Friday 16 December 2016

'We just don't know how we will cope' says relative of patient at Northampton day care centre after council axes its contract

'We just don't know how we will cope' says relative of patient at Northampton day care centre after council axes its contract Northamptonshire County Council is to press ahead with plans to end its contract with a popular day care centre in Northampton, despite "hundreds" signing a petition against it and heartfelt pleas from the relatives of patients. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The Winter Insight: beds pressures

The Winter Insight: beds pressures Chief Economist Prof John Appleby presents the findings of a new analysis of bed occupancy levels from NHS England situation reports for last winter. The analysis suggests that the NHS could be on track for a very difficult winter this year.

The 25th of January this year – a Monday – was a particularly difficult day for the NHS in England. One in seven trusts reported that all their acute beds were full, and for nearly four out of 10, 98 per cent of their beds were occupied. And this was after opening nearly 4,200 more beds to accommodate extra patients.

On the following day, the number of extra beds trusts had to make available reached its highest level for the whole of last winter, when 4,390 extra beds were opened. That’s equivalent to opening up at least seven entire extra hospitals that day.

There was no respite during the rest of the week. University Hospitals Birmingham, Bolton, Northampton General, the North Middlesex, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, the Great Western in Swindon, Basildon & Thurrock, Epsom & St Helier and Kettering were all full every day that week with 100 per cent of their acute beds – including extra beds brought in temporarily – occupied. Nuffield Trust

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Policy paper: NHS bursary reform

Policy paper: NHS bursary reform From 1 August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health students will no longer receive NHS bursaries. Instead, they will have access to the same student loans system as other students. This guidance explains the reforms. The Department of Health

NHS England announces £101 million of new funding for new care model vanguards

NHS England announces £101 million of new funding for new care model vanguards NHS England has today (15 December) announced £101 million of new funding to support and spread the work of the new care model vanguards. The vanguards are partnerships of NHS, local government, voluntary, community and other organisations that are implementing plans to improve the healthcare people receive, prevent ill health and save funds.

Shaping healthy cities and economies: the role of clinical commissioning

Shaping healthy cities and economies: the role of clinical commissioning This report showcases how clinical leaders in England’s core cities - the eight largest cities outside of London - are looking at how the services they commission can improve not only the health but social and economic wellbeing of their populations. The report finds that in these areas, clinical commissioners are working with a wide range of partners to go beyond traditional boundaries to combat health inequalities and social exclusion, increase skills and employment and to attract inward investment to help realise the potential of their local economies. NHS Clinical Commissioners

GPs face backlog of over 100,000 patient letters after data warehouse error

GPs face backlog of over 100,000 patient letters after data warehouse error GP practices across England will be forced to process potentially hundreds of thousands of patient letters and documents kept by mistake in a warehouse by a former provider of primary care support services, the BMA has said. GP Online

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Sugar tax on soft drinks could prevent tens of thousands from becoming obese, says new study

Sugar tax on soft drinks could prevent tens of thousands from becoming obese, says new study A sugar tax on soft drinks could result in thousands fewer British adults and children becoming obese, research suggests.

Experts said the proposed levy, due to be introduced in April 2018, was likely to have a “significant” impact on health and obesity rates. The Independent

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Watchdog accuses Actavis of hiking price of lifesaving drug by 12,000%

Watchdog accuses Actavis of hiking price of lifesaving drug by 12,000% Pharmaceutical firm challenged over price rise for hydrocortisone tablets from 70p to £88 per tablet, costing NHS tens of millions of pounds extra each year

Pharmaceutical company Actavis is facing accusations from the competition watchdog that it hiked the price of life-saving hydrocortisone tablets by over 12,000%, sending the annual cost to the NHS spiralling from £522,000 before 2008 to £70m by 2015.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the price rises took place after the patent lapsed on the drug. About 943,000 packets of the tablets – prescribed to people whose adrenal glands do not produce enough steroid hormones, such as those suffering from Addison’s disease – were distributed over the last year. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Sedentary lifestyles: the hidden factor in the social care crisis

Sedentary lifestyles: the hidden factor in the social care crisis Taking exercise is a ‘miracle pill’ that can save us from physical and mental ill health in old age. So why are politicians so reluctant to promote it?

The current debate about the ever-growing pressure on social care services is by no means the first, and certainly won’t be the last. But it is always predicated around the same central assumption: with increasing numbers of older people, the costs can only go up. This is to miss an important point, one well known to public health experts but strangely ignored by most politicians. The problem isn’t just about an ageing population, it’s also about an increasingly sedentary one.

That far too many Britons are not physically active is well documented, even if the sheer extent can sometimes be surprising. For example, a fifth of Scottish people say they have not walked for more than 20 minutes even once over the past year. Not once. Also well known, if less discussed, is the toll this takes on the public health. The usual estimate is that about 85,000 people die early each year in England and Wales due to illnesses caused by sedentary living, mainly heart disease, type 2 diabetes and various cancers. Continue reading... The Guardian

You STILL can't see your GP out of hours: After all those promises to patients fewer than a fifth of surgeries offer appointments at the weekend

You STILL can't see your GP out of hours: After all those promises to patients fewer than a fifth of surgeries offer appointments at the weekend Tens of millions of patients still cannot see a GP out of hours despite a major drive for longer opening times, with fewer than a fifth of UK surgeries offering evening and weekend appointments. The Daily Mail

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Extra £900m will be made available for adult social care over next two years, says Sajid Javid

Extra £900m will be made available for adult social care over next two years, says Sajid Javid An extra £900m will be made available for social care over the next two years to help plug the social care gap, Sajid Javid has announced.

Critics have warned the Government's response to the crisis is comparable to putting a "sticking plaster" on "a patient that needs a triple by pass".

The Communities Secretary confirmed that local authorities will be allowed to bring forward a 6 per cent increase in council tax over the next two years. The Daily Telegraph

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