Wednesday 27 September 2017

Improving staff retention - a guide for employers

Improving staff retention - a guide for employers NHS Employers has launched an in-depth guide to staff retention, which brings together the lessons learned from the 92 participants in the retention collaborative run by the organisation since late 2016.

UK 'eliminates measles' for first time

UK 'eliminates measles' for first time The elimination of measles has been achieved in the UK for the first time, the World Health Organization says.

The global health body classes a country as having eliminated the disease when it has stopped it freely circulating for at least three years.

While there are still small clusters, many of these are brought in from abroad and they are not spreading.

But health experts said there should be no complacency, warning there were several large outbreaks across Europe. BBC News

Lack of secure mental health beds scandalous, says judge

Lack of secure mental health beds scandalous, says judge A teenager who was a risk to himself and the public could not be found a secure mental health bed for a month in England, Scotland or Wales, his father claims.

Secure accommodation was sought for Boy Y, from Norfolk, in July but none was available.

Mr Justice Holman, who ruled on an injunction over the case, said the lack of secure beds was "scandalous".

NHS England said improving mental health care was an "absolute priority". BBC News

'No convincing evidence' QOF helps patients with long-term conditions

'No convincing evidence' QOF helps patients with long-term conditions Performance-related pay as promoted through the QOF does not improve care of people with long-term conditions and may have a negative impact on patients, researchers have found. GPonline

Chanting fake mantras won’t save the NHS. Proper funding will | Stefan Stern

Chanting fake mantras won’t save the NHS. Proper funding will Belief is a wonderful thing – but channelling the spirit of David Brent is no way to fix the health service

It was a cry for help. At a meeting in London earlier this month NHS trust chief executives were forced to chant “We can do this” as a sign of their commitment to improving their hospitals’ poor A&E performance. Paul Watson, NHS England’s regional director for the Midlands and east of England, tried to lead colleagues in this chant, apparently urging them to “take the roof off” with the sound of their belief. “We can do this” was the four-word summary of a 40-slide presentation. The chant was meant to be “light relief”, Watson says, “but it does have the merit of being true.”

'We can do this' sounds like an advertising slogan from the 1970s Continue reading... The Guardian

Contaminated blood scandal victims allowed to sue government

Contaminated blood scandal victims allowed to sue government More than 500 claimants – surviving victims and families of the deceased – given permission to seek compensation

More than 500 victims of the NHS contaminated blood scandal have been given permission to sue the government for compensation.

The claimants, a mix of haemophiliac survivors and relatives of those killed by infected blood products over the past 30 years, were granted a ­group litigation order to begin proceedings in the high court at a preliminary hearing in ­London yesterday. The judge dismissed attempts by Department of Health lawyers to delay the claim. Continue reading... The Guardian

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£37m compensation agreed for victims of rogue surgeon Ian Paterson

£37m compensation agreed for victims of rogue surgeon Ian Paterson A High Court judge has approved a £37 million compensation plan for hundreds of victims of the disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson.

Paterson was jailed for 20 years after he was found guilty in April at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three further wounding charges.

Paterson’s trial heard how he lied to his patients and exaggerated or invented the risk of cancer to convince them to go under the knife. He also claimed payments for more expensive procedures.

Spire Healthcare, the hospital group where Paterson treated his private patients, will contribute £27.2 million to the compensation fund. A further £10 million is to be provided by Paterson's insurers and his former employers, the Heart of England NHS Trust. The Daily Telegraph

Medical experts 'complicit' over epilepsy drug which caused deformities

Medical experts 'complicit' over epilepsy drug which caused deformities Medical experts were “complicit” in allowing thousands of children to suffer deformity after resisting warnings on epilepsy drugs, campaigners have said.

A hearing in London yesterday heard that regulators knew in 1973 that taking the anti-epilepsy drug in pregnancy could cause babies to be born with disabilities, but waited 40 years before alerting the public to the risks.

Estimates suggest that around 20,000 babies in the UK suffered harm as a result of sodium valproate which can also cause brain damage and problems such as autism.

Sanofi, which manufactures the drug, has said it has always been transparent with regulators about the risks of the medicine. The Daily Telegraph

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