Monday 23 May 2016

New bid to stop women in Northamptonshire smoking while pregnant

New bid to stop women in Northamptonshire smoking while pregnant A one-stop hub of resources to help healthcare professionals support pregnant women in Northamptonshire to give up smoking is being created. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

More medicine needed? The health of health finances revisited

More medicine needed? The health of health finances revisited A new report which says there will be a shortfall in the NHS budget of at least £5bn, quite likely £10bn, and in the worst caseas much as £16bn by 2020. In the light of further analysis and events since the election, we estimate that the pressures on health services are now in the range £35-40bn and the savings achieved will be in the range £16-22bn. The Government’s assessment is of £30bn pressures against a £22bn target for savings, with £8bn promised in the 2015 CSR to fill the gap. CIPFA believes there will be an additional gap of £5-16bn.

The front-loading of promised financial support in 2016/17 and the £1.5bn planned increases in the Better Care Fund are welcome, but too modest. The effect of the Government’s actions will be to maintain the short-term year-on-year mentality evident in the Department of Health’s responses to the projected NHS overspends of 2015/16. Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

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Closures of community pharmacies in deprived areas could be “catastrophic” and place an “untenable” burden on local GPs, warn leading health organisations

Closures of community pharmacies in deprived areas could be “catastrophic” and place an “untenable” burden on local GPs, warn leading health organisations New research by YouGov commissioned for Dispensing Health Equality, published today by Pharmacy Voice, shows that, if faced with a closure, more than one in four people (29%) who would normally seek advice first from their local pharmacy on common ailments would instead make an appointment with their GP practice. According to NHS research, this rises to as many as four in five people in areas of high deprivation such as Fleetwood in Lancashire.

The government has indicated that its proposals will lead to up to one in four local pharmacies closing. The report argues that an uplift in GP appointments is untenable in any part of the country, but especially so in those areas that find it difficult to attract GPs in the first place.

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Guidance: Physical healthcare for people with mental health problems

Guidance: Physical healthcare for people with mental health problems This evidence-based information will help mental health nurses to improve the physical health and wellbeing of people living with mental health problems.

This document focuses on how to deal with some of the main risk factors for physical health problems, and helps to make sure that people living with mental health problems have the same access to health checks and healthcare as the rest of the population. Department of Health

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Key changes to vaccination and immunisation 2016/17

Key changes to vaccination and immunisation 2016/17 NHS Employers and the British Medical Associations' General Practitioners Committee have announced changes to the vaccination and immunisation programmes for 2016/17.

VIDEO: When antibiotics no longer work

VIDEO: When antibiotics no longer work As antibiotics resistance grows around the world, for some people even the strongest drugs no longer work. BBC News

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Call for more support for cancer carers

Call for more support for cancer carers The number of people caring for someone with cancer in the UK has risen to almost 1.5 million, according to a cancer charity. BBC News

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Pro-fat dietary advice 'irresponsible'

Former NHS chiefs call for increased taxation to prop up the ailing health service

Former NHS chiefs call for increased taxation to prop up the ailing health service Ministers must increase taxes to raise new cash for the NHS, a former chief executive of the health service in England has said, warning that no developed country would be able to cope with the spending squeeze inflicted on the health since the financial crisis of 2008. The Independent

Midwives should see abortion as part of the job, says RCM chief

Midwives should see abortion as part of the job, says RCM chief The chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives says staff should 'take the rough with the smooth' when dealing with pregnant women. The Independent

Ambulance delays linked to 35 deaths in past five years

Ambulance delays linked to 35 deaths in past five years Coroners warn over slow response and potentially fatal errors by crews and handlers struggling with staff and vehicle shortages

Thirty-five patients have died in the past five years after delays of up to six hours in an ambulance reaching them and mistakes by 999 call handlers and ambulance crew, coroners have warned.

The deaths – which include a nine-month-old baby, two other children, a student nurse, a mother-to-be and an 87-year-old woman with dementia – have exposed how NHS ambulance services, faced with sometimes chronic shortages of vehicles and staff, are struggling to cope with demand. Continue reading... The Guardian

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NHS in England reveals £2.45bn record deficit

NHS in England reveals £2.45bn record deficit NHS financial experts say true scale of overspend is even higher but has been hidden by use of ‘accounting tricks’

The NHS in England has run up a record deficit of £2.45bn – the biggest overspend in its history – as it struggles to cope with a surge in demand for care while suffering a major budget squeeze.

Official figures released on Friday by NHS Improvement showed that NHS trusts in England, which predominantly run hospitals, ended the 2015-16 financial year £461m worse than the organisation had forecast. The combined deficit is almost three times bigger than the £822m overspend incurred the year before, and more than 20 times the size of the £115m deficit as recently as 2013-14. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Simon Stevens: Economic tailspin from Brexit 'severe concern' for NHS

Simon Stevens: Economic tailspin from Brexit 'severe concern' for NHS Speaking on the Andrew Marr show NHS Chief Executive Simon Steven responds to Mark Carney's warning over Brexit and how economic uncertainty effects the NHS. The Daily Telegraph

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