Northampton General Hospital awarded funding for project to save babies' lives

Northampton General Hospital awarded funding for project to save babies' lives Northampton General Hospital has been awarded a share of £250,000 in government funding to invest in a project that will benefit mothers and their newborn babies. The announcement follows Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt inviting NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts to submit bids for a share of the Maternity Safety Innovation Fund back in October, as part of a major drive to improve safety on maternity wards across the country. Northampton General Hospital News

Barcode technology helping to improve patient safety

Barcode technology helping to improve patient safety Barcodes are being used to trace NHS patients and their treatments, manage medical supplies and monitor the effectiveness of equipment. NHS Networks

NHS England publishes updated guidance to country’s paediatric intensive care units

NHS England publishes updated guidance to country’s paediatric intensive care units NHS England has today published updated guidance for managing seasonal pressures in paediatric intensive care. The Paediatric Intensive Care Surge Standard Operating Procedure sets out instructions for managing unplanned peaks in demand for critical care beds, across the country’s 29 paediatric intensive care units (PICUs). Every year at around this time, the numbers of very sick children requiring treatment in PICUs increases, as levels of respiratory infection rise. The demand for critical care beds is exacerbated by wider pressures across the NHS system and social care, as winter starts to bite. NHS England

NHS hospitals break parking fees record

NHS hospitals break parking fees record - BBC News NHS hospitals appear to be making more money than ever from parking fees. A report from the Press Association says hospitals in England collected more than £120m last year - up by 5%. Many trusts defended the charges, saying the money was put back into patient care or maintaining car parks.  BBC News

Chief nurse: 'Cut hospital beds to increase care at home'

Chief nurse: 'Cut hospital beds to increase care at home' NHS England's chief nursing officer supports scrapping hospital beds and using the money on home-based care. BBC Health News

NHS part of £250m China health trade mission

NHS part of £250m China health trade mission British organisations including an NHS hospital trust have signed deals worth more than £250 million during the largest ever healthcare trade mission to China, the Department of Health has announced.
In Shanghai, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt witnessed the signing of 11 agreements on healthcare between UK and Chinese companies which will see benefits for health services in both nations. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital and a Shanghai company have signed a contract to bring the world’s first 100,000 crystal PET-CT scanner to the UK. The machine will be housed within the hospital's new Northern Imaging Foundation Centre to provide both research and clinical benefit to the NHS. OnMedica

NHS mental health services failing young people, say psychiatrists

NHS mental health services failing young people, say psychiatrists Seven in 10 psychiatrists deem Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to be inadequate at best, Guardian survey finds. NHS services for the soaring numbers of children who have self-harmed, tried to end their life or are having a breakdown are woefully substandard and risk prolonging their suffering, according to their psychiatrists.
More than seven out of 10 (72%) consultant psychiatrists who specialise in treating children and adolescents say that NHS care for under-18s experiencing a crisis in their mental health is either inadequate (58%) or very inadequate (14%), according to a survey undertaken for the Guardian. Only 19% said NHS services were adequate and just 9% said they were good. Continue reading... Guardian

Ambulance services face paramedic shortage this winter, NHS data shows

Ambulance services face paramedic shortage this winter, NHS data shows Services in England are short of 873 paramedics, with some plugging gaps with recruits from Poland, Finland and Australia.
Ambulance services are facing serious shortages of paramedics just as 999 calls hit new peaks and hospitals gear up for a potential winter crisis, new official NHS figures reveal.
The 10 regional ambulance services in England are short of 873 paramedics, data shows, and some are recruiting paramedics from Poland, Finland and Australia to plug gaps in winter services. Continue reading...  Guardian

Labour calls for OBR-style watchdog to assess NHS finances

Labour calls for OBR-style watchdog to assess NHS finances Independent body would help ensure NHS receives proper funding and avoid political rows, says Jonathan Ashworth. A Labour government could boost the NHS by committing a specified proportion of national wealth to fund it and setting up a new independent body to ensure ministers give it the money it needs, the shadow health secretary has said.
Jonathan Ashworth said a watchdog modelled on the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) would help ensure the NHS received proper funding and avoid rows like the one over Theresa May’s claim that her administration is giving the NHS more money than it asked for. Continue reading...  Guardian

Record level of cancelled urgent operations for NHS England

Record level of cancelled urgent operations for NHS England Overstretched hospitals were forced to cancel more life-saving operations last month than at any time since official records began, new data reveals. Almost double the number of urgent procedures such as heart surgery were delayed in November than during the same month the year before. Telegraph