Tuesday 13 September 2016

STP leaders face major challenges in transforming care and balancing budgets

STP leaders face major challenges in transforming care and balancing budgets The NHS in England is in the final stages of developing five-year sustainability and transformation plans (STPs). These plans are the product of work by providers and commissioners in the 44 areas identified as the ‘footprints’ for planning purposes. Local authorities have contributed to the STPs to varying degrees but involvement of other stakeholders has been limited, and as yet there has been no public consultation. The King's Fund

Understanding and preventing drug-related deaths: the report of a national expert working group to investigate drug-related deaths in England

Understanding and preventing drug-related deaths: the report of a national expert working group to investigate drug-related deaths in England This report makes recommendations towards addressing the rising number of people dying from drug misuse in England and highlights a number of principles for action by local authorities, drug treatment providers and partner organisations. The national expert working group advocate a whole-system approach to substance abuse treatment and a personalised approach which is tailored to patient needs. Public Health England

Lightning Review: Children's access to school nurses to improve wellbeing and protect them from harm

Support from the start: commissioning early intervention services for mental ill health

Support from the start: commissioning early intervention services for mental ill health This report showcases projects that promote early intervention in mental health and draws out tips from commissioners and practitioners involved in their development and delivery. The report highlights four projects where CCGs and their partners are tackling the challenge of early intervention and it aims to share the learning and good practice from these projects. NHS Clinical Commissioners 

MPs call for medical cannabis to be made legal

MPs call for medical cannabis to be made legal Cannabis for medical use should be made legal, says a cross-party group of UK politicians. BBC News

Girls face huge quality of life difference across England

Girls face huge quality of life difference across England Girls growing up in parts of England have a much lower quality of life than others, according to analysis of official statistics. BBC News

Hospitals still wasting 15m appointments a year by dumping work on GPs, warns GPC

Hospitals still wasting 15m appointments a year by dumping work on GPs, warns GPC NHS hospitals across England are wasting around 15m GP appointments a year by dumping work unnecessarily on practices and are ignoring a clause written into their contracts to prevent this, the BMA has warned. GP Online

Diabetes increase putting NHS future 'at stake'

Diabetes increase putting NHS future 'at stake' Treating diabetes and the complications arising from it costs the NHS around £10 billion annually.

Tackling diabetes is “fundamental” to the future of NHS as the number of adults with the condition nears four million, Public Health England has warned.

Around 3.8 million adults in England now have diabetes, with at least 940,000 of those undiagnosed, new figures have revealed.

About 90 per cent of the cases are Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to being overweight and obese and therefore largely preventable, PHE, who released the data, said. The Independent

NHS facing 'pockets of meltdown' this winter

NHS facing 'pockets of meltdown' this winter Mark Holland, an expert in acute medicine, warns of a national emergency as bed-blocking reaches record levels

The NHS will experience “pockets of meltdown” this winter as the service comes under increasing pressure, a leading doctor has warned.

Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the resilience of medical units was being “put to the test like never before”. Continue reading... The Guardian

The secret life of an anaesthetist: if surgeons are the blood, we are the brains

The secret life of an anaesthetist: if surgeons are the blood, we are the brains During an operation, your life is in our hands. But despite the highly sensitive role we play, we are all but invisible to our patients

You have to get used to being invisible as an anaesthetist. A large percentage of the public has no idea that we’re medically qualified. I’ve been asked how many GCSEs you need to be an anaesthetist. In fact our training is as long as that of a surgeon. It takes seven years of specialist studies after you’ve already completed two years of basic general training; and that’s after five or six years at medical school.

Patients always remember the name of their surgeon, never that of their anaesthetist. But it’s still a hugely rewarding job. We’re everywhere in the hospital. In theatre obviously, but also in intensive care, on the wards, in the emergency department, and in the pain clinic, with those who are really suffering. We assess people’s fitness for surgery, how likely they are to suffer complications, and support them through the operation itself and into the postoperative period.

If there’s an emergency during an operation the team looks to the anaesthetist for leadership. If you panic, it spreads Continue reading... The Guardian

'Health Service doesn't need more money' says Minister.

'Health Service doesn't need more money' says Minister. A bitter row broke out last night after hospital bosses claimed the NHS will no longer be able to provide the services patients expect without more cash. But ministers said what they've agreed is enough. The Daily Mail

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Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey faces disciplinary hearing

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey faces disciplinary hearing Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey is facing a disciplinary hearing linked to her return to the UK with the virus.

The case of the Scottish medical worker, who was infected with the virus while working in Sierra Leone in December 2014, will be heard at a fitness to practise hearing in Edinburgh on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It is not known whether Ms Cafferkey will attend the hearing and details of the finalised charges to be considered by the panel have not yet been released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The Daily Telegraph

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