Tuesday 28 February 2017

£2.1m expansion to KGH pharmacy nearing completion

£2.1m expansion to KGH pharmacy nearing completion Kettering General Hospital is in the final stages of a £2.1m project to expand and modernise its pharmacy department. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Housing and health: STPs, White Papers and beyond

Housing and health: STPs, White Papers and beyond As part of our work on understanding and supporting a move to place-based population health systems, we held a dinner at the Fund recently to discuss the role of housing in sustainability and transformation plans (STPs). The King's Fund

Positive changes for LGBT staff at Northumbria NHS FT

Positive changes for LGBT staff at Northumbria NHS FT To celebrate the end of LGBT history month Patrick Price, equality and diversity lead at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust talks about the positive benefits open conversations can bring. NHS Employers

Women in public life, the professions and the boardroom

Women in public life, the professions and the boardroom How are women represented in public life, the professions and the boardroom? This briefing sets out key trends and statistics, covering politics, public appointments, civil servants the judiciary, the NHS, education and leading private sector vocations. House of Commons Library

Government fights ruling to extend disability benefits for mental health sufferers

Government fights ruling to extend disability benefits for mental health sufferers Campaigners and backbenchers have criticised the government over its plans to go against a legal ruling to extend disability benefits to people suffering from severe mental health issues.

A legal tribunal had called for disability benefits to be given to people suffering with "overwhelming physical distress" from issues such as depression and anxiety.

It ruled claimants with psychological problems who cannot travel without help must be treated like those who are blind and receive Personal Independence Payments (PIPs).

Disabilities Minister Penny Mordaunt has said she will take action to ensure PIPs go only to the most needy. ITV News

Prosecutions 'rare' for abuse by home carers

Prosecutions 'rare' for abuse by home carers More than 23,000 allegations of abuse have been made against carers working in people's homes across the UK.

The data comes from a Freedom of Information request submitted by the BBC Radio 4 programme File on 4.

The United Kingdom Homecare Association, which represents 2,000 care companies, described the findings as "horrifying" and blamed cuts to local government budgets.

The Department of Health said it had given councils up to £7.6bn of funding. BBC News

New drugs 'urgently needed' to fight 12 supergerms, says WHO

New drugs 'urgently needed' to fight 12 supergerms, says WHO New antibiotics need to be developed urgently to combat 12 families of bacteria, the World Health Organisation has said, describing these “priority pathogens” as the greatest threats to human health.

The United National health agency said many of these bacteria have already evolved into deadly superbugs that are resistant to many antibiotics. The Independent

See also:

Hospitals could join prisons in cycle of 'crisis, cash, repeat', says report

Hospitals could join prisons in cycle of 'crisis, cash, repeat', says report Better financial planning and reforms needed to avoid ‘disastrous combination of failing public services and breached spending controls’

Hospitals could join prisons and social care in a cycle of “crisis, cash, repeat” unless they receive better financial planning and reforms, a Whitehall report has warned.

Without improvements, public services are doomed to fail or breach spending controls, the report by the Institute for Government and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) said. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

NHS faces new £1bn annual bill after 'reckless' change to injury payouts

NHS faces new £1bn annual bill after 'reckless' change to injury payouts Angry insurers rail against ‘crazy change’ to personal injury formula that will hike car premiums by £75 for millions with British military and small firms hit

A “reckless” government-ordered change to the way personal injury awards are calculated will add as much as £75 to already fast-rising average car insurance premiums, and land the NHS with an annual £1bn bill, the insurance industry has warned.

The lord chancellor, Liz Truss, has announced a change to the so-called “Ogden” discount rate – which is used to calculate compensation awards for serious personal injuries – to ensure inflation does not erode the future value of a payout. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

NHS data loss: 173 instances of likely patient harm identified

NHS data loss: 173 instances of likely patient harm identified Department of Health reviews impact of failure to deliver 500,000 pieces of medical correspondence between 2011 and 2016

The NHS has identified 173 instances of likely patient harm arising from the loss of half a million pieces of confidential medical correspondence such as test results and treatment plans. Continue reading... The Guardian

Crackdown on tax dodges of locum NHS staff

Crackdown on tax dodges of locum NHS staff Up to 90 per cent of temporary staff are thought to be using the ruse. They would only pay corporation tax of 21 per cent, rather 45 per cent. Locum rates are up to £160 an hour. The Daily Mail

FGM should not be prosecuted, police force says as it claims best course of action is to 'educate parents' 

FGM should not be prosecuted, police force says as it claims best course of action is to 'educate parents' Parents caught practising female genital mutilation on their children should not be prosecuted, a police force has claimed as it says the best course of action is to “educate parents”.

The claims, made by West Midlands Police on social media yesterday, have provoked criticism from MPs and child welfare activists, who said the force’s reluctance to seek prosecution was “deeply disturbing”.

The feud comes after a spokesman for the force claimed that it was against “prosecuting/jailing” parents who had carried out FGM on the grounds that it would be “unlikely to benefit” children who fall victim to the crime. The Daily Telegraph

NHS doctors banned from charging 'rip-off' locum rates for extra shifts

NHS doctors banned from charging 'rip-off' locum rates for extra shifts NHS doctors have been banned from earning lucrative agency rateswhile moonlighting at other hospitals after it emerged five medics were paid more than £2 million a year between them.

The health service watchdog, NHS Improvement, last night also revealed that around 100 agency staff are earning more than £200,000 a year for covering staff shortages, while more than 500 doctors take home in excess of £150,000 a year. The Daily Telegraph