Wednesday 25 January 2017

How St Andrew's want to make Northampton the mental health care capital of the world

How St Andrew's want to make Northampton the mental health care capital of the world The new FitzRoy House, at St Andrew's Hospital, is now the largest adolescent mental health facility in Europe. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

'Nurse bank' campaign shortlisted for healthcare efficiency award

'Nurse bank' campaign shortlisted for healthcare efficiency award A campaign to recruit nurses onto its staff bank has seen Northampton General Hospital shortlisted for a communications award in the health sector. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Defining and measuring unmet need to guide healthcare funding: identifying and filling the gaps

Defining and measuring unmet need to guide healthcare funding: identifying and filling the gaps Budget allocations to CCGs include adjustments for meeting unmet health care needs and tackling health inequalities. This literature review aims to identify and understand the available evidence regarding unmet health need. The study found that whilst there was evidence to support identifying unmet health need, there was a gap in the evidence on how budget allocations are best used to reduce unmet need. Centre for Health Economics

Obesity and the public purse: weighing up the true cost to the taxpayer

Obesity and the public purse: weighing up the true cost to the taxpayer This report analyses the cost of obesity to public services and estimates that the net cost is less than £2.5 billion a year or 0.3 per cent of government spending. The report argues that the economic burden of obesity has been exaggerated and that the health care costs of an ageing population should be the focus for public service efficiency savings. Institute of Economic Affairs

Bed-blocking patient evicted after two years 'did not want to stay'

Bed-blocking patient evicted after two years 'did not want to stay' A patient who was evicted from a hospital after spending more than two years in a bed said he did not want to stay and "tried to get out of there".

Adriano Guedes, 63, who suffers paralysis after a stroke in 2008, was admitted to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, in 2014.

The hospital obtained a court order and evicted him two weeks ago, saying he had occupied the bed "unnecessarily".

"I didn't want to stay, and they forced me to stay," Mr Guedes told the BBC.

"It's very bad to occupy a place which should be used by someone in need, but I didn't cause the situation. On the contrary - I tried to get out of there." BBC News

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Compensation payouts for poor out-of-hours care top £30m

Compensation payouts for poor out-of-hours care top £30m A doctor's indemnity organisation has paid out well over £30 million in compensation and legal costs on behalf of GPs working in out-of-hours and unscheduled care settings over a three-year period. This included a number of high value cases settled for over £1 million.

The Medical Defence Union (MDU) said the most common reason for a claim was a delay or failure to diagnose a condition, which accounted for almost three quarters of cases (71%). In 18% of cases, there were allegations about a failure to make a referral or an incorrect referral. OnMedica

More help needed for people with learning disability and dementia

More help needed for people with learning disability and dementia A partnership of voluntary sector organisations has today launched a new report* calling for the needs of people with learning disabilities, who have also developed dementia, to be better addressed.

People with learning disabilities are five times more likely than those in the general population to develop dementia, according to the largest ever study** into the health and care of people with learning disabilities, by NHS Digital, published in December. OnMedica

Cervical cancer screening attendance hits 19 year low

Cervical cancer screening attendance hits 19 year low Cervical screening tests are a vital method of preventing cancer through the detection and treatment of abnormalities in the cervix, but new research shows that the number of women using this service has dropped to a 19 year low.

Charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust has found that the number of women attending potentially life-saving cervical screening tests in England is falling.

The research, obtained by a series of Freedom of Information requests sent to every local authority in England, found that over 1.12 million women did not attend a cervical screening test in the last year. The Independent

NHS hands over patient records to Home Office for immigration crackdown

NHS hands over patient records to Home Office for immigration crackdown Number of government requests to access confidential non-clinical details rises threefold since 2014 in drive to track down immigration offenders

The confidential patient records of more than 8,000 people have been handed over by the NHS to the Home Office in the past year as part of its drive to track down immigration offenders.

A memorandum of understanding, published for the first time on Tuesday, makes clear that NHS digital is required by law to hand over non-clinical patient details including last known addresses, dates of birth, GP’s details and date registered with doctor. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Tackling mental health stigma will require more than just goodwill

Tackling mental health stigma will require more than just goodwill Delivering the PM’s pledge should not rest on the shoulders of overstretched staff, it must be backed with appropriate resources

The prime minister, Theresa May, has pledged to tackle mental health stigma as part of her vision for her “shared society”. May announced plans to transform the way mental illness is dealt with not in our hospitals but in classrooms, at work and in our communities. The initiative has been largely welcomed, although there is concern that this is yet another governmental policy that hinges on goodwill rather than identifiable resource.

Given the stakes, we cannot afford to be sceptical or dismissive about any initiative on stigma. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS could force chronically-ill patients into care

NHS could force chronically-ill patients into care Some British health trusts are refusing to pay for carers to visit patients at home if it works out significantly cheaper to place them in residential care. The Daily Mail

GPs seek rule change to earn private cash from patients in spare time

GPs seek rule change to earn private cash from patients in spare time Family doctors want to change NHS rules so they can earn cash from their patients in their spare time, a leading medic has said.

Currently, GPs are banned from charging their own patients for any services.

The rules were drawn up to avoid conflicts of interest and stop family doctors from denying patients treatment on the NHS, so they could profit from treatment privately.

Now local medical committees are in talks about introducing a new structure, which would allow GPs to charge fees for providing services if they were not covered in their NHS contract. The Daily Telegraph

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