Thursday 1 December 2016

What if the NHS had to balance its books like local government?

What if the NHS had to balance its books like local government? The NHS if is a collection of essays that explores hypothetical scenarios and their impact on the future of health and care. Our aim is to encourage new thinking and debate about possible future scenarios that could fundamentally change health and care. This essay by Lord Kerslake, Chair of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and President of the Local Government Association, argues that there would be benefits if the NHS had to balance its books in the same way as local government.The King's Fund

Heavy workloads threaten training for doctors

Heavy workloads threaten training for doctors Increasingly heavy workloads are eroding the time doctors have for training, according to the General Medical Council’s (GMC) annual survey of medical education and training in the UK.

The 2016 national training survey, which canvassed opinions from around 55,000 doctors in training, showed that while most doctors continue to rate their training experience positively, there were areas of concern.

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Latest figures on detentions under the Mental Health Act

Latest figures on detentions under the Mental Health Act New statistics have been published by NHS Digital1 today on the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act2 in England throughout 2015/16.

Inpatients Formally Detained in Hospitals Under the Mental Health Act 1983 and patients subject to Supervised Community Treatment is a detailed study based on information from organisations in England which provide Mental Health Services and make use of the Mental Health Act 1983 legislation, as amended by the Mental Health Act 2007.

These include high security psychiatric hospitals as well other NHS service providers and independent hospitals. NHS Digital

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Councils urged to redesign speed bumps to cut pollution

Councils urged to redesign speed bumps to cut pollution Local authorities should consider lower speed limits, clean air zones and even redesign speed bumps in a bid to reduce air pollution, health experts say.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said "smooth" driving would cut air pollution, linked to 25,000 deaths a year in England.

But pollution experts said the measures will only make small improvements.

Prof Ian Colbeck, of the University of Essex, said the plans pressured local government at a time of budget cuts. BBC News

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UK has 'first sexually transmitted Zika'

UK has 'first sexually transmitted Zika' The first likely case of sexual transmission of Zika virus in the UK is reported by the authorities. BBC News

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Growing crisis in children and young people's mental health demands action

Growing crisis in children and young people's mental health demands action Young people face unprecedented social pressures, leading to serious psychological distress. Society’s response has been inadequate

Self-harm among young people, particularly girls, has rocketed in the last decade. The number of girls admitted to hospital after cutting themselves has quadrupled, incidents of poisoning have risen by more than 40%, and demand for university counselling services has mushroomed. Behind these figures are young people and families struggling to cope with toxic levels of mental distress.

In part these numbers reflect a greater awareness of mental health and willingness to seek help but more is going on than that. These figures are also evidence that the today’s generation of young people are facing unprecedented levels of social pressure leading to serious psychological distress. Our response, as a society, has not, as yet, been anywhere near sufficient to answer this cry for help. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Jeremy Hunt says calls for more NHS money are a 'misjudgment'

Jeremy Hunt says calls for more NHS money are a 'misjudgment' Health secretary criticises NHS Providers for seeking additional funds less than a year after receiving a ‘good settlement’

Jeremy Hunt has said calls for more money for the NHS are a “misjudgment” less than a year after the health service received a “good settlement” from the government.

The health secretary was responding to comments from Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers, the body that represents hospitals across England, who said on Tuesday that NHS trusts “simply cannot deliver all that they are being asked to deliver on the funding available”. Continue reading... The Guardian

Government inaction on social care funding needs a radical response

Government inaction on social care funding needs a radical response Re-stating the case for better funding is not enough, the sector needs a grassroots social movement to press for reform

The sense of disappointment bordering on despair about the autumn statement’s silence on social care is palpable throughout local government and the social care sector. The chorus of support for action was impressive and unprecedented, unifying many politicians of all parties, NHS leaders, royal medical colleges, the health select committee, independent thinktanks and the Care Quality Commission, as well as those who might be regarded as the “usual suspects”.

Calm and careful reflection is now needed as to why such a formidable and authoritative range of opinion was so comprehensively disregarded. Simply re-stating the case for better funding is not enough. What would it take for the government to act? Where do we go from here? What do we need to do differently?

It is unlikely more or better evidence alone will generate the necessary public support and political will for change

The case for a social movement that generates bottom-up pressure for action looks set to gather momentum Continue reading... The Guardian

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A&E and maternity wards could close if spending on agency doctors is not slashed

A&E and maternity wards could close if spending on agency doctors is not slashed Hospital departments such as Accident & Emergency departments and maternity could be forced to close if they do not slash spending on agency doctors, the head of the NHS has suggested.

Simon Stevens said the NHS needed to take drastic action to tackle “rip-off” spending on locus doctors.

The chief executive said any service spending rates of more than £150,000 a year per agency medic could face closure because it was “unsustainable” to keep such services open. The Daily Telegraph

Jeremy Hunt: Doctors and nurses should be put in charge of hospitals

Jeremy Hunt: Doctors and nurses should be put in charge of hospitals Doctors and nurses should be put in charge of hospitals, the Health Secretary has said, as he announced new plans to put more clinicians in charge.

Jeremy Hunt suggested the creation of an NHS management class in the 1980s was a “mistake” which should now be reversed, with frontline staff trained up to run hospitals.

Just one in three NHS hospital chief executives are currently former practising doctors and nurses. The Daily Telegraph

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