“Blackmail” claim as planned cuts to team which prevents NHS bed blocking comes under fire at NCC

“Blackmail” claim as planned cuts to team which prevents NHS bed blocking comes under fire at NCC The county council is effectively “blackmailing” the NHS by slashing funding to a team which prevents hospital bed blockers, according to the opposition’s finance chief. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Integrating health and social care

Integrating health and social care An ageing population and the increasing prevalence of long-term conditions are putting pressure on health and social care services. The four UK nations have committed to better integration between health and social care as one solution to these challenges. This briefing outlines what integration is, examines policies to enable it and gives examples of integration in England. It also looks at the evidence on the challenges of achieving integration and assessing the effectiveness of approaches. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology

Far from home

Far from home A mother says her anorexic teenage daughter was passed to six different hospitals in two years, and now she has to travel 200 miles to see her. BBC News

Floss or not?

Floss or not? An investigation into flossing finds years of dental recommendations are backed up by "unreliable" research, so should you floss or not? BBC News

Two-year tariff ‘can help stabilise NHS planning’

Two-year tariff ‘can help stabilise NHS planning’ CCGs invited to comment on potential impact of NHS improvement’s proposals. OnMedica

What can the UK learn from New York's approach to mental health?

What can the UK learn from New York's approach to mental health? New York’s mayor has thrown his weight behind a mental health programme focusing on prevention and recovery – the UK should take notice

New York mayor Bill de Blasio’s new programme of mental health spending is impressive in its scale, leadership and depth of resources, and could provide a lesson for central and local government leaders in the UK.

The programme, Thrive, comes with a mental health roadmap [pdf] for the city that states its ambitious aims: “It is our goal to not only reduce the toll of mental illness, but also promote mental health and protect New Yorkers’ resiliency, self-esteem, family strength and joy.” Continue reading... The Guardian

Anger after NHS warns PrEP HIV drug could put other treatments at risk

Anger after NHS warns PrEP HIV drug could put other treatments at risk NHS England says funding preventive pill may mean it cannot pay to treat conditions such as cystic fibrosis after court ruling

A warning from NHS England that it cannot confirm funding for drugs to treat rare conditions including cystic fibrosis in children if it is to pay for an HIV prevention pill has been criticised by Aids campaigners.

The high court ruled on Wednesday that NHS England can fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that cuts the risk of HIV infection by almost 90% and is aimed particularly at men who have unprotected sex with multiple male partners. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• August update on the commissioning and provision of Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PREP) for HIV prevention NHS England
• HIV is back on the front pages The King's Fund
• NHS cut raft of new treatments after HIV drug High Court ruling The Daily Mail
• The Daily Mail’s PrEP story was like going back to the dark old days of the 80s The Guardian
• PrEP HIV drugs: fight for limited NHS funds takes unedifying turn The Guardian

More than half of supermarket discounts are for unhealthy options

More than half of supermarket discounts are for unhealthy options Only a third of fruit and vegetables were discounted, compared to 52 per cent of confectionery, according to analysis of supermarket offers by consumer group Which? The Daily Mail

See also:

• Call for supermarket price offers on healthy food BBC News
• Supermarkets accused of promoting obesity by allowing 'special offers' on seven out of 10 fizzy drinks The Daily Telegraph
• Supermarkets urged to cut prices on healthy food OnMedica

British abuse of prescription drugs some of the worst in Europe

British abuse of prescription drugs some of the worst in Europe Endemic misuse of prescription drugs has traditionally been thought of as a US affliction, but new research suggests European habits are catching up, with Britain one of the worst offenders.

A new study, based on surveys of more than 20,000 people, indicates UK adults are the most likely in Europe to abuse stimulant prescription drugs such as Ritalin and types of amphetamine.

Almost one in 10 British people aged 18 or older admitted to a lifetime pattern of stimulant abuse, ahead of Spain on 6.8 per cent and Sweden on 6.1. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Nonmedical use of prescription drugs in the European Union (open access) BMC Psychiatry 

Spending on diabetes prescriptions doubles to £1 billion in ten years

Spending on diabetes prescriptions doubles to £1 billion in ten years The escalating diabetes crisis is now costing the NHS almost £1 billion a year in prescriptions to treat and manage the disease.

Total spending spiralled by £88 million over the last financial year and now makes up 10.6 per cent of the total cost of all prescribing in GP surgeries and other primary care.

The £956.7 million cost for 2015-16 is almost double the £513.9 million spent in 2005-06, when diabetes drugs accounted for 6.6 per cent of the overall spend.

It means the taxpayer in England is spending around £2.6 million each day on drugs for all cases of the disease, of which a significant proportion are linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Rising cost of drugs for diabetes approaches £1 billion per year NHS Digital
• The soaring cost of diabetes: NHS spending nearly DOUBLES in a decade thanks to the nation's bulging waistline The Daily Mail
• Diabetes drugs cost NHS nearly £1bn a year The Guardian
• Diabetes drugs costs NHS England nearly £1bn a year OnMedica