As NHS staff retention crisis makes headlines, new ‘joined up’ recruitment initiative launches in Northamptonshire

As NHS staff retention crisis makes headlines, new ‘joined up’ recruitment initiative launches in Northamptonshire While the shortage of doctors and nurses is a national issue, it is one Northamptonshire is determined to tackle. Four healthcare providers are hoping that a groundbreaking recruitment campaign will focus on attracting professionals to their region instead.

Rather than competing for talent, ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ unites the University of Northampton, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton General Hospital, Kettering General Hospital and St Andrew’s Healthcare, a leading charity providing specialist mental healthcare in a joint bid to address their recruitment needs. This joined-up, trail blazing approach is a model the organisations’ leaders hope will be replicated elsewhere in the NHS. HR News

Report reveals millions of children in England living vulnerable or high risk lives

Report reveals millions of children in England living vulnerable or high risk lives  A new analysis that reveals, for the first time, the scale of vulnerability among children in England. ‘The Children’s Commissioner’s Report on measuring the number of vulnerable children’ brings together a range of information held by various government departments, agencies and others. Its initial analysis reveals a host of shocking statistics about the number of children living in vulnerable situations.

See also:

• 800,000 children suffering mental health problems - watchdog report The Daily Telegraph

NHS under pressure: What is happening to A&E services?

NHS under pressure: What is happening to A&E services? As a fourth hospital in England closes its casualty ward overnight, and with more downgrades likely to follow, are the alternatives for patients sufficient?

Medical director Dr Peter Collins admits it was a difficult decision, but Weston General Hospital, which serves more than 200,000 people in North Somerset, will close its doors at night.

More hospitals are likely to follow. The British Medical Association estimates that in 18 areas, health bosses are considering closing or downgrading their A&E departments. BBC News

See also:

• Under pressure BBC News

Chief medical officer calls for gene testing revolution

Chief medical officer calls for gene testing revolution Cancer patients should be routinely offered DNA tests to help select the best treatments for them, according to England's chief medical officer.

Prof Dame Sally Davies says in her annual report that the NHS must deliver her "genomic dream" within five years.

Over 31,000 NHS patients, including some with cancer, have already had their entire genetic code sequenced.

Dame Sally wants whole genome screening (WGS) to become as standard as blood tests and biopsies. BBC News

See also:

• Independent report: Chief Medical Officer annual report 2016: Generation Genome Department of Health

Senior MPs urge post-Brexit EU drug regulation deal

Senior MPs urge post-Brexit EU drug regulation deal The UK will continue to co-operate with the European Union on medicine testing after it leaves the bloc, two senior ministers have suggested.

Business Secretary Greg Clark and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said such a deal would be "in the interests of public health and safety".

"The UK would like to find a way to continue to collaborate with the EU," they wrote in a Financial Times letter.

There are fears Brexit may cause delays in UK patients getting new drugs.

Currently the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorises drugs for use across the EU, including the UK. BBC News

GPs to refer patients to libraries under long-term conditions scheme

GPs to refer patients to libraries under long-term conditions scheme GPs will be able to refer patients with long-term conditions to public libraries from this month under a charity-led scheme to promote access to reliable health information. GPonline

Trainees still suffer from heavy workloads

Trainees still suffer from heavy workloads Well over half of doctors in training are still working longer hours than they should, more than one in five are regularly left short of sleep by their working patterns, and roughly three in ten feel that rota gaps affect their training opportunities, according to the General Medical Council. But initial results from its latest training survey show that the proportion of doctors in training who reported heavy workloads has improved slightly since last year’s survey. OnMedica

There is a cure for the NHS: give nurses a pay rise | Janet Davies

There is a cure for the NHS: give nurses a pay rise | Janet Davies As head of the Royal College of Nursing, I can see the haemorrhage of staff continuing until something changes

When money gets tight in the NHS, they go straight for the so-called low-hanging fruit. Politicians and economists who do not understand patient care cut the staffing bill to balance the books. Nurses, as members of one of the largest professions in the NHS, find themselves first in line. Failings at Stafford hospital and other recent scandals have not acted as enough of a deterrent.

Patients on wards feel the difference, but so does the older person waiting for the district nurse at home and those who visit local clinics. The number of trained nurses available to work for the NHS is getting smaller and hospitals have 40,000 fewer nurses than they say they need.

It cannot be repeated enough: a pay 'rise' that is deliberately held below inflation is in fact a pay cut Continue reading... The Guardian

Royal Free breached UK data law in 1.6m patient deal with Google's DeepMind

Royal Free breached UK data law in 1.6m patient deal with Google's DeepMind Information Commissioner’s Office rules record transfer from London hospital to AI company failed to comply with Data Protection Act

London’s Royal Free hospital failed to comply with the Data Protection Act when it handed over personal data of 1.6 million patients to DeepMind, a Google subsidiary, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The data transfer was part of the two organisation’s partnership to create the healthcare app Streams, an alert, diagnosis and detection system for acute kidney injury. The ICO’s ruling was largely based on the fact that the app continued to undergo testing after patient data was transferred. Patients, it said, were not adequately informed that their data would be used as part of the test. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Royal Free - Google DeepMind trial failed to comply with data protection law Information Commissioner’s Office
• Four lessons NHS Trusts can learn from the Royal Free case Information Commissioner’s Office
• Google DeepMind NHS medical trial broke UK privacy law BBC News

Britons are among most at-risk in Europe for alcohol-related cancer

Britons are among most at-risk in Europe for alcohol-related cancer British people consume 2.1 alcoholic drinks every day on average, above the threshold that increases risk of cancer

Britons who have two alcoholic drinks a day are at higher risk of developing two of the most lethal forms of cancer, according to a report that confirms the link between regular alcohol consumption and the disease.

People in the UK drink the eighth most out of the European Union’s 28 member states, a report by medical group United European Gastroenterology (UEG) found. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Alcohol sales should be restricted with minimum prices introduced due to cancer risk, say experts The Independent

Paramedics should be deployed to prescribe says NICE

Paramedics should be deployed to prescribe says NICE Paramedics should be given more training to reduce hospital admissions, according to the London-based National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This could involve pain relief. The Daily Mail

Health inspectors sent into chaotic councils to ease NHS bed blocking

Health inspectors sent into chaotic councils to ease NHS bed blocking Care Quality Commission inspectors are to be sent into chaotic councils for the first time in a bid to improve faltering social care services.

The health watchdog will target town halls which are failing to provide enough care home spaces and community services as part of an effort to slash bed blocking in NHS hospitals.

The move, announced by Jeremy Hunt in Parliament last night, will be accompanied by the threat of financial sanctions for local authorities which fail to improve. The Daily Telegraph

Drug which triples chance of pregnancy is blocked by NHS

Drug which triples chance of pregnancy is blocked by NHS Thousands of infertile women are being denied a £4 drug which could triple their chance of getting pregnant, new research suggests.

The NHS rationing body has rejected use of the treatment, combined with insemination, for women with unexplained infertility.

Controversial guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says that couples in this situation should just keep trying for two years, then have IVF.

But new research presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Geneva shows that the drugs - which can cost as little as £4 per cycle - massively increase the chance of pregnancy.

Nice said they now planned to update their guidance in light of the latest research. The Daily Telegraph