Thursday 22 December 2016

"Children in Northamptonshire suffer preventable harm" because early intervention budget slashed by £11m, charity says

"Children in Northamptonshire suffer preventable harm" because early intervention budget slashed by £11m, charity says Reductions in Government expenditure means Northamptonshire could be storing up "entrenched, serious and expensive" for its children, a report has found.

The study by The Children’s Society, who provide support for vulnerable children across the country, has revealed how Northamptonshire County Council have been awarded £11,430,875 less in early intervention funding compared with 2010.

The early intervention grant can aid babies and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Demand and activity in the NHS: still rising

Demand and activity in the NHS: still rising Our briefing looks at the increase in activity in English hospitals over the past 13 years. It shows that recent increases in demand for treatment are nothing new – on the contrary they are broadly in line with the longstanding trend. What is remarkable is how widespread and sustained these increases are across emergency admissions, elective admissions, outpatients and A&E attendances. Perhaps the only oddity is diagnostics, where the growth is even higher, with activity having doubled since 2006/7. The King's Fund

Ombudsmen issue report showing benefits of integrating health and social care complaints investigations

Ombudsmen issue report showing benefits of integrating health and social care complaints investigations Adopting an integrated approach to investigating complaints about health and social care has led to significant benefits, according to a new report by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).

Published today (22/12/16), the report explains the work of the ombudsmen’s Joint Working Team (JWT), which was set up in 2015 to investigate the most complex joint health and social care complaints. During its first year the team carried out 180 investigations. It discovered that many of the problems experienced have been caused by the complex way in which health and social care is provided at a local level.

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Sustainability and public health: a guide to good practice

Sustainability and public health: a guide to good practice These resources can help health professionals and other practitioners make informed decisions about the public health benefits of sustainable development. Public Health England

Independent Review of Community Pharmacy Clinical Services

Independent Review of Community Pharmacy Clinical Services The Independent Review of Community Pharmacy Clinical Services commissioned by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer of NHS England in April 2016 to help inform him about the future provision of clinical pharmacy services.

NHS England intends to use the recommendations of the independent review to inform its approach to the commissioning of NHS community pharmacy services once the review recommendations have been properly considered.

Shared commitment to quality from the National Quality Board

Shared commitment to quality from the National Quality Board This framework provides a nationally agreed definition of quality and guide for clinical and managerial leaders wanting to improve quality. The approach has been agreed across NHS and social care organisations to provide more consistency and to enable the system to work together more effectively. NHS England

NHS transformation plans: Cuts or change for better?

NHS transformation plans: Cuts or change for better? The process has been bubbling along beneath the radar for months.

The Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) across the NHS in England have been overshadowed by controversy, with critics arguing they are part of a secret cuts agenda.

Each of 44 areas of England was asked to come up with a plan to make the best use of resources at a time of rising patient demand, with one of the main aims being to maximise the provision of care outside hospitals and closer to a patient's home.

Now an NHS leader has come out for the first time to defend the exercise.

Sir Bruce Keogh, Medical Director of NHS England, has given an exclusive interview to BBC News

Life changing: The city that wants to stamp out suicide

Life changing: The city that wants to stamp out suicide The number of people taking their own lives is "unacceptably high", MPs say. Does one city which plans to eliminate suicide altogether have the answer?

Is it possible to reach even a day when no one kills themselves?

A mental health trust in Liverpool - which pledged in September 2015 to bring its suicide rate down to zero among its patients - thinks so.

The commitment, the first of its kind in the country, was inspired by a health centre in Detroit, Michigan, which has reported not losing a single patient to suicide in two-and-a-half years. In 2015, the centre saw 74,000 patients. BBC News

Multiple sclerosis drug is 'landmark'

Multiple sclerosis drug is 'landmark' A drug that alters the immune system has been described as "big news" and a "landmark" in treating multiple sclerosis, doctors and charities say.

Trials, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest the drug can slow damage to the brain in two forms of MS.

Ocrelizumab is the first drug shown to work in the primary progressive form of the disease.

The drug is being reviewed for use in the US and Europe. BBC News

MRSA linked to outsourced cleaning in NHS hospitals

MRSA linked to outsourced cleaning in NHS hospitals  An analysis of English NHS hospitals suggests that employing private as opposed to in-house cleaners is a false economy. While it may reduce costs, it could also raise risk of infection by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a superbug responsible for life-threatening infections that are hard to treat. Medical News Today

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NHS Health Checks have prevented up to 8,400 heart attacks and strokes

NHS Health Checks have prevented up to 8,400 heart attacks and strokes The NHS Health Check programme prevented an estimated 4,600 to 8,400 heart attacks, strokes, or death from these causes during its first five years, according to an independent review* of the programme funded by the Department of Health, published in the British Journal of General Practice.

The NHS Health Check started in 2009 and is the first programme in the world to tackle prevention of heart attacks and strokes by offering a free check to every adult aged 40-74 years. OnMedica

Theresa May recognises social care crisis – but solution seems far off

Theresa May recognises social care crisis – but solution seems far off The prime minister’s confirmation of a review must be considered progress, but the sector is still in for a rough ride

So now we have confirmation that the government is working on a long-term solution to the social care crisis. Or at least “starting internally to look” at the issue, which must be considered progress of some kind.

Those were the words of Theresa May under questioning by senior MPs at the Commons liaison committee, where her answers on social care were extracted as painfully as those on Brexit – the main business of the session – and on which the atmosphere felt almost as strained. Continue reading... The Guardian

Christmas is an isolating time for people with mental health problems

Christmas is an isolating time for people with mental health problems At a time of year when most people are enjoying themselves there are many who cannot join in, but despite the challenges services face, help is available

Christmas is a time for joy, celebration and bringing together family and friends to share this merriment. While taking nothing away from this much needed festivity, spare a thought for those who are less advantaged – particularly those with mental health problems. Continue reading... The Guardian

Bionic eye that restores sight to the blind is made available on the NHS: £150,000 device uses tiny video camera to transmit images to a chip on the back of the eyeball

Bionic eye that restores sight to the blind is made available on the NHS: £150,000 device uses tiny video camera to transmit images to a chip on the back of the eyeball NHS England will fund it for ten patients in a 12-month pilot starting next month. They will then be assessed for a year before officials decide whether to roll the system out more widely in early 2019. The Daily Mail

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Scheme to relieve pressure on A&E suspended after father dies just two days after being turned away

Scheme to relieve pressure on A&E suspended after father dies just two days after being turned away A scheme to reduce pressure on an Accident and Emergency unit has been suspended following the death of a "devoted" father denied casualty treatment just six days after it launched.

The trial was one of dozens being set up on health officials’ orders amid a growing crisis over hospital overcrowding.

An official investigation is now under way into why Dave Birtwistle, 44, a father-of-one, was turned away from the A&E department at Bristol Royal Infirmary. The Daily Telegraph

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