CCG reveals options for future of Corby’s Urgent Care Centre

CCG reveals options for future of Corby’s Urgent Care Centre Corby CCG has revealed the options for the future of the town’s urgent care centre, which it will decide upon next week.

An extraordinary meeting has been called for Tuesday (August 8) where health officials will make a decision on provision at the site in Cottingham Road beyond September 30.

 The current contract with operators Lakeside+ ends then, with Lakeside declining to take on a new contract because it says the CCG is not offering enough money and no other bidders coming forward. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Spending on health: how does the UK compare internationally?

Spending on health: how does the UK compare internationally? How much should we spend on the NHS? Many feel that we should be spending more. And not without reason, perhaps. With the majority of hospitals spending more than their incomes to treat ever increasing numbers of patients, with waiting times lengthening and other problems, more money would seem to be the answer. The Health Foundation

Trusted assessor scheme can reduce delays to transfers of care

Trusted assessor scheme can reduce delays to transfers of care Trusted assessors can reduce the numbers and waiting times of people awaiting discharge from hospital.

NHS Improvement has published a document describing how hospitals, primary and community care, and local authorities could work together to deliver trusted assessment as part of the high impact change model set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View Next Steps.

Could the NHS save money by getting it right first time?

Could the NHS save money by getting it right first time? With the NHS strapped for cash, there are frequent demands for more money. But could hospitals make better use of resources?

That's the question which NHS chiefs in England are pondering at a time when funding increases are not keeping up with patient demand.

One leading surgeon even says the NHS doesn't need more money - and can find what it needs simply by becoming more efficient.

At the heart of the latest attempts to make the money go further is another typical piece of NHS jargon - "Getting It Right First Time" or Girft. It may sound obscure, but it is now a buzzword around Whitehall and at public policy think tanks.

Ministers and health service leaders are setting great store by this project and hoping it can free up more money for the front line at a time of mounting pressure. A new report from the Girft team has come up with annual potential savings for NHS in England of £268m. BBC News

The biggest NHS scandal you've never heard of only affects women, but men should be just as concerned

The biggest NHS scandal you've never heard of only affects women, but men should be just as concerned This year, news broke of a dangerous medical device, after years of campaigning and investigation.

Senior doctors have said it could be the most serious medical scandal since thalidomide. There have been calls in Parliament for a public inquiry into the situation.

Oh and, you may not have heard of it – because it’s about vaginas.

Specifically, transvaginal mesh procedures, which many believe are unsafe, untested and improperly prescribed as a treatment for common complications related to childbirth, such as incontinence or prolapse. The scandal was the subject of The Independent’s long read last week, yet has has received relatively little headline attention.

NHS 'could go under' if EU staff are not assured job security post-Brexit

NHS 'could go under' if EU staff are not assured job security post-Brexit The NHS could “go under” unless European Union staff are given reassurances about their future after Brexit, the head of the Royal College of Nursing has warned.

Janet Davies, chief executive of the nurses' union, said some EU workers were already leaving and hospitals would not be able to cope if significant numbers followed.

Theresa May has promised no EU citizen currently in the UK will be forced out after Brexit, but Ms Davies said the Government needed to give a clearer message to NHS staff and potential future recruits from the remaining 27 member states. The Independent

Mental health services are in crisis but we NHS bosses can change this

Mental health services are in crisis but we NHS bosses can change this At my trust, we involve people with experience of mental health problems in our work and support staff wellbeing. Sam Allen is chief executive of Sussex partnership NHS foundation trust

There has been a lot of talk about mental health and the need to combat stigma, but this has done little to improve the experience of people using services.

That, at least, is the concern some have expressed. I want to offer another perspective. Continue reading... The Guardian

Women in NHS ambulance service 'hounded for sexual favours'

Women in NHS ambulance service 'hounded for sexual favours' Report finds South East Coast ambulance trust has highly sexualised behaviour ‘embedded’ at management level

Female NHS ambulance staff say they have been hounded for sexual favours in return for promotion.

The allegations, which include “highly sexualised gazing” in front of patients and “sexual predators” who “groomed students” for sex, emerged in a report which revealed widespread bullying at South East Coast ambulance service NHS foundation trust (Secamb). Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• South East Coast Ambulance Service report shows bullying culture BBC News
• Sex favours for promotion at scandal-hit ambulance trust The Daily Mail
• Female NHS staff 'groped and groomed' by bosses in return for promotions, damning report reveals The Independent

Charlie Gard medic derides 'soap opera' that stoked abuse of hospital

Charlie Gard medic derides 'soap opera' that stoked abuse of hospital Ill-informed interventions from Donald Trump and others undermined confidence in Great Ormond Street hospital, clinician tells the Guardian

A member of the medical team that helped treat Charlie Gard has derided ill-informed politicians and religious leaders for stoking abuse of Great Ormond Street hospital and undermining confidence in the treatment of its young patients.

The clinician said the furore over Charlie’s case had already led some “nervous parents” of other children to start questioning the judgements of doctors in the hospital’s intensive care unit, fearing “they might not do the right thing for their child”. Continue reading... The Guardian

IVF could be restricted to women aged 35 and under

IVF could be restricted to women aged 35 and under Women over the age of 35 face being denied IVF as budget cuts cause a huge collapse in fertility treatment provision.

NHS providers in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are considering restricting IVF to women struggling to conceive aged between 30 and 35, which would make them the first to limit services to such a narrow age range.

Thirteen areas of England have introduced restrictions or stopped providing IVF completely since the beginning of the year, according to the latest research. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Only 30-35s to get IVF treatment under new plans BBC News
• IVF cut back in 13 areas of England to save money, new data shows The Guardian

Our treatment facilities for people with personality disorders are not good enough

Our treatment facilities for people with personality disorders are not good enough This is tragically not as unusual a case as people might think," Norman Lamb said. He was speaking of the case of girl X, a teenage girl with personality disorder due to be discharged from custody as no suitable placement could be found despite warnings from her care staff that she would die by suicide within hours of release.

He is right. Girl X, whose determination to die by suicide was so severe that she could not be left alone in the shower for even 50 seconds or have anything more than a mattress in her room, is not an exception.

Spending extended time in seclusion while waiting for services or continuing at high risk in the community because of lack of inpatient and community provision is currently the rule for adolescents and adults with personality disorders. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Bed found for suicidal girl after judge's criticism BBC News
• Beds found for suicidal teenager after top judge's 'blood on our hands' warning The Daily Telegraph
• NHS finds bed for teenager at risk of suicide The Guardian
• We’re failing our young people on mental health provision | Letters The Guardian