Monday 28 November 2016

Unmet need for health and social care: a growing problem?

Unmet need for health and social care: a growing problem? There is a great deal of focus in the health and care system on measuring the quality of care being provided. But what about care that isn’t provided at all?

We have published several reports this year highlighting pressures in community-based services, including social care and district nursing. These pieces of research raised concerns about changes to the availability and quality of services as a result of rising demand and insufficient funding and staff numbers. The reports also raised concerns that these pressures might be leading to rising levels of unmet need. The King's Fund

Multimorbidity – the biggest clinical challenge facing the NHS? – Dawn Moody and David Bramley

Multimorbidity – the biggest clinical challenge facing the NHS? – Dawn Moody and David Bramley Around one in four of us have two or more long-term conditions (LTCs), often known as ‘multimorbidity’ and this rises to two thirds of people aged 65 years or over. In this joint blog, Dawn Moody and David Bramley argue multimorbidity is therefore becoming the norm. NHS England

NHS safety - Warnings from all sides

NHS safety - Warnings from all sides This report seeks to summarise the warnings about safety and declining performance in the NHS and explore the link with the financial crisis. It is crucial that the government listens and responds to the powerful evidence and testimony from the frontline of our healthcare system. TUC

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2016 becomes worst year ever recorded for suicides in prisons

2016 becomes worst year ever recorded for suicides in prisons More than 100 people have lost their lives through suicide in prisons in England and Wales so far this year, an all-time record, it can be revealed today (Monday 28 November) as two charities publish new research on how to make jails safer.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has been notified of 102 people dying by suicide behind bars since the beginning of 2016 – one every three days.

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'No solid evidence' for IVF add-on success

'No solid evidence' for IVF add-on success Nearly all costly add-on treatments offered by UK fertility clinics to increase the chance of a birth through IVF are not supported by high-quality evidence proving that they work, a study has revealed.

The findings are the result of research commissioned by BBC Panorama and conducted by Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, world experts in assessing medical studies. BBC News

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'We've travelled 8,000 miles to see our anorexic daughter'

'We've travelled 8,000 miles to see our anorexic daughter' Bed shortages mean a young patient with anorexia has to be treated hundreds of miles from her family. BBC News

Pregnant women and new mums in mental health funding boost

Pregnant women and new mums in mental health funding boost Twenty areas across England are to receive funding to help pregnant women and new mums with severe mental health problems. BBC News

Patient safety at risk because of GPs' 'unmanageable' workloads, BMA survey finds

Patient safety at risk because of GPs' 'unmanageable' workloads, BMA survey finds GPs say patient safety is at risk due to “unmanageable” workloads.

A survey of 5,025 family doctors for the British Medical Association (BMA) found 57 per cent felt their workload was unmanageable, with a further 27 per cent saying it was excessive. This prevented GPs from delivering high-quality and safe care to patients at times, the survey found. The Independent

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Care for elderly ‘close to collapse’ across UK as council funding runs out

Care for elderly ‘close to collapse’ across UK as council funding runs out Theresa May under pressure as doctors urge funding U-turn and cross-party alliance warns millions of people are at risk

Theresa May is under intense pressure from senior doctors and a powerful cross-party alliance of politicians to avert a collapse in care for the elderly, as shocking new figures show the system close to meltdown. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Huge rise in hospital beds in England taken up by people with malnutrition

Huge rise in hospital beds in England taken up by people with malnutrition Critics blame three-fold rise on poverty, cutbacks to meals on wheels services for the elderly and inadequate social care

The number of hospital beds in England taken up by patients being treated for malnutrition has almost trebled over the last 10 years, in what charities say shows the “genuinely shocking” extent of hunger and poor diet.

Official figures reveal that people with malnutrition accounted for 184,528 hospital bed days last year, a huge rise on 65,048 in 2006-07. The sharp increase is adding to the pressures on hospitals, which are already struggling with record levels of overcrowding. Continue reading... The Guardian

Brexit means 'only major crisis will focus ministers on to NHS'

Brexit means 'only major crisis will focus ministers on to NHS' Former health boss Nigel Crisp says government will be distracted by leaving EU and there is no sign of mitigating action

The NHS and social care are at risk of being downgraded as a priority by a government distracted by Brexit unless there is a major public health crisis, the former chief executive of the NHS has warned.

Nigel Crisp, who ran the NHS and Department of Health for six years, said the government’s need to concentrate on the economics of leaving the EU would be one of the three biggest risks to health and social care posed by the referendum vote, along with loss of staff who are EU citizens and a brain drain from medical research. Continue reading... The Guardian

Doctors are assessing patients in phone calls before granting face-to-face appointments

Doctors are assessing patients in phone calls before granting face-to-face appointments The approach is being rolled out across 180 UK surgeries, covering 1.7 million people. Campaigners worry GPs will miss symptoms they would have spotted at close hand. The Daily  Mail

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NHS to use private firms to beat the winter crisis

NHS to use private firms to beat the winter crisis NHS hospitals have been ordered to hand over swathes of operations to the private sector to ease a looming winter crisis, according to leaked memos.

Health officials have also instructed hospitals to discharge thousands of patients in a bid to reduce record levels of crowding, while managers have been banned from declaring “black alerts”.

NHS trusts have been told to take a series of measures to dramatically reduce bed occupancy levels in an attempt to ensure that wards can cope as pressures mount.

Patients groups said the situation was “frightening”, while charities described the measures as an “extremely worrying” reflection of a system under “extraordinary pressure”. The Daily Telegraph

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GP urgent home visits to ease A&E crisis

GP urgent home visits to ease A&E crisis GPs are under pressure to provide emergency home visits to ease the crisis in overstretched A&E departments, NHS documents reveal.

Local doctors groups are being asked to establish “A&E Delivery Boards” and to draw up rotas of medics able to respond to 111 requests for urgent care at home.

The boards are ostensibly responsible for easing winter pressures, but the new NHS England best practice guidelines state the measures should remain in place all year round because of the unprecedented demand on hospitals. The Daily Telegraph