'Inadequate' Northampton care home given six months to improve after inspectors find lack of 'dignity or respect'

'Inadequate' Northampton care home given six months to improve after inspectors find lack of 'dignity or respect' A pair of Northampton care homes managed by a team without "any form of quality assurance" for their patient's safety or well being has been branded "inadequate", a report says.

CQC Inspectors found a culture at St Michaels Lodge and House, in St Michaels Avenue, off Kettering Road, where residents were "not valued", with mismatched medicine records and an "uncaring" service for patients. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The north-south NHS divide: how where you are not what you need dictates your care

The north-south NHS divide: how where you are not what you need dictates your care This report outlines the findings of an examination of data from 209 CCGs to assess patient access to medical technology. It finds wide variation in access between the north and south of England and argues that CCG performance against access indicators should be made clearer to patients. Medical Technology Group

Bridging the health care gap through telehealth: the MedicallHome and ConsejoSano models

Bridging the health care gap through telehealth: the MedicallHome and ConsejoSano models This case study looks at two telehealth models in Mexico and the U.S. targeting low- to middle-income parts of the population. Using a call centre as the point of access, these models have reduced unnecessary use of services and supported patient navigation of local health services. The Commonwealth Fund

Time spent frail in old age 'doubles'

Time spent frail in old age 'doubles' The amount of time spent needing daily care at the end of life has doubled in England over the past two decades, a study suggests.

The Newcastle University study found men spent 2.4 years on average needing regular care and women three years.

This includes everything from help with washing and dressing each day to round-the-clock care.

Researchers said it suggested there needed to be a sharp increase in the number of care home places to cope.

It comes as ministers consider a new way to fund the system.

The government has promised major reform amid reports that councils are struggling to provide enough support to cope with the ageing population. BBC News

See also:

• Is late-life dependency increasing or not? A comparison of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS) (open access) The Lancet
• Britain needs another 190k extra care home places by 2035 The Daily Mail
• Lancet: more than 70,000 extra care home places needed by 2025 The Daily Telegraph

Maternity 'must improve' at baby-deaths hospital trust

Maternity 'must improve' at baby-deaths hospital trust Maternity services at a health trust at the centre of a baby deaths inquiry must improve, inspectors have said.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt ordered an investigation into the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in April.

A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report said overall care had got better but safety in maternity services "needed further improvement".

The trust said challenges needed to be resolved and it wanted to work more closely with GPs. BBC News

See also:

• Four babies a week are brain-damaged by NHS blunders The Daily Mail

Meningitis jab uptake 'worryingly low'

Meningitis jab uptake 'worryingly low' School-leavers are putting themselves at risk of deadly meningitis if they don't take up the offer to be vaccinated against the disease, nurses are warning.

People living in England who are aged 17 and 18 are eligible for the free jab.

The Royal College of Nursing says only a third took up the offer last year. BBC News

'Scandal' of vaginal mesh removal rates revealed by NHS records

'Scandal' of vaginal mesh removal rates revealed by NHS records Traumatic complications mean one in 15 women fitted with the most common type of mesh support will require surgery to extract it, figures suggest

Thousands of women have undergone surgery to have vaginal mesh implants removed during the past decade, according to NHS records that reveal the scale of traumatic complications linked to the devices.

The figures, obtained by the Guardian, suggest that around one in 15 women fitted with the most common type of mesh support later require surgery to have it extracted due to complications.

What this is showing is very high rates of removals, which are only likely to get worse

You go in vaginally and take out the mesh there, then you go in through the tummy and chisel out the mesh with some difficulty Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Vaginal mesh implants: ‘I really thought I was dying’ The Guardian

Gender dysphoria patients deserve better treatment than I can give them

Gender dysphoria patients deserve better treatment than I can give them GPs don’t have the time or the expertise to provide the holistic treatment that transgender patients require. Proper services are required urgently

Gender identity clinics have seen a huge demand for services in recent years. Waits can vary from 12 to 18 months in most cases, but can extend to three years in some parts of the country. It is estimated that about 1% of the population is transgender, although some believe this figure to be higher. Many have a higher incidence of mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety.

Those waiting months for their first appointment can resort to buying unverified hormonal treatments on the black market, seeing private specialists (often online) or looking for support and prescriptions from their GP. Private specialists can reassure them that their GP will prescribe and monitor their treatments. This leads to some difficult conversations with patients.

Patients are faced with conflicting messages. The profession, too, remains uneasy and unsupported Continue reading... The Guardian

GPs in England 'unconfident' discussing physical activity with patients – report

GPs in England 'unconfident' discussing physical activity with patients – report Less than two-thirds of doctors feel confident discussing activity levels and almost a third have never heard of national guidelines

The majority of doctors in England are unfamiliar with recommended levels of physical activity, with fewer than two-thirds confident about discussing the topic with their patients, researchers have revealed.

Set out in July 2011 by the Chief Medical Office, national guidelines recommend that adults aged between 19 and 64 undertake 75 minutes of intense activity or 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week.  Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• GP consultations not long enough to provide advice on exercise, says RCGP GPonline

NHS patients express increasing dissatisfaction with levels of privacy

NHS patients express increasing dissatisfaction with levels of privacy NHS patients are increasingly dissatisfied with the level of privacy afforded to them in hospital, a new report has revealed, after repeated Government failures to close mixed-sex wards.

A patient-led study assessing the non-clinical aspect of NHS care shows that scores in the area of "privacy, dignity and wellbeing" have decreased by four per cent since 2014.

The revelation comes just months after a long-standing pledge to close mixed-sex hospital wards was dropped by the Conservatives, despite it appearing in both its 2015 and 2010 manifestos. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment 2017 - England NHS Digital

NHS warned over hand sanitiser after pensioner drinks bottle and dies

NHS warned over hand sanitiser after pensioner drinks bottle and dies The NHS has been warned over the use of hand sanitiser after a confused patient drank two litres of gel and later died.

John Haughey, 76, would have been almost six times over the drink-drive limit after consuming the contents of the bottle which had been attached to the bottom of his bed at Hull Royal Infirmary. It contained as much alcohol as a litre of gin.

Mr Haughey drifted in and out of consciousness and died six days later of bronchopneumonia.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has now admitted breach of its duty of care as part of a legal action by the patient's family, and agreed to pay an undisclosed, five-figure sum in damages. The Daily Telegraph