Tackling mental illness in children should begin before birth

Tackling mental illness in children should begin before birth Tackling mental illness in children should begin before they are born, at a time when expectant mothers can suffer mental health problems, say councils.

The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils, says this can have a potentially devastating impact on their new-born child which could set their personal and emotional development back by years.

See also:

• LGA urges councils and NHS to provide more help for children's mental health The Guardian

Patient Safety Collaboratives: making care safer for all

Patient Safety Collaboratives: making care safer for all Patient Safety Collaboratives are led by Academic Health Science Networks and are made up of NHS, academic and health care experts. The aim of the collaboratives is to improve patient safety, spread examples of success and influence system leaderships. This report highlights the work of 15 teams of Patient Safety Collaboratives that aimed to improve patient safety and reduce avoidable harm in the NHS. NHS Improvement

NHS to scrap single database of patients' medical details

NHS to scrap single database of patients' medical details The Department of Health in England is scrapping its controversial data-sharing project - known as Care.data.

The programme, which was due to launch in 2014, faced widespread criticism - including fears the public had been left in the dark about it.

The announcement comes as Dame Fiona Caldicott and the Care Quality Commission published two reviews on data security in English healthcare.

Their reports put forward a series of proposals to safeguard data in the NHS. BBC News
See also:

• Safe data, safe care Care Quality Commission
• Review of data security, consent and opt-outs Department of Health
• The role of the National Data Guardian for health and social care Department of Health
• Statement to Parliament: Review of health and care data security and consent Department of Health
• NHS must be beyond reproach when it comes to the use of patient data Royal College of General Practitioners
• NHS data-sharing project scrapped BBC News
• Controversial NHS project to harvest the medical files of millions of patients is finally scrapped The Daily Mail
• Controversial care.data plans scrapped as reports question how NHS uses data GP Online
• NHS to scrap single database of patients' medical details The Guardian
• Controversial mega-database of medical records scrapped over privacy concerns The Independent
• New measures proposed to bolster security of health and care information OnMedica

Viral hepatitis 'kills as many as Aids or TB'

Viral hepatitis 'kills as many as Aids or TB' Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death and disability across the globe, killing as many people as Aids or TB, research published in the Lancet suggests. BBC News

EU workers in the NHS: 'I've faced racial abuse and will head home'

EU workers in the NHS: 'I've faced racial abuse and will head home' Some 55,000 staff in the English health service are citizens of other EU countries. Here’s what they think about Brexit

On 23 June 2016, the British public voted to leave the European Union, plunging the UK and its public services into uncertainty. Nearly 55,000 of the 1.2 million staff in the English NHS are citizens of other EU countries, according to figures (pdf) from the Health and Social Care Information Centre. They carry out a range of vital roles including doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, support workers and administrative staff. Here’s what some of them had to say about the UK’s decision to leave the EU and what life is like at the moment. Continue reading... The Guardian

Junior doctors' new contract will be imposed from October - Jeremy Hunt

Junior doctors' new contract will be imposed from October - Jeremy Hunt The Government will impose a new contract on junior doctors from October, Jeremy Hunt has announced, heralding the possibility of further rounds of strikes.

The Health Secretary made the announcement after junior doctors and medical students voted decisively to reject the negotiated deal between the British Medical Association (BMA) in a referendum.

In his statement to Parliament, Mr Hunt excoriated the BMA for its conduct during the protracted dispute. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Statement to Parliament: Jeremy Hunt updates Parliament on junior doctors' contract Department of Health
• Britain’s National Health Service lurches towards another crisis The Economist
• Jeremy Hunt confirms plan to impose new junior doctor contract GP Online
• Jeremy Hunt to impose new contract on junior doctors The Guardian
• Junior doctors: Jeremy Hunt announces new contract will be imposed from October The Independent
• Junior doctors’ ballot result provokes widespread disappointment and dismay OnMedica