Monday 17 October 2016

Parking charges at Northampton General Hospital among most expensive in the country

Parking charges at Northampton General Hospital among most expensive in the country Patients at Northampton General Hospital are paying some of the highest parking prices in England, new figures have revealed.

The cost to park at NGH is the sixth highest in the country, with patients and visitors forced to fork to £3.10 for a one-hour visit (price for 0-3 hours).

This is higher than the The Royal Free Hospital in London (at £3), while the most expensive is the Royal Surrey County Hospital where it costs £4.

These prices have been revealed this week as part of a Freedom of Information request by the Press Association. Northampton Herald and Post

Commitments to increase mental health funding not reaching the front line

Commitments to increase mental health funding not reaching the front line
Promised increases in funding for mental health services have not materialised in many areas of the country, according to a new analysis.

The analysis shows that 40 per cent of mental health trusts saw their income fall in 2015/16. This is despite the government’s commitment to parity of esteem for mental health and assurances from NHS England that almost 90 per cent of plans submitted by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) last year included mental health funding increases. NHS England had made it clear that it expected CCGs to increase mental health funding in 2015/16.

The findings are based on analysis of the annual accounts of all 58 mental health trusts in England. Given that mental health trusts provide about 80 per cent of all mental health care, the fact that income fell in so many trusts last year provides a clear indication that the promised funding increases are not reaching the front line. The analysis also showed that a higher proportion of trusts ended the year in deficit than in previous years. The King's Fund

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New birth injuries compensation scheme announced

New birth injuries compensation scheme announced The government is proposing a new system for compensating parents in England for injuries to babies during birth, which will allow medical staff to speak openly. BBC News

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Investigation over cancer 'cure' GcMAF in health food shop

Investigation over cancer 'cure' GcMAF in health food shop An undercover investigation by 5 live Investigates has found an unlicensed blood product being sold illegally in the UK to treat cancer. BBC News

Midwives: NHS spending on agency staff in England doubles to £25m

Midwives: NHS spending on agency staff in England doubles to £25m The NHS in England spent £25m on agency midwives last year - more than double the figure for 2013, a report from the Royal College of Midwives says. BBC News

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Act now or the NHS will be insurance-based system within 10 years, warns doctor who resigned on live TV

Act now or the NHS will be insurance-based system within 10 years, warns doctor who resigned on live TV As dramatic resignations go, handing in your notice on live TV has to be up there – particularly when your boss is Jeremy Hunt. In April this year Dr Ben White appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the first ever all-out doctors’ strike. “I am resigning as a trainee doctor to focus on a legal campaign to fight the [junior doctors] contract on behalf of my patients and on behalf of the NHS,” Dr White said. iNews

Could Brexit prove terminal for the NHS?

Could Brexit prove terminal for the NHS? With Britain’s dedicated foreign medical staff under threat, an already beleaguered national health service faces possibly the biggest crisis in its history

All human life is in Homerton hospital’s car park. Or at least, passing through Homerton hospital car park on the way to A&E or outpatients or maternity. A Bangladeshi woman in a wheelchair. A Hasidic Jewish schoolboy with ringlets and a limp. A bearded hipster with a newborn baby in a plastic carrycot. Inside there are nurses from the Philippines, from Spain, from Italy, from Gambia, from the Caribbean. There are doctors from India, and radiographers from Germany, and anaesthetists from Pakistan, and cleaners from Ghana, and midwives from Nigeria. To cut to the chase: there is everyone from everywhere. And of course they’re not alone in this. With more than half of all doctors coming from abroad – as they have since at least the late 60s – Homerton hospital in the East End of London is like every NHS hospital in every city in Britain. Continue reading... The Guardian

No extra money for NHS, Theresa May tells health chief

No extra money for NHS, Theresa May tells health chief Exclusive: PM says service should focus on efficiencies to fill £22bn hole despite warnings hospitals close to breaking point

Theresa May has told the head of the NHS that it will get no extra money despite rapidly escalating problems that led to warnings this week that hospitals are close to breaking point.

The prime minister dashed any hopes of a cash boost in next month’s autumn statement when she met Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, senior NHS sources have told the Guardian. Instead she told him last month that the NHS should urgently focus on making efficiencies to fill the £22bn hole in its finances and not publicly seek more than the “£10bn extra” that ministers insist they have already pledged to provide during this parliamentContinue reading... The Guardian

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Shocking picture shows freezing pensioner forced to wait 3 HOURS in the pouring rain for an ambulance after breaking her leg

Shocking picture shows freezing pensioner forced to wait 3 HOURS in the pouring rain for an ambulance after breaking her leg Hazel Baines, from Grantham, was given an umbrella to protect her from the rain during her wait. She reached hospital seven hours after her fall - where she doctors said she had a broken femur. The Daily Mail

Cuts to subsidies will force 1,600 rural pharmacies to shut

Cuts to subsidies will force 1,600 rural pharmacies to shut More than 1,600 pharmacies in rural areas face closure because they will not benefit from a promised government financial package, leaked documents indicate.

Ministers are expected to unveil a large cut in the annual subsidy for community chemists in the next few days.

The cuts have proved highly controversial, with a record 2.2 million people – one in 30 of the population of Britain – signing a petition against them. The Daily Telegraph

Breast implant operations to be logged in cosmetic clampdown 

Breast implant operations to be logged in cosmetic clampdown A new national register will log every breast implant operation in England to prevent a repeat of the scandal in which thousands of women received substandard devices.

The registry will record the details of patients having cosmetic surgery, so they can be traced in the event of a product recall or other safety concern. The Daily Telegraph

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