Seven Northamptonshire GP practices trying to close their lists to new patients

Seven Northamptonshire GP practices trying to close their lists to new patients GP practices in Northamptonshire are applying for the right to stop taking new patients as doctors struggle to cope with population growth. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Independent report: Improving safety investigations in healthcare

Independent report: Improving safety investigations in healthcare The report makes recommendations about establishing the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) as well as how to improve investigation, and learning from investigation, across the health system. Department of Health

See also:

• News story: Establishing the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch Department of Health

Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: taking the strategy forward

Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: taking the strategy forward The NHS’s Independent Cancer Taskforce estimates 30,000 lives can be saved each year by 2020 through earlier diagnosis and better treatment and care. NHS England

Building better participation

Building better participation This guidance is designed to be of use to all Patient Participation Groups (PPGs), whether long-standing or recently formed, whether large or very small, whether in a single practice or as part of a federation of practices. It was developed and “road tested” with the involvement of over 50 PPG members and Practice Managers. It aims to help PPGs and their practice to reflect on what they do, how they work, and how they might become even more effective. National Association for Patient Participation

Looking through the wellbeing kaleidoscope: results from the European Social Survey

Looking through the wellbeing kaleidoscope: results from the European Social Survey This report explores new ways in which policy can support and encourage high levels of wellbeing, using data from the European Social Survey. New Economics Foundation

NHS 'has busiest year in its history'

NHS 'has busiest year in its history' The NHS in England has had the busiest year in its history with more patients than ever seeking help, official figures show.

Nearly 23m people visited A&E in the 12 months to March 2016 - a rise of more than 500,000 from the previous year.

Delays rose throughout the period, with March itself having the single worst performance against the four-hour A&E target since it was introduced in 2004.

Targets for cancer, routine operations and ambulances have also been missed. BBC News

See also:

• The King's Fund response to today's A&E performance statistics published by NHS England The King's Fund
• Key NHS sectors still at lowest ever performance levels The Daily Mail
• Spring NHS crisis even worse than winter, 'Black Thursday' data shows The Daily Telegraph
• NHS records worst performance for third month in a row The Guardian
• Only four hospitals in England hit A&E targets as staff claim exceptional pressures have become 'the norm' The Independent

Inside England's only gender identity clinic for children

Inside England's only gender identity clinic for children It is England's only clinic for children experiencing difficulties in the development of their gender identity.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Centre in north London has been going since 1989 but this week I became the first journalist to be allowed access to its clinical rooms and some of its staff and patients. BBC News

E-cigarette ban lifted by hospital trust

E-cigarette ban lifted by hospital trust A hospital trust lifts a ban on the use of e-cigarettes in its grounds - the first in England to do so. BBC News

GP/paediatric registrar scheme cuts referrals and A&E visits

GP/paediatric registrar scheme cuts referrals and A&E visits Rates of referral or A&E visits were reduced when GP registrars and paediatric registrars worked closely together in a pioneering scheme piloted in London, and compliance with clinical guidelines also shot up, a joint paper from the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has revealed. OnMedica

See also:

• GPs and paediatricians working together to improve child health Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
• GP training should overlap with paediatrics to improve child health, say colleges GP Online

More women with breast cancer are choosing useless alternative therapies over chemotherapy, warn scientists

More women with breast cancer are choosing useless alternative therapies over chemotherapy, warn scientists Women suffering from breast cancer are turning to alternative and complementary therapies while rejecting chemotherapy, scientists have warned.

Researchers at Columbia University tracked chemotherapy uptake rates in women who had been recommended the treatment by their doctors. Among women who were taking non-traditional medications such as complementary therapies, they were found to be more likely to reject medical advice to undergo chemotherapy. The Independent

Air pollution in UK 'wreaking havoc on human health' WHO warns

Air pollution in UK 'wreaking havoc on human health' WHO warns Dozens of British cities are breaching air pollution limits leading to thousands of premature deaths of “the youngest, oldest and poorest” in society, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. The Independent

I am dying and I want everyone to talk about it

I am dying and I want everyone to talk about it This is a plea to my family, carer, doctors and specialists: start talking about death as much as you do about life. Is that too much to ask?

For 16 years I have known I’m terminally ill. I’ve had to come to terms with the fact I won’t grow old with my husband, or see my grandchildren become teenagers. I’ve seen my body change; I am slowly wasting away. I have faced the mental struggle of being told I’ve 18 months to live, only to see myself outlive the prognosis. I take 38 tablets every single day and rely on an oxygen tank to breathe. My spine is crumbling; I’ve shrunk by two inches. My skin is covered in painful psoriasis, and I have a growth in my stomach the size of a 30-week pregnancy.

And yet, despite this, my biggest challenge is trying to talk to you about the fact that soon, I will die. There’s something about death that people can’t face. We thrive on life; we celebrate it at every opportunity whether it’s a birthday or a christening. And yet, even though everyone who lives will die, death remains the elephant in the room. It’s a stigma, something we need to tiptoe around and leave to care professionals. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS whistleblower 'was treated unfairly' after alleging death rate-fixing

NHS whistleblower 'was treated unfairly' after alleging death rate-fixing Review finds Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust was not fair to Sandra Haynes-Kirkbright after she alleged coding flaws

An NHS whistleblower who claimed she was treated badly by a hospital trust after alleging it had been fixing its death rates was treated unfairly, a report has found.


Sandra Haynes-Kirkbright was head of clinical coding at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust when she first alleged there were systematic flaws in its data leading to overpayments to the hospital trust.  Continue reading... The Guardian

Britain’s accountability problem – hospitals are just the start

Britain’s accountability problem – hospitals are just the start If holding vital public bodies to account is a mark of a civilised, functioning democracy, we’re not in a good place

Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the Hillsborough tragedy, addressed a meeting in parliament on Tuesday. She spoke at the launch of Andy Burnham’s new campaign for stronger police accountability. The parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO) has just published a shaming report on the way vulnerable patients are sometimes discharged from hospital. Earlier in the week, health thinktank the King’s Fund heard that there was a serious shortage of senior managers prepared to take on the thankless task of running an NHS trust.

Each of these is important in themselves. Each of these says something troubling about how public bodies are held to account. Continue reading... The Guardian

Final day for talks to resolve row over new contract for junior doctors

Final day for talks to resolve row over new contract for junior doctors Leaders from the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Government have been meeting all week to try to break the deadlock and prevent a fresh round of strikes. The Daily Mail

Half of middle-aged men drink too much

Half of middle-aged men drink too much Almost half of middle aged men are putting their health at risk by drinking an average of 18 pints of alcohol a week.

A study has revealed 3.5 million men (44 per cent) drink nearly two and a half times the amount of alcohol recommended by health experts.

The recommended amount is 14 units of alcohol a week - seven pints of beer.

Research by Drinkaware has revealed men aged 45 to 64 are consuming an average of 37 units a week and more than half of those surveyed (54 per cent) believe it will have no impact on their health. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Half of middle-aged British men classed as problem drinkers The Daily Mail