Monday 16 May 2016

Nearly 600 visits to Northampton A&E by just 20 patients last year

Nearly 600 visits to Northampton A&E by just 20 patients last year Northampton General Hospital’s 20 most frequent A&E attenders racked up an astonishing 587 visits between them last year. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

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Northampton GP surgery failed to ensure checks on some patients taking high-risk medicines

Northampton GP surgery failed to ensure checks on some patients taking high-risk medicines A GP surgery in Northampton may have been issuing repeat prescriptions of high-risk medications without checking patients’ blood results. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire air ambulance launches new night-time emergency service

Northamptonshire air ambulance launches new night-time emergency service A new life saving night-time emergency service is to be launched by Northamptonshire’s air ambulance charity. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Looking to the future: general practice through the eyes of GP trainees

Looking to the future: general practice through the eyes of GP trainees There is undoubtedly a workforce crisis in primary care – practices are struggling to recruit and retain experienced GPs and insufficient numbers are entering training.

NHS England’s recently published General practice forward view re-states a number of measures aiming to provide an extra 5,000 GPs by 2020, including initiatives to boost training numbers through a major recruitment campaign, enhanced training opportunities and targeted bursaries to train in areas with the worst GP shortages. But will these measures be enough? The King's Fund

Guidance: Place-based services of care

Guidance: Place-based services of care The government requires all local areas to integrate health and care services by 2020. The place-based approach offers new opportunities to help meet the challenges facing the NHS. Public Health England

Public health in a changing climate

Public health in a changing climate This report examines how far the shift of public health into local government has affected efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change in areas facing climate disadvantage. It reviews current local strategies and actions to address climate change by public health departments and their partners. It explores barriers and opportunities for action, and identifies recommendations for local and national policy and practice. Joseph Rowntree Trust

'Deep concern' over cancer drug funding

'Deep concern' over cancer drug funding Fifteen cancer charities say they are "deeply concerned" about new plans for approving innovative cancer medicines for the NHS in England. BBC News

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Many 'delay seeking dementia diagnosis'

Many 'delay seeking dementia diagnosis' More than half of those seeking a diagnosis for dementia have delayed going to their GP by at least a year, according to a survey carried out by the Alzheimer's Society. BBC News

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VIDEO: 'Real progress' in junior doctor talks

Clinical commissioning groups have not implemented antimicrobial guidelines

Clinical commissioning groups have not implemented antimicrobial guidelines Investigations finds 88% of CCGs have not fully implementing antimicrobial guidelines. OnMedica

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Fertility watchdog 'increasingly concerned' about dubious treatments sold by private clinics as experts warn childless...

Fertility watchdog 'increasingly concerned' about dubious treatments sold by private clinics as experts warn childless... 'At best, patients are subject to exploitation; at worst, patients are being subjected to harm' says one of Britain's leading fertility experts. The Independent

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New law banning 10-packs of cigarettes and making packaging bland come in next week

New law banning 10-packs of cigarettes and making packaging bland come in next week The legislation will see cigarette packets covered in health warnings and designed in 'drab' colours. The Independent

Palliative care for children should not be a bewildering lottery

Palliative care for children should not be a bewildering lottery Commissioners should ensure that everyone, everywhere is offered the same level of care regardless of their age or complexity of diagnosis

Across the UK, babies, children and young adults with life-shortening conditions and their families not only face enormous physical, emotional and social difficulties, but also the bewildering inconsistency and complexity of palliative and specialist care provision and its commissioning. The often discussed postcode lottery affecting healthcare provision doesn’t stop with location; there is also a lottery around age and complexity of condition.

Many people will be surprised to learn there is a big difference between the provision of specialist palliative care for adults and the provision of the same standard of care for children and young people. If a child or an adult needs treatment to ease or relieve their symptoms, they can be treated by a GP. Adults with complex symptoms and diseases who cannot be treated in primary care may then be referred to a specialist team, including a medical consultant specialising in palliative care (who is often funded or part funded by the NHS). Sadly this is not always the case for children, as there are not robust and equitable commissioning arrangements and nor are there adequate numbers of doctors trained to the required level. Continue reading... The Guardian

I'm a bed manager in mental health – and the scapegoat of the NHS

I'm a bed manager in mental health – and the scapegoat of the NHS Frequently expected to produce a bed out of thin air for patients in crisis, every day I wonder how much longer this can go on

It is a truth grimly acknowledged that mental health services are the Cinderella chapter of the modern-day NHS tale, albeit one where Prince Jeremy proves to be a disappointing suitor and there’s no happy ending in sight.

NHS England’s pledge to transform mental health services with an extra £1bn a year is greeted with scepticism with those of us at the coal face, reaching breaking point after years starved of funding.

Once you’ve been dissed by a lord on Twitter and then shamed on local radio, it’s time to clear your desk Continue reading... The Guardian

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The NHS cannot escape its financial crisis without more money

The NHS cannot escape its financial crisis without more money Government and the public need to know that the NHS chief Simon Stevens’ plan for the health service cannot be delivered as things stand

Two documents released in the last few days reveal both the severity of the NHS’s financial crisis and why it cannot find a way out.

In a briefing prepared for Sarah Wollaston’s health select committee, NHS England revealed more of the detail behind the £22bn of efficiency savings the health service is supposed to make by 2020-21 to tackle the growing gap between funding and demand. Continue reading... The Guardian

Coroner says he is 'sick to death' of healthcare professionals shifting the blame and claiming deaths of young people cannot be prevented

Coroner says he is 'sick to death' of healthcare professionals shifting the blame and claiming deaths of young people cannot be prevented Dr Robert Hunter spoke out during an inquest in Derby into Joe Southam who died aged 15 after overdosing on heroin he bought online. He criticised medics, teachers and health professionals. The Daily Mail

Britain needs to stop freaking out about transgender kids

Britain needs to stop freaking out about transgender kids There seems to be a bit of generational divide about transgender issues.

Many people in their twenties (my age) will be completely unsurprised by the BBC’s report into the Tavistock Centre – the country’s only NHS facility for transgender children. They will be unfazed by the fact that it had 1,419 referrals last year, more than ten times the figure in 2010. They will regard this as just an ordinary feature of the world we now live in. Trans people exist; get used to it. The Daily Telegraph