a family business, dedicated to serving society. Now, many of the company’s own staff believe that its relentless drive for profit is putting the public at risk Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Boots investigation: 'independent' pharmacist's letter edited by head office The Guardian

Nearly three-quarters of Britons expect rapid decline in NHS, says poll

Nearly three-quarters of Britons expect rapid decline in NHS, says poll With 72% believing services will get worse, survey finds British public most pessimistic in Europe over future of healthcare

Almost three out of four Britons fear that the NHS will decline in the next few years, according to new poll findings that dramatically illustrate a growing pessimism about the health service’s future.

Overall, 72% of voters across the UK believe services to patients, already under unprecedented pressure, are set to worsen, despite government pledges of extra cash and improved care. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS health check for over-40s has marginal benefits, says study

NHS health check for over-40s has marginal benefits, says study Research shows ‘health MOT’ helps prevent just one heart attack or stroke for every 4,762 people who visit a GP for a check-up

The NHS health check offered to everyone from the age of 40 is having little impact, according to research, preventing few heart attacks or strokes and failing to cut the numbers of people who smoke.

The “health MOT” offered every five years to people between 40 and 74 is intended to spot those at risk of cardiovascular disease and help them improve their lifestyle or get medication to keep them healthy. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Study finds NHS 'MOT' health checks to reveal signs of illness have few benefits The Independent

NHS chief Simon Stevens urges trusts to begin preparations for further strikes

NHS chief Simon Stevens urges trusts to begin preparations for further strikes Simon Stevens (pictured), chief executive of NHS England, wrote to trusts to urge them to begin planning for further industrial action, warning there could be ‘major implications’ for patients. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Jeremy Hunt slammed by mother who's daughter died during Junior Doctors strike The Daily Mail
• David Cameron says dispute with junior doctors is 'entirely creation' of BMA The Daily Telegraph   
• 'They speak for all of us': NHS workers reflect on the junior doctors' strike The Guardian

NHS whistleblowers ignored and threatened with the sack by Liverpool bosses

NHS whistleblowers ignored and threatened with the sack by Liverpool bosses The £160,000 report said bosses at Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust were so desperate to gain the Government’s coveted foundation status that huge budget cuts came before care. The Daily Mail

NHS encouraged into 'creative accountancy' to hide looming debts

NHS encouraged into 'creative accountancy' to hide looming debts Hospitals are under pressure to "paint a false picture" of their accounts in order to hide the biggest ever NHS deficit, experts say, as official guidance urges trusts not to be too “prudent” in their approach.

Forecasts show the health service is currently heading for the worst deficit in its history, with fears that the financial black hole could extend even beyond limits allowed by the Treasury.

Guidance issued by the Department of Health (DoH), seen by The Daily Telegraph, urges NHS trusts to adopt measures which will help them to improve the books in the short-term.
They are asking financial directors to pull the wool over the Treasury’s eyes and the public’s eyes – to paint a false picture of the situation the NHS is facing,

Financial experts said the advice was a “desperate attempt at creative accounting”. The Daily Telegraph