United effort required to tackle huge challenges facing the NHS

United effort required to tackle huge challenges facing the NHS The Public Accounts Committee report says that the NHS is facing huge challenges and a united effort is required to resolve these for the long term.

Its report, the latest in a series from the cross-party Committee examining the growing pressure on health finances, sets out new and urgent recommendations to government.

The Committee criticises "bickering in public" between key figures responsible for the health service at a time when the financial performance of NHS bodies has worsened considerably—a trend which is not sustainable.

It calls on the Department of Health, NHS England and No. 10 to work together "in the best interests of patients".

See also:

• Financial sustainability in the NHS Public Accounts Committee
• MPs criticise Theresa May and NHS over 'bickering' BBC News
• Patients suffer as NHS chiefs bicker say MPs The Daily Mail
• Bickering between Theresa May and NHS chiefs is 'an insult to taxpayers' The Daily Telegraph
• NHS financial crisis blocking plans to move care out of hospital, warn MPs GP Online
• Government ‘must act to avoid catastrophic failure’ in NHS The Independent

Health and social care integration (England)

Health and social care integration (England) This briefing paper analyses recent policy and debate on the integration of NHS-provided healthcare and local authority-provided social care. As health and social care are both devolved policy areas, this briefing focuses on integration in England. House of Commons Library

NHS 'tobacco free' campaign launched by Public Health England

NHS 'tobacco free' campaign launched by Public Health England A "truly tobacco-free NHS" needs to be created to help smoker patients quit their habit, health officials say.

Only one in 10 hospitals enforces a smoking ban outside health service buildings, and Public Health England (PHE) wants all hospitals to offer help to quit as part of patients' treatment.

More than a million smokers are admitted to NHS hospitals every year.

PHE chief executive Duncan Selbie said it was not about "forcing people" to quit, but was about "helping people". BBC News

See also:

• Call for smoking to be BANNED outside NHS hospitals The Daily Mail

Maps reveal schizophrenia 'hotspots' in England

Maps reveal schizophrenia 'hotspots' in England Maps have revealed "hotspots" of schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses in England, based on the amount of medication prescribed by GPs.

The analysis by the University of East London showed North Kesteven, in Lincolnshire, had the highest rates.

The lowest rate of schizophrenia prescriptions was in East Dorset.

However, explaining the pattern across England is complicated and the research team says the maps pose a lot of questions.

They were developed using anonymous prescription records that are collected from doctors' surgeries in England. BBC News

Children in UK mental health hospitals 'not improving', parents say

Children in UK mental health hospitals 'not improving', parents say More than half of parents with children in mental health hospitals do not feel their condition has improved as a result of treatment, while nearly a quarter say it has actually deteriorated, according to a survey.

The research was based on responses from 448 parents whose children have been in mental health hospitals in England over the last five years.

The study, carried out by the children’s mental health charity YoungMinds and the National Autistic Society, found that 54% of parents said they had seen no improvement, while 24% said their offspring’s mental health had got worse. The Guardian

See also:

• Mental health hospitals failing parents YoungMinds

NHS accused of covering up huge data loss that put thousands at risk

NHS accused of covering up huge data loss that put thousands at risk Exclusive: More than 500,000 pieces of patient data between GPs and hospitals went undelivered between 2011 and 2016

Thousands of patients are feared to have been harmed after the NHS lost more than half a million pieces of confidential medical correspondence, including test results and treatment plans.

In one of the biggest losses of sensitive clinical information in the NHS’s 69-year history, more than 500,000 pieces of patient data sent between GPs and hospitals went undelivered over the five years from 2011 to 2016. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• NHS misplaced half a million patient documents BBC News

Test all pregnant women for smoking, say NHS chiefs

Test all pregnant women for smoking, say NHS chiefs The plan, which is supported by the Royal College of Midwives, is part of a wider drive to discourage cigarettes at hospitals

England’s public health chief is urging hospitals to give every pregnant woman a carbon monoxide test to see if they smoke, as part of an NHS-wide drive to persuade patients to kick the habit.

Duncan Selbie wants midwives and nurses to routinely screen mothers-to-be when their pregnancy is first “booked”, monitor them at all their antenatal appointments and support those who want to quit. Continue reading... The Guardian

Row over GP who sent away dying girl for being late

Row over GP who sent away dying girl for being late Ellie-May Clark died of an asthma attack hours after Dr Joanne Rowe turned her away claiming she was late for her emergency appointment at The Grange Clinic in Newport, South Wales. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Girl, five, died of asthma attack after GP turned her away BBC News
• Five-year-old girl dies after GP refused to see her as she was 'a few minutes late' for her appointment The Daily Telegraph

Thousands of children and teenagers with anorexia forced to wait months for help

Thousands of children and teenagers with anorexia forced to wait months for help Thousands of children and teenagers with anorexia are being forced to wait months for help, amid a growing crisis in services to treat eating disorders.

An investigation by The Telegraph reveals a dramatic fall in provision of hospital appointments for the condition, forcing patients to wait longer, with some in need of inpatient care travelling hundreds of miles.

The NHS data shows that in just two years, there has been a 36 per cent reduction in the number of hospital appointments for eating disorders across the country. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• GPs are trained in all aspects of mental health, including eating disorders, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• Three in ten people with eating disorders let down by GPs The Daily Mail
• GPs are telling young girls with anorexia to come back when they are thinner, report warns The Daily Telegraph
• Three out of 10 eating disorder sufferers not being referred for necessary treatment The Independent

GPs say patients take offence when told they need to lose weight

GPs say patients take offence when told they need to lose weight GPs are offending overweight patients by warning them they need to go on a diet, a poll suggests.

The survey found one in three had seen patients take offence when they had raised the issue of their weight.

Current NHS advice says family doctors should offer all obese patients free places on courses run by WeightWatchers and Slimming World. And last year a study by Oxford University found just a 30 second intervention was enough to make a difference. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• One in three GPs have offended patients by talking about their weight Pulse
• GPs doing a good job at having difficult conversations about weight management with patients, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• Patients offended when told they need to lose weight The Daily Mail