Awareness campaign about Female Gential Mutilation (FGM) launched in Northants after 30 cases reported in in six months

Awareness campaign about Female Gential Mutilation (FGM) launched in Northants after 30 cases reported in in six months Northampton General Hospital recorded 30 cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in a six-month period, figures released by Northamptonshire Police have revealed.

The county force has launched an awareness campaign timed to coincide with the run-up to the summer holidays, when children may be at a higher risk of being taken abroad to have FGM carried out. Northamptonshire Telegraph

What can England learn from Scotland?

What can England learn from Scotland? I was in Glasgow last week speaking at the annual NHS Scotland conference. I took the opportunity to meet national and local leaders to discuss areas of common concern. Three programmes of work in Scotland hold particular interest for the NHS in England. The King's Fund

Survey finds decline in clinical academics in UK medical schools

Survey finds decline in clinical academics in UK medical schools A new survey shows a decline in the numbers of medical clinical academic staff in contrast to the increase in consultants across the NHS over the past five years. Medical Schools Council

Preparing your nurses and midwives to revalidate in September

Preparing your nurses and midwives to revalidate in September The NMC is urging nurses and midwives due to revalidate in September to plan ahead. Find out what you can do to support them. NHS Employers

Let workers self-certify illness for 14 days, say GPs

Let workers self-certify illness for 14 days, say GPs Workers should be able to self-certify sickness for up to two weeks to help reduce unnecessary GP appointments, doctors say. BBC News

See also:

• Rise of the 'skivers' charter': Patients should be allowed to sign themselves off for two WEEKS without a doctor's note because GP's are 'too busy' to write them The Daily Mail
• Let workers sign themselves off sick for a fortnight say GPs, sparking fears of 'skiver's charter' The Daily Telegraph

Government ‘in denial’ about state of NHS funding crisis, say doctors’ leaders

Government ‘in denial’ about state of NHS funding crisis, say doctors’ leaders The government is in denial about the state of the funding crisis facing the NHS, the head of the doctors’ union has said.

Addressing the BMA’s annual representative meeting (ARM) in Belfast, yesterday, Mark Porter, chair of BMA Council, said that year-on-year funding cuts have left almost every acute trust in England in the red, with trusts facing a deficit of more than £2bn, a 20-fold increase in two years.

The UK spends less of a share of its wealth on healthcare than the EU average, and cuts of £200m to public health have affected many services locally, including sexual health and smoking cessation services. OnMedica

'Single most important act' to improve child health is to stop using fossil fuels, expert says

'Single most important act' to improve child health is to stop using fossil fuels, expert says The “single most important action” to improve the health of the world’s children would be to stop using vast amounts of fossil fuels, a leading health expert has claimed after reviewing scientific research on the effects of air pollution.

Doing so would lead to fewer children suffering from asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental problems that lower IQ, Professor Frederica Perera said. There would also be fewer premature babies and children born with a low birth weight. The Independent

Making NHS data public is not the same as making it accessible – we can and should do better

Making NHS data public is not the same as making it accessible – we can and should do better How should we explain hospital statistics to the parents of potential patients? Christina Pagel and David Spiegelhalter’s website helps make sense of them

Knowing your child needs heart surgery is daunting for any parent. Being able to reassure yourself that survival rates at your child’s hospital are in line with UK’s very high standards could help ease at least some of the anxiety. But would parents know where to look and if they did find them, how easy are the statistics to understand?

The NHS is increasingly publishing statistics about the surgery it undertakes, following on from a movement kickstarted by the Bristol Inquiry in the late 1990s into deaths of children after heart surgery. Ever more health data is being collected, and more transparent and open sharing of hospital summary data and outcomes has the power to transform the quality of NHS services further, even beyond the great improvements that have already been made. Continue reading... The Guardian

Widow to take fight to save frozen embryos to court

Widow to take fight to save frozen embryos to court Samantha and Clive Jefferies had been about to start fertility treatment with embryos when army veteran died suddenly

The widow of a Falklands war combat medic will go to the high court on Wednesday in an effort to prevent the couple’s frozen embryos from being destroyed.

Samantha Jefferies, 42, and her husband Clive were about to start fertility treatment with embryos they had created when he died suddenly in 2014 from a brain haemorrhage. He was 51 years old. Continue reading... The Guardian

Leading doctor: let me choose an assisted death

Leading doctor: let me choose an assisted death One of Britain’s leading doctors has said she would want the choice of an assisted death after watching her father struggle through his terminal illness.

Dr Clare Gerada, former chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners spoke out during a British Medical Association (BMA) conference debate on assisted dying. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Doctors SHOULD be allowed to help their patients die: Leading GP claims we are 'turning our backs' on terminal illnesses The Daily Mail