Wednesday 2 August 2017

Specialist major trauma networks and terrorist events: to care for many, care for one

Specialist major trauma networks and terrorist events: to care for many, care for one In 2005, I was a senior specialist registrar in surgery at the Royal London Hospital and managed casualties from the 7/7 London bombings. Twelve years later, now a consultant trauma surgeon at the Royal London Major Trauma Centre and Director of the London Major Trauma System, I was surgical commander for the hospital’s response to the London Bridge attacks. A lot has changed in those intervening years. The King's Fund

Fair shares - a guide to NHS allocations

Fair shares - a guide to NHS allocations This set of infographics summarises data on NHS England's funding allocations to CCGs and commissioning areas in a digestible format. The slides also outline the rationale behind the funding formula used to calculate funding allocations.

The recruitment, retention and return of nurses to general practice nursing in England

The recruitment, retention and return of nurses to general practice nursing in England This report, authored by Ipsos MORI, outlines the findings of qualitative research into the drivers and barriers to entry into general practice nursing (GPN). It finds that the general perception is that general practice is more suitable for older or more experienced nurses. As student placements in general practice are rare, there is a lack of opportunity for students to develop an understanding of the GPN role. The research also highlights the need for greater support for GPNs and the lack of standardisation in pay for GPN roles. NHS England

New case study - how trust wide engagement has encouraged speaking up

New case study - how trust wide engagement has encouraged speaking up Find out how York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has engaged with all their staff over eight sites to create a culture of openness in relation to raising concerns. NHS Employers

Care homes face 'huge shortfall' in available beds

Care homes face 'huge shortfall' in available beds Up to 3,000 elderly people will not be able to get beds in UK care homes by the end of next year, research suggests.

Research commissioned by BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme reveals a huge shortfall in the number of beds available.

Increasing demand from an ageing population could see that grow to more than 70,000 beds in nine years' time.

The Department of Health said local authorities in England had been given an extra £2bn to help fund social care.

But in the past three years one in 20 UK care home beds has closed, and research suggests not enough are being added to fill the gap. BBC News

40% of trainees intend to take on partnerships within five years

40% of trainees intend to take on partnerships within five years Around 40% of GP trainees intend to take on a partnership within five years of qualification, with only one in ten ruling it out at any point, a major Pulse survey has revealed.

The survey of 310 trainees – the first conducted by the magazine, conducted to launch a special trainees’ month – also reveals that many respondents want to combine partnerships with other roles, including working in academia, the military, CCGs, occupational health, or even tech start-up companies.

However, one in five trainees also said they are considering leaving UK general practice within five years, predominantly to work overseas, but also to change specialty or leave medicine altogether. Pulse

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The bold new fight to eradicate suicide

The bold new fight to eradicate suicide Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in the UK. Now an ambitious initiative is trying to reduce rates to zero.

Steve Mallen thinks the signs first started to show when his son stopped playing the piano. Edward, then 18, was a gifted musician and had long since passed his grade-eight exams. Playing had been a passion for most of his life. But as adulthood beckoned, the boy had never been busier. He had won a place to read geography at the University of Cambridge and was revising hard for his A levels. At his school, Edward was head boy, and popular among pupils and teachers. His younger brother and sister idolised him.

“We didn’t attach any particular significance to it,” said Steve of what he saw as merely a musical pause. “I think we just thought, ‘Well, the poor lad’s been at the piano for years and years. He’s so busy … ’ But these are the small things – the ripples in the fabric of normal life – that you don’t necessarily notice, but which, as I know now, can be very significant.” Continue reading... The Guardian

Jeremy Hunt has repeatedly failed to meet pledges on mental health care

Jeremy Hunt has repeatedly failed to meet pledges on mental health care Latest funding announcement is too little, too late. Failure to prioritise and ringfence mental health resources has led to a crisis in provision

Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, has announced plans to expand mental health provision with a £1.3bn injection that will see thousands of new posts created. This would be welcome news were it not for the fact that so far Hunt has failed to deliver on pledges that could have improved services.

For a start, the Health and Social Care Act (2012) made it unlawful to discriminate between physical and mental health. So far, regardless of whether it’s financial budgets or service delivery, mental health services have seen no significant improvement. Continue reading... The Guardian

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NHS prescriptions for diabetes drugs doubles to 50 million

NHS prescriptions for diabetes drugs doubles to 50 million GPs are now spending a tenth of their medicines budget on diabetes drugs as well as devices so English patients can check their blood sugar, according to latest figures by NHS Digital. The Daily Mail

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'Surprise question' puts thousands on premature 'end-of-life' NHS footing

'Surprise question' puts thousands on premature 'end-of-life' NHS footing Tens of thousands of patients are being prematurely warned they could be about to die because of a defective diagnostic method used across the NHS.

Experts have said families and loved ones are being needlessly worried after new research showed the tool over-predicted the chances of death more often than not.

The so-called “surprise question”, encourages doctors to ask themselves “Would you be surprised if this patient were to die in the next few months, weeks, days?”

A wide scale analysis by University College London, funded by Marie Curie, found that more than half of those predicted to die within a specific time lived longer than expected. The Daily Telegraph

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