NHS hospitals deeper in the red than reported, new analysis shows

NHS hospitals deeper in the red than reported, new analysis shows NHS trusts ended last year with an underlying overspend almost £3 billion more than was reported in their official accounts, according to new analysis by the Nuffield Trust think tank. Without more funding for the NHS, hospitals are unlikely to recover any time soon from a mismatch between the money they receive and the cost of providing patient care, the research shows.

The briefing, is based on analysing the accounts and financial data published by NHS regulators. By stripping out temporary funding boosts and one-off savings, it finds that NHS trusts ended last year (2016/17) with an underlying overspend of £3.7 billion. This was far higher than the £791 million reported by NHS regulators.

See also:

• The bottom line: Understanding the NHS deficit and why it won’t go away Nuffield Trust
• The NHS deficit is here to stay Nuffield Trust
• Hospitals overspend by almost £4billion in 12 months The Daily Mail
• True scale of NHS overspending 'eye-watering', new report finds The Daily Telegraph
• NHS trusts' overspend is £3bn higher than reported, study claims The Guardian

Clinical artificial intelligence: on the brink of a digital revolution?

Clinical artificial intelligence: on the brink of a digital revolution? Ahead of The King’s Fund’s festival of ideas to inspire and challenge the future of health care, Hugh Harvey, Clinical Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analysis Researcher at King's College London, imagines a world in which artificial intelligence has transformed frontline care.

Only 1 in 10 MPs in England believe the social care system is fit for purpose for the UK’s ageing population

Only 1 in 10 MPs in England believe the social care system is fit for purpose for the UK’s ageing population Only 1 in 10 MPs in England (10%) believe that the current social care system is suitable for the UK’s ageing population. And 86% of MPs in England believe a cross-party consensus is needed for a lasting settlement on health and social care. That’s according to a new poll of 101 MPs of all parties representing constituencies in England commissioned by Independent Age, the older people’s charity.

See also:

• Nine in ten MPs warn care system not fit for purpose The Daily Mail

Guidance: Prevention concordat for better mental health: planning resource

Guidance: Prevention concordat for better mental health: planning resource The Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health is underpinned by an understanding that taking a prevention-focused approach to improving the public’s mental health is shown to make a valuable contribution to achieving a fairer and more equitable society.

This resource has been developed to help local areas put in place effective arrangements to promote good mental health and prevent mental health problems. It does so by offering a 5-part framework of focus for effective planning for better mental health.

It also highlights a range of actions and interventions that local areas can take to improve mental health and tailor their approach. This includes illustration through practice examples and links to further supporting resources. Public Health England

See also:

• Research and analysis: Stocktake of local mental health prevention planning arrangements Public Health England
• Guidance: Psychosocial pathways and health outcomes Public Health England
• Guidance: Mental health services: cost-effective commissioning Public Health England
• Detailed guide: Mental health data and analysis: a guide for health professionals Public Health England

Acid attacks: NHS offers public advice on how to respond

Acid attacks: NHS offers public advice on how to respond The NHS and burns specialists are giving official advice to the public on how to provide first aid after an acid attack.

While still rare, the number of attacks using corrosive substances is rising.

The health service said the assaults were medical emergencies and people should call 999 immediately.

Contaminated clothing should be carefully removed and affected skin rinsed in running water until help arrives. BBC News

See also:

• NHS reveals rising toll of acid attacks and advises: report, remove, rinse The Guardian

Serious ambulance incidents include rape allegation and 'lost keys' death

Serious ambulance incidents include rape allegation and 'lost keys' death "Serious incidents" involving ambulances - including an alleged rape and a patient dying after vehicle keys were "lost" - have risen by 16% in five years.

The number of such events rose in seven of England's 10 ambulance areas.

Unison said the rise reflected "intolerable pressures" facing ambulance workers.

The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives said the incidents amounted to a "tiny" number of patient journeys.

"Serious incidents" (SIs) are defined by the NHS as "adverse events" needing a "heightened level of response". BBC News

US approves breakthrough leukaemia treatment that 'weaponises' blood cells to attack cancer

US approves breakthrough leukaemia treatment that 'weaponises' blood cells to attack cancer Opening a new era in cancer care, US health officials have approved a breakthrough treatment that genetically engineers patients' own blood cells into an army of assassins to seek and destroy childhood leukaemia.

The Food and Drug Administration called the approval historic, the first gene therapy to hit the US market. Made from scratch for every patient, it's one of a wave of “living drugs” under development to fight additional blood cancers and other tumours, too.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals set the price for its one-time infusion of so-called “CAR-T cells” at $475,000, but said there would be no charge for patients who didn't show a response within a month. The Independent

See also:

• Historic 'living drug' gets go-ahead BBC News
• US clears first gene therapy for childhood leukemia The Daily Mail
• First cancer gene therapy to treat leukaemia approved by US regulators The Daily Telegraph

We need action to address the mental health crisis, not more empty words

We need action to address the mental health crisis, not more empty words Theresa May and her ministers now talk the talk. But government policies helped to fuel a problem they can no longer ignore

Front page articles on mental health have become a regular occurrence. This week we learned that Britain’s biggest police force received a phone call relating to mental health every five minutes last year. And James Munby, head of the high court’s family division, hit the headlines this month referring to the case of girl X – a suicidal teenager for whom no secure bed was available. Munby wrote: “If this is the best we can do for X, and others in similar crisis, what right do we, what right do the system, our society and indeed the state itself, have to call ourselves civilised?”

We cannot afford to ignore the well-established link between social inequality and mental ill health Continue reading... The Guardian

UK needs to act urgently to secure NHS data for British public, report warns

UK needs to act urgently to secure NHS data for British public, report warns Algorithms based on NHS records could seed an ‘entirely new industry’ in AI-based diagnostics and mint billions for tech companies, strategic review reveals

The government must act urgently to ensure that patients and UK taxpayers – not tech companies – gain most from new commercial applications of NHS data, an independent review of the UK life sciences industry has said.

Sir John Bell, a professor of medicine at Oxford university who led the government-commissioned review, said that NHS patient records are uniquely suited for driving the development of powerful algorithms that could transform healthcare and seed an “entirely new industry” in AI-based diagnostics. Continue reading... The Guardian

Life-saving flu vaccines at heart of 160 million boost for life sciences

Life-saving flu vaccines at heart of 160 million boost for life sciences A new national centre to investigate cures for influenza will be at the heart of a £160 million Government boost for the UK’s research sector, ministers will announced.

The facility is also expected to manufacture large-scale vaccines to tackle polio and a host of other illnesses.

The announcement coincides with the publication of a review recommending the future strategy for Britain’s £64 billion life sciences industry as the UK prepares to leave the EU. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Life sciences: industrial strategy Office for Life Sciences

New national database for all child deaths planned

New national database for all child deaths planned A ll child deaths will be recorded onto a new national database in a bid to share information aimed at saving young lives, officials are reportedly planning.

The shake-up is being designed to overhaul the current system of local review panels which critics say squander the opportunity to learn lessons.

According to documents seen by the Health Service Journal, the Department for Education, which oversees the current system, will be stripped of its role and a new national database established by the Department of Health. The Daily Telegraph