Tuesday 23 May 2017

Northampton General Hospital rated as 'good' three years after highly critical watchdog report

Northampton General Hospital rated as 'good' three years after highly critical watchdog report An inspection by the Care Quality Commission has found "significant improvement" at Northampton General Hospital after the watchdog slammed its emergency and end of life care three years ago. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Nurse who gave KGH patient prescriptions without qualifications suspended

Nurse who gave KGH patient prescriptions without qualifications suspended A former KGH nurse who claimed he had the relevant qualification gave a patient prescriptions without the authority to do so. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Important first steps on the NHS estate

Important first steps on the NHS estate On the day NHS England published Next steps on the NHS five year forward view, the Department of Health published Sir Robert Naylor’s review on NHS property and estates.

The two documents are very different – while NHS England’s focuses on the delivery of an existing strategy, Sir Robert’s report sets out the vision for a new one. This is good news; as our evidence review, conducted to support Sir Robert’s review, highlighted, the NHS has been without an overarching estate strategy for a long time, and in the past it has been unclear as to where overall leadership for estate strategy lies.

The Naylor review comes at a time when capital investment is at its lowest level in real terms since 2005/6, with capital budgets frequently diverted to fund day-to-day activity – a trend likely to continue until 2019/20. The King's Fund

A Teaching Care Home pilot

A Teaching Care Home pilot This series of reports evaluates a Department of Health funded pilot which aimed to empower the workforce in care home nursing and to ensure the future sustainability of the workforce in the sector. The pilot created five centres of excellence across England which would share learning and best practice and help to strengthen leadership and care culture in care homes. International Longevity Centre

Intersex patients 'routinely lied to by doctors'

Intersex patients 'routinely lied to by doctors' Doctors in the UK routinely lied to patients with disorders of sex development known as intersex conditions, the BBC finds. BBC News

Brexit could force 2,137 GPs out of NHS, warns RCGP

Brexit could force 2,137 GPs out of NHS, warns RCGP Brexit could mean that more than 3m patients across the UK lose their family doctor, the RCGP has warned. GPonline

Third Of Children's Mental Health Services 'Downsizing Or Facing Closure' Causing 'Real Urgency'

Third Of Children's Mental Health Services 'Downsizing Or Facing Closure' Causing 'Real Urgency' A third of children’s mental health services are downsizing or facing closure, a new survey has found.

Worryingly, 84% of NHS counsellors, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts say children now need to have more “severe” levels of illness in order to get help.

And 67% say waiting times have got longer over the last five years.

The findings were the result of a joint survey of 3,000 NHS counsellors, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts from the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Huffington Post UK

We have to address the faultline between social care and the NHS

We have to address the faultline between social care and the NHS One is heavily rationed and means-tested, the other free at the point of use and tax-funded. And when assets are involved, the issue becomes politically toxic

In his first speech to the Labour party conference as prime minister in 1997, Tony Blair declared that he did not want his children to be brought up in a country “where the only way pensioners can get long-term care is by selling their home”. Twenty years later this remains a politically toxic issue – even though many people with care needs might wish they had a home to sell. The events of the past few days illustrate why the bold promises of successive governments to reform the way social care is funded have come to so little.

The Dilnot commission’s proposed cap on the lifetime costs of care was accepted by the coalition government in 2011 – albeit with the cap set at £72,000 rather than the £35,000 to £50,000 range proposed by Dilnot. It even made it on to the statute book as part of the Care Act 2014, and was generally welcomed as providing protection from the “catastrophic” costs faced by the one in 10 who need care costing at least £100,000. Implementing the cap was a Conservative manifesto pledge in the 2015 election but, barely 10 weeks later, the government announced this would be postponed until 2020 as the circumstances were “too difficult”.

Means-testing alone does not address the deeper challenges facing the social care system Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS trusts overspend by £770m despite bailout funding

NHS trusts overspend by £770m despite bailout funding Trusts fail to limit overspending to £580m but make inroads into previous year’s £2.45bn figure

NHS trusts overspent by £770m last year in the latest sign that hospitals are finding it impossible to meet fast-rising demand for care while their finances are facing an unprecedented squeeze.

That total is £190m more than the £580m maximum that health service bosses had sought from England’s 236 NHS trusts in 2016-17. Continue reading... The Guardian

First-line antibiotics now fail in 1 in 4 pneumonia cases

First-line antibiotics now fail in 1 in 4 pneumonia cases More than 22% of patients did not respond to a first dose of antibiotics, a Californian study found. Meanwhile, G20 health ministers agree to tackle antibiotics resistance. The Daily Mail

Doctors never told man about aneurysm the size of a golf ball

Doctors never told man about aneurysm the size of a golf ball A man died after doctors found an aneurysm the size of a golf ball - but failed to tell him or take any action for five years, an inquest has heard.

A coroner has written to Jeremy Hunt following the death of John Higgs, who was repeatedly seen in hospital, without anything being done about the bulging blood vessel which went on to kill him.

Mr Hunt has been warned of “a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken” at Barnsley Hospital in South Yorkshire, unless its systems are overhauled. The Daily Telegraph