Thursday 19 January 2017

KGH outlines plans to reduce car park traffic

KGH outlines plans to reduce car park traffic Car park queues have been the source of many a headache for those visiting Kettering General Hospital in recent years. Northamptonshire Telegraph

‘Waste’ in health care: separating good from bad

‘Waste’ in health care: separating good from bad Last week we hosted a conference jointly with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to launch their new report on wasteful spending on health. The OECD’s report suggests that around one fifth of spending on health makes no or minimal contribution to improved health outcomes. At a time when NHS funding is back in the headlines, the report’s findings repay careful study. The King's Fund

Sustainable development guidance for health and social care organisations

Sustainable development guidance for health and social care organisations The SDU have produced updated Sustainable Development Management Plan guidance with information tailored to be helpful to specific organisation types.

The new version has been brought up to date with the current NHS standard contract and provides more detailed guidance as to which areas are more or less appropriate for large providers, small providers and CCGs.

The guidance is intended to support organisations to understand the key elements that make up a Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP). It also provides some advice on how you can develop your organisation’s SDMP. Sustainable Development Unit

NHS staff shortages: Why so persistent?

NHS staff shortages: Why so persistent? NHS staff shortages seem an everyday fact of life - or at least a factor mentioned in several news stories each week. But why do these shortages persist and is there anything that can be done to get rid of them?

In this week's In Business on BBC Radio 4, I spoke to historians, economists, nurses, doctors and other healthcare staff to try to get to the bottom of these questions.

And to pose another one - does the NHS have the right mix of staff with the right mix of skills or could changing traditional roles rather than just boosting numbers help? BBC News

Vaccines for three deadly viruses fast-tracked

Vaccines for three deadly viruses fast-tracked Scientists have named three relatively little-known diseases they think could cause the next global health emergency.

A coalition of governments and charities has committed $460m to speed up vaccine development for Mers, Lassa fever and Nipah virus.

They are asking funders at the World Economic Forum Davos for another $500m.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) aims to have two new experimental vaccines ready for each disease within five years. BBC News

See also:

Financial ties between researchers and drug industry linked to positive trial results

Financial ties between researchers and drug industry linked to positive trial results Financial ties between researchers and the companies that make the drugs they are studying are independently associated with positive trial results, suggesting bias in the evidence base, concludes a study published by The BMJ. OnMedica

EU workers must be guaranteed right to remain in the UK, says BMA

EU workers must be guaranteed right to remain in the UK, says BMA The government must guarantee the rights of EU workers to remain in the UK permanently post Brexit to assure “the stability of the NHS and the future of medical research”, the BMA has warned.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Teresa May outlined some details of her Brexit strategy, which made it clear that there would be future restrictions on EU workers wanting to come to the UK and failed to provide assurance to EU nationals already here that they will be able to remain. OnMedica

A week after Theresa May's speech on mental health, a women's psychiatric ward is closing due to cuts

A week after Theresa May's speech on mental health, a women's psychiatric ward is closing due to cuts After declaring children and adolescent mental health services the 'single biggest area of weakness in NHS provision', Jeremy Hunt pledged an extra £250m a year. However, around half of CCGs in England will spend the extra money allocated for CAMHS on other services. The Independent

Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse but the rest of the world isn’t listening

Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse but the rest of the world isn’t listening In Iceland, teenage smoking, drinking and drug use have been radically cut in the past 20 years. Emma Young finds out how they did it, and why other countries won’t follow suit. The Independent

Home Office refuses to enforce privacy code on NHS staff using video

Home Office refuses to enforce privacy code on NHS staff using video Surveillance camera commissioner’s advice that trusts be required to comply with code to protect patients is rejected

The government has rejected a request by the surveillance camera watchdog to allow it to monitor the increasing and unregulated use of CCTV and body-worn video cameras in hospitals.

The body cameras, which record sound as well as images, are being increasingly deployed in hospitals in an effort to tackle abuse of frontline health service staff. Continue reading... The Guardian

Cancer could become untreatable because of superbugs

Cancer could become untreatable because of superbugs Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Government's chief medical officer, warned that the increasing prevalence of superbugs could soon make routine operations risky. The Daily Mail

BMA tell Theresa May they won't be scapegoats for NHS

BMA tell Theresa May they won't be scapegoats for NHS The intervention by the British Medical Association follows a warning by the Prime Minister that GPs were partly to blame for the pressure on A&E by closing their surgeries early. The Daily Mail

One in five new drugs could be rationed on the NHS 

One in five new drugs could be rationed on the NHS One in five new medicines on the NHS could be rationed under new plans to save the health service money, meaning patients will have to join a queue to get treatment.

Cancer, diabetes and asthma patients are all likely to be hit by the plans, which will affect even drugs that have been ruled cost-effective by medics.

Currently people suffering from illness have the right to be treated with drugs that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) says are good value for money. But new affordability criteria will mean that drugs which cost the NHS more than £20 million in total each year could be subject to extra delays or restrictions. The Daily Telegraph