The Great NHS Gamble: Northamptonshire will see funding drop by £328 per head over next five years

The Great NHS Gamble: Northamptonshire will see funding drop by £328 per head over next five years People in Northamptonshire will see their healthcare spending drop by £328 per head in the next five years as part of the biggest NHS shake up in a generation. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire’s five-year NHS ‘vision’ was ‘drawn up by stealth’, claims campaign group

Northamptonshire’s five-year NHS ‘vision’ was ‘drawn up by stealth’, claims campaign group Plans to shake up the NHS in Northamptonshire and cut funding by £328 per person were put in place “by stealth” according to a national campaign group - and could face a legal challenge.

The National Health Action Party - which claims it is fighting to save the NHS from being turned into a US-style health service - believes the Sustainability Transformation Plan (STP) proposals appear to run contrary to the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act. It says the STPs are contrary to the stated objective of the Act, a locally driven commissioning service provided by GPs who have an intimate knowledge of their local community needs. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Improved outcomes for LGBT staff at Morecambe Bay

Improved outcomes for LGBT staff at Morecambe Bay In this new case study University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay discuss its Towards Inclusion Programme and share how it has improved engagement and led to positive outcomes for their LGBT workforce.

Read about the actions taken, the challenges met and the outcomes achieved. NHS Employers

Ebola 'super-spreaders' cause most cases

Ebola 'super-spreaders' cause most cases The majority of cases in the world's largest outbreak of Ebola were caused by a tiny handful of patients, research suggests.

The analysis, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows nearly two thirds of cases (61%) were caused by 3% of infected people.

The young and old were more likely to have been "super-spreaders".

It is hoped understanding their role in spreading the infection will help contain the next outbreak. BBC News

NHS crisis: 19 hospitals face axe as doctors accuse Government of deliberate underfunding

NHS crisis: 19 hospitals face axe as doctors accuse Government of deliberate underfunding The NHS is facing its biggest shake up in a generation with nearly 20 hospitals marked for closure and care from cradle to grave put through a wholesale overhaul to plug a £22bn black hole in health service funding, an investigation by i can reveal. An analysis of the 44 regional blueprints drawn up by health service leaders to remodel the NHS in England – in a process which critics complain has largely bypassed patients – has revealed for the first time the extent of the cuts and drastic changes in the delivery of care that the Government wants to achieve by March 2021. iNews

NHS needs £9.5bn upfront to secure its future, says BMA

NHS needs £9.5bn upfront to secure its future, says BMA ‘Nowhere near the funding required’ despite huge crisis unfolding in service that already can’t cope, say doctors

Modernising and securing the future of the health service in England would cost at least £9.5bn in upfront spending, money that the NHS does not have, the British Medical Association has said.

Health managers in 44 areas have been charged with creating sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) to help the NHS repair its crumbling finances and meet clinical and organisation challenges. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• NHS financial crisis is making STP plans 'unworkable', warns BMA GP Online

NHS 'pays out £7.5m annually for 20 most expensive agency doctors'

NHS 'pays out £7.5m annually for 20 most expensive agency doctors' Watchdog says health service could save £300m a year if locums were charged within set price cap, after data found some are paid £375,000 a year

The NHS is paying agency doctors millions of pounds every year – with one having charged £363 an hour, according to a health watchdog.

Data from NHS Improvement shows that 20 of the most expensive locums cost the NHS £7.5m a year – an average of £375,000 each. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS services clampdowns in your area

NHS services clampdowns in your area Cash-strapped clinical commissioning groups across England are announcing a range of controversial plans to try and tackle their growing deficits. The Daily Mail

Tell twentysomethings their 'cancer risk' to spur lifestyle changes

Tell twentysomethings their 'cancer risk' to spur lifestyle changes People in their 20s should be told their cancer risk to shock them into changing their lifestyle, a study by Cambridge University suggests.

Up to 40 per cent of cancers are linked to factors such as diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol, resulting in around 600,000 cases of avoidable disease in the UK in the past five years.

The study of GPs and practice nurses found that most believed that the best way to encourage lifestyle changes was to tackle patients at a younger age. The Daily Telegraph

Bullying of desperate 999 call handlers 'led to suicide attempts’ at scandal-hit ambulance service

Bullying of desperate 999 call handlers 'led to suicide attempts’ at scandal-hit ambulance service Desperate 999 call handlers attempted suicide amid an “endemic culture of bullying” at a scandal-hit ambulance service intent on hitting targets, leaked reports state.

The reports describe a “culture of fear” in an NHS trust which saw employees subjected to repeated abuse and harassment.

In the documents, the then head of the trust is accused of sleeping with young female staff and running a “boys’ club” which protected staff who fiddled figures, and “trashed” the reputations of whistleblowers. The Daily Telegraph