Tuesday 16 August 2016

Feeling the Wait: Annual Report on Elective Surgery Waiting Times

Feeling the Wait: Annual Report on Elective Surgery Waiting Times A new report has found a big increase in the number of patients waiting over the 18-week NHS target for elective surgery. The Patients Association

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Every NHS trust in England is now research-active

Every NHS trust in England is now research-active All 240 NHS trusts in England are research-active, as reported in the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) annual performance report 2015/2016.

Patients cared for in research-active acute NHS trusts have better patient outcomes, as supported by a study published in 2015 1. Research provides evidence about “what works” so that treatments for patients can be improved. Last year alone, 605,596 people took part in clinical research studies.

Jonathan Sheffield, Chief Executive, NIHR Clinical Research Network: “This is a fantastic achievement for the NHS as a whole and shows a real desire by the NHS to improve care for our patients through, and as a result of, research activity.

How to encourage staff to choose well and stay well

How to encourage staff to choose well and stay well Find out how Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust encouraged their staff to make better health choices and stay well at work. NHS Employers

Ongoing concerns that cataract surgery being cut to save cash

Ongoing concerns that cataract surgery being cut to save cash Fears that health secretary’s clear message to base decisions purely on clinical need will be ignored. OnMedica

New 'care atlas' reveals disparity in dementia care across UK

New 'care atlas' reveals disparity in dementia care across UK Atlas shows care review performed for less than half of patients in some parts of England but for nine out of ten in others

The government has begun to publish detailed information about which areas of England give people with dementia the best support, in an effort to reduce wide variation in the quality of care provided.

The Department of Health’s online “dementia atlas” will show, for example, how many sufferers have their care reviewed every year, as they all should, and how likely they are to end up dying where they normally live, usually at home or in a care home. Continue reading... The Guardian

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How much is the government really privatising the NHS?

How much is the government really privatising the NHS? Figures show privatisation to be less of an explosion that Owen Smith warns about and more a gradual, inexorable rise in outsourcing of services

The myriad different bodies that make up the NHS in England and their opaqueness, especially in regards to contracts to provide services, makes mapping the true extent of privatisation of public healthcare difficult.

But the available evidence bears out Owen Smith’s claim that NHS privatisation is increasing. However, it is less of an “explosion of privatisation” that the Labour leadership hopeful warns about and more a gradual, though inexorable, rise in the proportion of the NHS budget that is going to firms such as Virgin Care, Care UK and Bupa. It is also noteworthy that the private sector has been making ever bigger inroads into several key areas of NHS care, notably general practice, community services and mental health care. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Children's healthcare at 'breaking point', warn doctors

Children's healthcare at 'breaking point', warn doctors Children’s healthcare across the UK is at “breaking point” because of increasing staff shortages in paediatric departments, leading doctors have said as they warn the number of units may have to reduce.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) says healthcare for children is “starting to move backwards” and that more than half of paediatric units are now not meeting recommended staffing standards. The Daily Telegraph

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GPs paid to £100 an hour to work in local A&E department in desperate bid to solve weekend staffing crisis

GPs paid £100 an hour to work in local A&E department in desperate bid to solve weekend staffing crisis Staff holidays and gaps in the rota meant Ipswich Hospital was unable to fully staff the emergency unit itself - as an urgent appeal was sent out to ensure a safe level of cover. The Daily Mail

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