The King’s Fund calls for NHS commitment to a new partnership with patients

The King’s Fund calls for NHS commitment to a new partnership with patients The King’s Fund is calling for all NHS organisations to commit to working more closely with patients to meet the requirements of a new relationship with patients and communities outlined in the NHS five year forward view.

See also:

• Patients as partners: building collaborative relationships among professionals, patients, carers and communities The King's Fund
• A new and powerful relationship with patients The King's Fund

The NHS if: challenging questions for the future

The NHS if: challenging questions for the future The severity of the challenges facing the NHS can often lead to short-term thinking. The King's Fund is launching a new series of essays that takes a step back from the 'here and now' to explore a range of hypothetical scenarios for the future of the NHS.

What if antibiotics were to stop working? What if every patient in the NHS were to have their genome mapped? What if people were to own their health data? The King's Fund

Research and analysis: Candida auris emergence in England

Research and analysis: Candida auris emergence in England Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen, associated with bloodstream infections, wound infections and otitis, first identified as the cause of a hospital outbreak in England in 2015. Developing knowledge about the epidemiology and prevalence in the UK, and related microbiological data, are recorded here. Public Health England

See also:

• PHE responds to cases of Candida auris in England Public Health England
• Rise of the terrifying fungal infection that's sweeping the globe: Yeast kills up to 60% of people it infects and is resistant to drugs The Daily Mail

Towards a new age: the future of the UK welfare state

Towards a new age: the future of the UK welfare state This publication features contributions from more than 20 leading public figures on the reforms necessary to ensure the future of the welfare state. It discusses the reforms to housing, health, education, the labour market, pension and welfare needed to ensure the future sustainability of the UK welfare state. The aim of the publication is to explore how population ageing might impact on the welfare state and what reforms to the welfare state might be necessary in order to ensure long run sustainability and maximise wellbeing? International Longevity Centre - UK

Blooming health

Blooming health A growing body of research suggests gardening is good for both physical and mental health. BBC News

Database of pharmaceutical industry payments to doctors goes live

Database of pharmaceutical industry payments to doctors goes live Details of payments and benefits in kind received by doctors, nurses and pharmacists have been published for first time by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. The ABPI estimates that 70% of health professionals receiving the payments have consented for their details to be disclosed.

The www.disclosureuk.org.uk database reveals that the pharmaceutical spent £340.3 million working with UK health professionals and organisations. On average, companies spent £3.1 million and Astra Zeneca spent the most - £41.7 million. OnMedica

See also:

• GMC urges greater transparency General Medical Council
• What are they hiding? A THIRD of health workers including top doctors refuse to admit if they've been given lavish perks or payments by drug firms The Daily Mail
• Drugs firms should refuse to pay doctors who won't declare earnings, says NHS The Daily Telegraph

Brexit price surge could deny patients life-saving drugs on NHS

Brexit price surge could deny patients life-saving drugs on NHS A 13-year-old suffering from a rare kidney disease says her treatment is now in question following post-Brexit price increases for medicine. The Independent

NHS seeks cure for its costly digital headache

NHS seeks cure for its costly digital headache Health sector accounts for nearly half of all reported data breaches in the UK, so what are the solutions?

This May two NHS trusts were fined almost £400,000 for failing to protect confidential information. Chelsea and Westminster revealed the email addresses of HIV service users, whileBlackpool teaching hospitals published private information about thousands of staff online. But are these incidents simply isolated sloppiness or a growing problem as the NHS digitises its records?

The health sector accounts for most data security breaches, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Its figures for the first quarter of 2016 show that there were 184 incidents in the sector, 41% of all the data breaches brought to its attention. Continue reading... The Guardian

Call for more autism training for NHS staff

Call for more autism training for NHS staff Study says the 700,000 people in UK living with autism should be guaranteed awareness in the health service

The NHS should train medical professionals to support people with autism so that patients do not feel they get inadequate treatment, an inquiry has found.

The Westminster commission on autism called on the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to remind clinical commissioning groups of the obligations to ensure staff have the skills to support autistic people. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• A Spectrum of Obstacles An Inquiry into Access to Healthcare for Autistic People The Westminster Commission on Autism

If Beveridge were alive today he might introduce NHS charges

If Beveridge were alive today he might introduce NHS charges It might be heresy to say it, but he might find the problems within health and social care all too difficult

It is nearly 75 years since Sir William Beveridge’s mighty report on Social insurance and allied services, which is widely seen to have founded the modern welfare state and to have played a key part in creating the national health service. The world has changed immensely since then, so what Beveridge would say today can only be a parlour game.

It has, however, to be incredibly short odds that he would look at the current NHS and at England’s social care system and conclude that the two were just not working well together. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• The Beveridge report revisited: where now for the welfare state? The Guardian

Doctors and nurses should not be afraid to CUDDLE dying children: New NHS guidelines say comfort and compassion 'are vital part of end of life care'

Doctors and nurses should not be afraid to CUDDLE dying children: New NHS guidelines say comfort and compassion 'are vital part of end of life care' Physical contact such as 'touch, holding and massage' should be given by doctors and nurses to help ease pain and agitation in dying children, NHS watchdog NICE said in new (draft) guidelines. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Final days BBC News

Cancer patients gaining rapid access to tests could save 10,000 lives a year

Cancer patients gaining rapid access to tests could save 10,000 lives a year GPs have been told to give patients rapid access to cancer testing in a bid to save 10,000 lives a year.

Family doctors should speed up diagnoses by booking key tests such as ultrasounds themselves, rather than making patients wait to see a specialist who then orders the procedures.

Amid the new guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which were published yesterday, GPs are specifically encouraged to order urgent gastrointestinal endoscopies for patients showing possible signs of stomach and oesophageal cancer. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Patients with suspected cancer to be diagnosed quicker under new NHS guidelines The Daily Mail