Warning over highly-contagious superbug sweeping the nation

Warning over highly-contagious superbug sweeping the nation A new variant of a gene that causes resistance to our strongest antibiotics has been discovered in a healthy person, prompting fears it could be spreading.

The team of investigators discovered a new variant of the well-known gene that causes resistance to polymyxin - currently the toughest antibiotic in our arsenal against bacteria.

The new multidrug-resistant bacteria, which carries the gene variant, was found on a patient with salmonella and could easily be passed on in bacteria.

More troubling, the gene was found in a healthy individual during a routine medical, suggesting that other healthy carriers may be spreading the resistance unknowingly. Northamptonshire Telegraph

An NHS winter that never seems to end?

An NHS winter that never seems to end?  No one would ever claim that winter in the NHS is easy. Our most recent Quarterly Monitoring Report (QMR) duly paints a picture of accident and emergency (A&E) departments that are struggling to cope as the health needs of patients become both more complex and more acute. The recent publication of the latest set of daily performance reports for the traditionally busy winter months of 2016/17 now allows us to take a closer look at how the NHS held up this winter. The King's Fund

NHS staff survey 2016

NHS staff survey 2016 This year's NHS staff survey has found that overall staff engagement has reached a peak, indicating that staff felt that they have opportunities to show initiative and contribute to improvements at work. The proportion of staff reporting witnessing errors and adverse incidents is the lowest it has been since 2012. This year's survey data is available in an interactive dashboard format which enable users to benchmark their data against other organisations more easily. Picker Institute

• Summary
• Interactive dashboard
• View the data

See also:

• NHS England publishes latest staff survey results NHS England
• 2016 Staff Survey results show progress despite pressure NHS Employers
• NHS Staff Survey shows improvements in workplace experience NHS Employers

Only a third of MPs believe that A&E departments are adequately resourced

Only a third of MPs believe that A&E departments are adequately resourced A poll by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine reveals just 33% of MPs believe emergency departments have the resources they need to keep patients safe.

The poll of 92 MPs of all parties and regions of the UK also found strong support for a transformation fund for emergency departments with four times as many saying they would support such an initiative as oppose it.
Over 60% of MPs said they would support Emergency Departments (EDs) receiving more money to help with the retention and recruitment of staff.

Despite government claims that the NHS was getting more than the minimum £8bn by 2020 it had asked for, the poll found that only half of Conservative MPs believe that Emergency Departments are currently being adequately resourced.

Collection: Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE)

Collection: Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) Alcohol use has health and social consequences borne by individuals, their families, and the wider community.

Reducing harmful drinking is one of seven priority areas that Public Health England is focusing efforts on securing improvement.

The Department of Health commissioned PHE to produce an evidence review of the public health burden of alcohol, published in December 2016.

The local alcohol profiles have been designed to provide information for local government, health organisations, commissioners and other agencies to monitor:
the impact of alcohol on local communities
services and initiatives that have been put in place to prevent and reduce the harmful impact of alcohol

The data is updated once per quarter.

View the Local Alcohol Profiles for England. Public Health England

Hospital winter pressures: how did NHS trusts perform in 2016/17?

Hospital winter pressures: how did NHS trusts perform in 2016/17? This briefing examines the performance of the NHS over the three peak winter months covering December 2016 to February 2017. The analysis finds that the number of temporary beds opened to cope with demand on A&E units in the busiest part of this winter was equivalent to eight additional hospitals. The briefing calls for a formal review of how the NHS manages winter pressures, with a focus on the ring-fencing of winter funding and the impact of cancelling non-urgent operations. NHS Providers

Dying from inequality: socioeconomic disadvantage and suicidal behaviour

Dying from inequality: socioeconomic disadvantage and suicidal behaviour This report links higher risk of suicide with inequality calls for greater awareness of the risks of suicide and for direct support to those with unstable employment, insecure housing, low income or in areas of socioeconomic deprivation. Samaritans 

Latest experimental statistics about female genital mutilation published

Latest experimental statistics about female genital mutilation published New official figures published provide experimental statistics on female genital mutilation (FGM) in England, from October 2016 to December 2016. NHS Digital

Ebola vaccine tested on humans in UK trials

Ebola vaccine tested on humans in UK trials Researchers in UK are currently part of a worldwide effort to develop a vaccine for Ebola, so that it’s ready should another outbreak occur. BBC News

NHS to revamp 111 helpline after sustained criticism of service

NHS to revamp 111 helpline after sustained criticism of service More callers will get chance to health professionals under changes to be phased in across England from next month

The NHS is to revamp its heavily criticised 111 telephone helpline to ensure that many more people get to discuss their illness with a nurse, doctor or other health professional rather than a call handler.

GPs and mental health health nurses will also start to play key roles after the overhaul, which is intended to improve public confidence in 111 so that fewer patients visit A&E or a GP’s surgery. Continue reading... The Guardian

Smoking numbers hit new low as Britons turn to vaping to help quit cigarettes

Smoking numbers hit new low as Britons turn to vaping to help quit cigarettes New data reveals a significant decline in number of smokers over last five years, while the daily number of cigarettes consumed has also fallen

The number of smokers in Britain has reached its lowest point since records began in 1974, according to new data, while more than a million people say they are using e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 17.2% of adults in the UK smoked in 2015, down from 20.1% in 2010. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Why young people are less likely to smoke BBC News

Google can detect tumours with a 92% accuracy rate

Google can detect tumours with a 92% accuracy rate DeepMind is on the verge of becoming a much-needed medical breakthrough. Owned by Alphabet, Google's parent company, it claims it can detect 92.4 per cent of tumours it scans for. The Daily Mail

NHS chief 'pushed out' after exposing a sex ring involving consultants and doctors, hospital staff say

NHS chief 'pushed out' after exposing a sex ring involving consultants and doctors, hospital staff say The NHS's longest serving chief executive has been “pushed out” of his job after he suspended senior consultants who used hospital premises to have sex, according to hospital insiders.

Sir Leonard Fenwick, Newcastle and Tyne Hospital Trust's chief executive, was put on "extended leave" from the hospital under mysterious circumstances earlier this year, a decision which angered a number of staff and governors. The Daily Telegraph

Patients are not priority, warn half of staff at scandal ambulance service

Patients are not priority, warn half of staff at scandal ambulance service Almost half of staff at a scandal-hit ambulance trust do not think their patients are put first, with almost one quarter too frightened to raise safety concerns with managers, research shows.

The NHS staff survey shows that South East Coast Ambulance trust is the worst in the country across a host of rankings.

The trust has been at the centre of a string of scandals, with at least two call handlers saying they were driven to attempt suicide as a result of an “endemic culture of bullying”.

Several claimed they were left under such pressure they could not concentrate on emergency calls, impairing their responses to the public. The Daily Telegraph

Numbers missing two-month cancer treatment target window doubles amid warnings A&E crisis is sucking away resources

Numbers missing two-month cancer treatment target window doubles amid warnings A&E crisis is sucking away resources The number of NHS cancer patients waiting longer than the crucial two-month target window has nearly doubled in the last five years, a new report reveals.

Macmillan Cancer support have warned that patients are dying because overrun A&E departments are draining the hospital resources needed to give them the prompt treatment they need.

One in six people diagnosed with the disease began treatment after the aimed-for 62 days in 2016, according to the charity, making it the third consecutive year in which the health service failed to keep pace with rising demand. The Daily Telegraph