Friday 30 June 2017

Will the capped expenditure process help keep a lid on NHS finances?

Will the capped expenditure process help keep a lid on NHS finances? It’s not surprising that NHS finances continue to hit the headlines. NHS providers of hospital, ambulance, community and mental health services ended 2016/17 with a deficit of £791 million and are currently planning for a £500 million deficit in 2017/18. The challenging financial situation is also increasingly spreading to the commissioning sector, with several CCGs expecting to overspend their allocated budgets. The King's Fund

Where’s policy action needed for a healthier population? Learning from international experience

Where’s policy action needed for a healthier population? Learning from international experience If you were to choose a Government department you would run for a day to improve the health of the population, which would it be?

You might instinctively choose the department of health. But since access to healthcare accounts for as little as 10% of a population’s health and wellbeing, it is unlikely to be your best choice. Instead, because it is the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age that contribute in large part to our prospects of a healthy life, you might be better off with HM Treasury, the department for education, or the department for work and pensions, perhaps.

Yet there is a lot less attention on the policy action needed outside the health sector to create better health and wellbeing by influencing the social determinants of health – for example, our access to adequate income, good education and work, decent homes and strong social relationships. The Health Foundation

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A trade in people: the inpatient healthcare economy for people with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder

A trade in people: the inpatient healthcare economy for people with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder This report analysis the market for inpatient services for people with learning disabilities in England. The analysis finds that approximately half of these services are run by the independent sector, services which are valued at over a quarter of a billion pounds per year.

The report calls for greater scrutiny and accountability for the independent sector to ensure high quality of care and patient safety. Centre for Disability Research

Air pollution: outdoor air quality and health NICE guideline NG70

Air pollution: outdoor air quality and health NICE guideline NG70 This guideline covers road-traffic-related air pollution and its links to ill health. It aims to improve air quality and so prevent a range of health conditions and deaths.

This guideline recommends taking a number of actions in combination, because multiple interventions, each producing a small benefit, are likely to act cumulatively to produce significant change. National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence

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No-show women at cervical screening 'unaware of test'

No-show women at cervical screening 'unaware of test' Nearly a quarter of women who don't make cervical screening appointments are unaware that the process even exists, according to a UK survey.

University College London researchers said more creative ways of reaching them were needed, like using social media instead of sending letters.

Women who miss out tend to be younger from poorer families or non-native English speakers, the research found.

Cervical cancer screening has been falling in the UK since 2011. BBC News

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GP pleas to help vulnerable patients ignored by ‘disintegrating’ social services

GP pleas to help vulnerable patients ignored by ‘disintegrating’ social services GPs are referring more vulnerable children and adults than ever for protection against abuse or neglect, but Pulse can reveal that their concerns are often going unheard.

A Pulse investigation reveals a 15% increase in primary care referrals about safeguarding concerns to child and adult social services after new guidance came in following the infamous case of Baby P.

But a Pulse survey of over 800 GP readers found a third say they are unable to access social services support and 42% experience unacceptable delays when referring vulnerable adults and children. GPs told Pulse that they were unable to get hold of social workers and this is leaving vulnerable members of society at risk.

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Taking a child away from their mother isn't easy – but sometimes it's necessary

Taking a child away from their mother isn't easy – but sometimes it's necessary As a nurse, sometimes I have to confront the fact that parents can do terrible things to their children

I watch as my staff nurse colleague hands a two-year-old child into the waiting arms of the social worker who has just returned from court. He’s being taken into temporary foster care under an interim care order. It’s a decision we’ve been working towards for months, which I believe to be right. It should feel like a victory but it really doesn’t.

I’m on the children’s ward surrounded by carrier bags containing this boy’s belongings. I’m hoping his mother has left him some familiar item of comfort for later on tonight; a cuddly toy or a special blanket, perhaps. He’s been on the ward for weeks and the staff have grown fond of him. We’re sorry to see him go, but hoping that it’ll be for the best. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS chiefs soften 'brutal' cost-cutting plan after huge backlash

NHS chiefs soften 'brutal' cost-cutting plan after huge backlash Health service’s financial regulator waters down proposal for 14 areas in England after warnings that patient care would suffer

NHS bosses have been forced to backtrack on controversial plans to impose “brutal” cost-cutting measures that involved delaying operations, denying patients treatment and closing hospital wards.

NHS Improvement (NHSI), the service’s financial regulator, has watered down proposals it drew up alongside NHS England after doctors, health charities and senior NHS staff in the 14 affected areas of England reacted with anger, amazement and warnings that patients would suffer. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS prescribed record number of antidepressants last year

NHS prescribed record number of antidepressants last year Data prompts debate about whether rise shows drugs are handed out too freely or whether more people are getting help

The NHS prescribed a record number of antidepressants last year, fuelling an upward trend that has seen the number of pills given to patients more than double over the last decade.

The figures raised questions over whether the rise shows doctors are handing out the drugs out too freely or whether it means more people are getting help to tackle their anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Continue reading... The Guardian

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More than 50,000 Britons with 'metal on metal' hips recalled for X-rays and blood tests over toxic fears 

More than 50,000 Britons with 'metal on metal' hips recalled for X-rays and blood tests over toxic fears More than 50,000 patients with “metal on metal” hips are being told to undergo X-rays and blood tests after watchdogs found they are far more toxic than was thought.

Every person fitted with the devices is being advised to have checks, in a safety alert issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Concerns have been repeatedly raised about the devices, with watchdogs previously recommending patients with particular types of implant, or troublesome symptoms, to undergo tests. The Daily Telegraph

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