Thursday 16 June 2016

Northampton dad who lost three pints of blood through head wound waited six hours for ambulance

Northampton dad who lost three pints of blood through head wound waited six hours for ambulance A Northampton man who was knocked unconscious for eight minutes after a fall was forced to wait six hours to be seen by paramedics. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Leadership in the NHS: thoughts of a newcomer

Leadership in the NHS: thoughts of a newcomer Marcus Powell joined The King’s Fund earlier this year as Director of Leadership and Organisational Development, having spent his whole career outside the NHS in the private sector. This paper contains his initial observations about leadership in the NHS. The King's Fund

Better mental health for all: a public health approach to mental health improvement

Better mental health for all: a public health approach to mental health improvement This report focuses on what can be done individually and collectively to enhance the mental health of individuals, families and communities by using a public health approach. It is intended as a resource for public health practitioners to support the development of knowledge and skills in public mental health. It presents the latter from the perspective of those working within public health, giving valuable interdisciplinary perspectives that focus on achieving health gains across the population. Faculty of Public Health

Stepping up to the place: The Key to successful health and care integration

Stepping up to the place: The Key to successful health and care integration Bringing together health and social care has been a constant and dominant policy theme for many decades, and many places around the country are already demonstrating the potential to do things differently.

We - the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, Local Government Association, NHS Clinical Commissioners and NHS Confederation - believe it is time to put integrated systems and services to the test, to translate aspirations into action, and to ensure they deliver for our citizens.

So we have come together to describe what a fully integrated, transformed system should look like based on what the evidence tells us.

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Six principles for engaging people and communities: putting them into practice

Six principles for engaging people and communities: putting them into practice This document is about creating person-centred, community-focused approaches to health, wellbeing and care. It builds on the proposed new relationship with patients and communities set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View. It aims to complement a wider suite of products to be produced by national bodies for the health and care system as it moves forward with the implementation of innovations in care delivery. National Voices

Edward Mallen suicide: Mental health care 'not fit for purpose' says father

Edward Mallen suicide: Mental health care 'not fit for purpose' says father The father of a teenager who took his own life has said his death proves the mental health system in England is "not really fit for purpose".

Edward Mallen, 18, took his own life at Meldreth rail crossing near Cambridge on 9 February 2015.

His GP had said the boy should be seen by mental health professionals within 24 hours but an NHS health trust deemed him not to be at significant risk.

The trust has admitted "things... could have been done better".

Mr Mallen, who was expected to take up a place at Cambridge University, killed himself shortly after his 18th birthday. BBC News

'Safety concerns' at ambulance trust

'Safety concerns' at ambulance trust One of the UK's busiest ambulance services is being investigated after reports of bullying and harassment and a dispatch system described as "unfit for purpose". BBC News

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Exclusive: GPs demand urgent overhaul of 'unsafe' NHS prescribing system

Exclusive: GPs demand urgent overhaul of 'unsafe' NHS prescribing system Millions of GP prescriptions cannot be traced to the individual doctor that issued them because the NHS has failed to overhaul a system that is a relic of the 1950s, GP leaders have warned. GP Online

Health experts call for illegal drug use and possession to be decriminalised

Health experts call for illegal drug use and possession to be decriminalised The “war on drugs” has failed in terms of public health and drug use should be decriminalised, two leading organisations have said.

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) said the personal possession and use of all illegal drugs should no longer be considered a criminal offence.

While the bodies still support criminal charges for people who deal drugs, they said users should instead be referred for treatment and help. The Independent

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Don Berwick: I have growing confidence in NHS's ability to deliver change

Don Berwick: I have growing confidence in NHS's ability to deliver change American healthcare expert speaks highly of ‘vanguard sites’ – but says change could take some time.

As the financial crisis mounts and performance deteriorates, renowned American healthcare expert Don Berwick says he has a “high and growing” confidence in the ability of the NHS to find a way through, with staff determined to change the way they deliver care – but central interference could wreck ambitions.

Berwick built an international reputation as president and chief executive of the US-basedInstitute for Healthcare Improvement, bringing a scientific approach to the quality, safety and cost of healthcare systems. Continue reading... The Guardian

Stephen Dorrell: We can't just keep bailing out A&E

Stephen Dorrell: We can't just keep bailing out A&E The NHS Confederation chair, and former health secretary, says funding urgent care cannot be at the expense of preventing illness. The NHS must start working with councils, public health and housing

As the NHS family gathers for its annual showpiece conference this week, anyone expecting that family’s new patriarch to speak in its narrow interest is in for a rude shock. For Stephen Dorrell, chair of the NHS Confederation, is going to tell the movers and shakers of the health service that neither they – nor the service – have any future unless they start to think and act very differently. And quickly.

If the NHS is not yet on its knees, it is surely sinking to them. Hospitals in England ended the 2015-16 financial year with unprecedented debts of almost £2.5bn; the plan to realise savings of £22bn by 2020 looks dead in the water; and of a rash of performance indicators out last week, all moving either in the wrong direction or alarmingly little in the right one for the time of year, the most concerning was a record number of patients stuck in hospital when ready for discharge.

Manchester city council’s chief executive, Sir Howard Bernstein, is one of the most influential people in healthcare

It would be without precedent for any advanced society not to devote some proceeds of economic growth to health and care Continue reading... The Guardian

Digital technology could help 'save the NHS' from financial meltdown

Digital technology could help 'save the NHS' from financial meltdown An app which could help commuters find the least polluted route to work and a breathalyser which can detect early signs of cancer are among inventions which could help to ease pressure on the health service, a major report suggests.

The nationwide NHS project is attempting to ensure that the public benefits more quickly from gadgets and ideas which can save the health service time and money, while improving patient care. The Daily Telegraph

Needless baby deaths caused by wrangling over NHS funding

Needless baby deaths caused by wrangling over NHS funding Babies are dying and mothers and unborn children put at needless risk because of wrangles over NHS funding, doctors have warned.

A leaked letter from consultants at specialist units highlights “multiple cases” across the country where women and babies have been subject to “avoidable harm” as a result of a new funding system.

When cases are complicated, or have a risk of complications, general hospitals are supposed to refer them to specialist centres.

But experts say changes to the NHS payment system mean the hospitals cannot afford the bills they are charged. The Daily Telegraph

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