Priorities for the NHS and social care in 2017

Priorities for the NHS and social care in 2017 2017 promises to be another challenging year for the health and care system, with demand for care increasing faster than the supply of resources.

A system already stretched to its limits will have to work even harder to maintain current standards of care and to balance budgets. This requires a continuing focus on operational performance and renewed efforts to transform the delivery of care at a time when frontline staff are working under intense pressure.

The NHS five year forward view (Forward View) will be tested to its limits as leaders work to improve performance and transform care. The NHS locally has to deliver £15 billion of the £22 billion efficiency improvements required under the Forward View, with the remaining £7 billion to be delivered nationally. It also has to provide evidence that new care models are delivering benefits. Failure to do so will raise serious questions about the assumptions on which the Forward View was based and on the ability of leaders to deliver their plans.

Against this background, we have identified five main priorities for 2017. The King's Fund

Extended hours in primary care linked to reductions in minor A&E attendances

Extended hours in primary care linked to reductions in minor A&E attendances This briefing summarises the findings of a study that found that practices that offered additional appointments showed a reduction in the number of their patients attending emergency departments for minor conditions but that there was no overall reduction in emergency visits. Costs were reduced for emergency departments but by less than the cost of the additional appointments. These findings suggest additional appointments may help reduce minor A&E visits but may be more costly overall. National Institute for Health Research

NHS machines: the utilisation of high-value capital equipment at NHS trusts

NHS machines: the utilisation of high-value capital equipment at NHS trusts This report examines the utilisation of five different types of machines in NHS trusts in England to assess how greater and more efficient use of existing resources can be encouraged. The Tax Payers' Alliance

Asthma patients 'missing out on basic care'

Asthma patients 'missing out on basic care' Millions of asthma patients in the UK are not getting basic care they need to manage their condition, a charity says.

Asthma UK, which questioned more than 4,500 patients, said two-thirds miss out on yearly check-ups, tailored advice and lessons in how to use their asthma inhalers.

It says it is a slight improvement on a year ago but remains a bleak picture.

In 2015 in the UK, 1,468 people died from an asthma attack - the highest level in a decade. BBC News

See also:

• Annual Asthma Survey Athma UK
• New NICE guideline to help people take control of their asthma could save the NHS millions NICE
• Millions of UK asthma sufferers 'not receiving basic levels of care' The Guardian

Private Ambulance Service: Staff 'lack training'

Private Ambulance Service: Staff 'lack training' Some staff at a private ambulance firm say they had an hour's training to drive under blue lights. BBC News

Terrorism 'first-aid training needed'

Terrorism 'first-aid training needed' People need to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack in the UK, a team of senior military and civilian medics has said.

They say people need to know how to help each other because it could take some time before it is deemed safe for paramedics to arrive on the scene.

Their app, called CitizenAID, offers step-by-step advice.

The idea is supported by counter-terrorism police. Security services say a UK terror attack is highly likely. BBC News

More GPs in A&E could push patients to hospital faster, warns RCGP

More GPs in A&E could push patients to hospital faster, warns RCGP Increasing the number of GPs working in A&E departments could encourage more patients to go to hospital as the first port of call for treatment, the RCGP has warned. GP Online

The physician associate will see you now - new role to assist patients in primary care

The physician associate will see you now - new role to assist patients in primary care By 2020 there could be as many as 1,000 physician associates working in primary care, but regulation of the profession is seen as crucial in the development of this new role

Chris Deane’s day starts like any other at the busy Warwickshire practice where he works. First he triages calls from patients, decides those who will need a home visit later in the day, and books others into free slots in his morning or afternoon surgeries.

Like his GP colleagues, he deals with around 60 patients a day, but unlike them he is not a family doctor. Instead, Deane is a qualified physician associate – a new breed of healthcare professional taking pressure off hard-pressed doctors and providing patients, especially those with long-term conditions, the continuity of care they need. Continue reading... The Guardian

Doctors warn of detox dangers after woman is hospitalised with 'life-threatening' problems

Doctors warn of detox dangers after woman is hospitalised with 'life-threatening' problems Health professionals have issues a warning to people embarking on New Year detoxes - after a woman was hospitalised in Milton Keynes with side-effects of the popular process. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Acute severe hyponatraemia secondary to polydipsia and associated herbal remedy use BMJ Case Reports
• TheTruth About Detox Diets NHS Choices
• Doctors issue new-year detox health warning BBC News
• Healthy woman's New Year 'detox' gives her life-threatening illness The Independent

Thousands forced to wait outside swamped hospitals as cold spell hits

Thousands forced to wait outside swamped hospitals as cold spell hits Heaving A&E departments are forcing thousands of patients to wait for hours in ambulances outside hospitals as freezing conditions hit the UK.

Health chiefs were forced to apologise yesterday after spiraling waiting times in one hospital caused a queue of 20 ambulances unable to offload patients.

In London alone, the winter crisis means more than 6,000 patients each week are being left in the back of emergency vehicles because A&E departments are too busy to admit them, new figures reveal.

The crisis in hospitals means that ambulance services are then unable to respond to subsequent 999 calls. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Sharp rise in number of patients turned away from A&E The Guardian