Older people are paying the price for cuts to social care

Older people are paying the price for cuts to social care The care and support older people receive increasingly depends on where they live and how much money they have rather than their needs, according to a new report by The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust.

Six consecutive years of cuts to local authority budgets, rising demand for services and shortages of staff have left the social care system increasingly unable to meet the needs of the older people who depend on it. The report finds that this is placing an unacceptable burden on unpaid carers and is leaving rising numbers of older people who have difficulty with the basic activities of daily living – such as washing, dressing and getting out of bed – without any support at all. The King's Fund

See also:

• Social care for older people: Home truths (report) The King's Fund
• Home truths: are older people paying the price for social care cuts? The King's Fund
• When social care is cut the NHS bleeds NHS Providers
• Care for elderly 'increasingly rationed' in England BBC News
• How the care system works across the UK BBC News
• Care costs BBC News
• The alternatives to traditional care BBC News
• Elderly care shortages now the ‘burning injustice’ facing Theresa May’s Britain The Daily Telegraph 
• Elderly Britons bearing brunt of cuts to social care, report warns The Guardian

Exclusive: Survey finds doctors 'rationing care' as cash crisis hits NHS

Exclusive: Survey finds doctors 'rationing care' as cash crisis hits NHS More than two thirds of doctors admit they have been left with no choice but to ration care as the NHS cash crisis intensifies.

Services and treatments including mental health care for children, hip and knee replacements and cancer drugs are being restricted in order to save money.

A survey of 1,000 doctors conducted exclusively for ITV News reveals patients are being denied treatments including varicose vein removal and cataract surgery, and forced to pay for care privately or wait for their condition to worsen.

Some patients ended up in A&E because they were refused treatment, the research concluded. ITV News

UK Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey cleared of misconduct

UK Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey cleared of misconduct UK nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, cleared of misconduct by disciplinary panel. BBC News

New care models promised in Five Year Forward View may be 15 years away

New care models promised in Five Year Forward View may be 15 years away New models of care outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View to provide care at scale could take a decade longer to set up than planned and may fail to deliver efficiency savings, NHS Providers has warned. GP Online

BMA accuses Capita of multiple failures

BMA accuses Capita of multiple failures GP leaders in England have warned that patient safety is being compromised by multiple failures in back office support services currently run by Capita.

It comes after a qualitative survey by the BMA of Local Medical Committees (LMCs), revealed serious failures in a range of areas Capita is now responsible for as part of its contract with NHS England to run Primary Care Support (PCS) services. OnMedica

See also:

• Support services failure threatens patient safety British Medical Association
• Capita failing on managing patient records, says BMA BBC News
• Patient safety at risk due to Capita failings, BMA warns GP Online

DH rejects priority mental health assessments for children in care

DH rejects priority mental health assessments for children in care Recommendations for children in care to automatically receive an assessment of their mental health have been rejected by the Department of Health.

A recent report by the Education Select Committee found that children in care frequently struggle to access mental health services because of factors such as frequent relocations, as reported in NHE’s sister title, Public Sector Executive.

It therefore recommended that children in care should have priority access to specialist mental health assessments.

However, in its response to the report, the Department of Health said: “We do not accept the committee’s recommendation as it stands.” National Health Executive

See also:

• Mental health and wellbeing of looked-after children: response Department of Health

MPs slam 'national scandal' of FGM- Britain's hidden crime

MPs slam 'national scandal' of FGM- Britain's hidden crime Britain’s failure to protect girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) has been described as a “national scandal” by a committee of MPs, who said it was “beyond belief” that, 30 years since it became illegal, not a single person has been convicted of the crime. They described it as a “hidden crime” and “preventable” child abuse.

The committee warned: “FGM is not a religious or cultural rite of passage that deserves protection. When it is inflicted on a woman, it is a horrific crime. When it is inflicted on a girl, it is violent child abuse. It involves young girls’ genitalia being cut with scissors, a razor, a knife or even glass, usually with no anaesthetic or antiseptic. The Independent

See also:

• Ongoing failure to tackle "national scandal" of female genital mutilation Home Affairs Select Committee
• Female genital mutilation: abuse unchecked (report) Home Affairs Select 
• FGM: Lack of convictions 'a national scandal' BBC News
• MPs report reveal nearly 500 girls are having FGM procedure every month The Daily Mail
• MPs demand hard line against clinicians who do not report FGM The Guardian

NHS boss warns of four hard years ahead after health service gets less cash than requested

NHS boss warns of four hard years ahead after health service gets less cash than requested The head of the NHS has warned of four hard years ahead for the health service – dismissing ministers’ claims that it has been given all the money it needs.

Simon Stevens warned that much of a promised extra £10bn each year has been “back-ended to 2020”, which means promised improvements would be delayed and tough choices inevitable in the interim.

Speaking to an inquiry by MPs – days after hospital bosses broke cover to argue the NHS will reach breaking point without more money – Mr Stevens admitted to the looming funding shortfall. The Independent

Rise in prisoners moved to mental health hospitals

Rise in prisoners moved to mental health hospitals Transfers increase by 20% in England and Wales, amid concerns over increase in prison suicides and self-harm

More prisoners are being diagnosed with mental health problems requiring hospital treatment, official figures obtained by the Guardian show.

The number of male prisoners being transferred to hospital under the 1983 Mental Health Act grew by more than 20% between 2011 and 2014 in England and Wales, said the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in response to a freedom of information request. Continue reading... The Guardian

More than 15,000 GPs earning more than £100,000, official figures show

More than 15,000 GPs earning more than £100,000, official figures show More than 15,000 family doctors are earning more than £100,000 a year, official figures show, with soaring numbers receiving more than £250,000 annually.

New data shows that average pay for a GP partner is now £101,500 – a rise of 1.7 per cent during 2014/15, as the NHS plunged into deficit.

The figures for England include 15,190 GPs earning more than £100,000, of whom 660 received at least £200,000, with 180 paid more than £250,000 in total. The previous year, 14,910 family doctors received six-figure earnings, with 560 passing the £200,000 mark, and 150 on at least £250,000. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Latest figures released on the earnings and expenses of GPs and dentists NHS Digital
• GP expenses hit all-time high as pay flatlines GP Online

Sugar tax loophole will still allow cut-price fattening drinks, warns obesity expert

Sugar tax loophole will still allow cut-price fattening drinks, warns obesity expert Retailers will still be able to sell cut-price fattening drinks because of a loophole in the new sugar levy, the Government’s obesity adviser has warned.

The flagship new measure could fail to encourage healthier shopping habits by making sugary drinks more expensive than low-sugar options, said Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at the University of Oxford.

Under Soft Drinks Industry Levy, manufacturers will pay a charge for the amount of sugar they introduce into the drinks market, but the policy does not stipulate how the cost should be passed onto consumers. The Daily Telegraph