Most people are getting good, safe care but future quality is precarious

Most people are getting good, safe care but future quality is precarious This year’s State of Care report – published today – shows that thanks to the efforts of staff and leaders, the quality of health and social care has been maintained despite very real challenges and the majority of people are receiving good, safe care.

However, it also warns that the health and social care system is at full stretch and struggling to meet the more complex needs of today’s population, meaning that maintaining quality in the future is uncertain.

The report sets out analysis of the quality of health and social care across the country based on the first full round of rated inspections covering almost 29,000 services. Care Quality Commission 

See also:

• NHS future precarious, says regulator BBC News
• NHS hospitals and surgeries are 'straining at the seams' The Daily Mail
• NHS straining at the seams year before 70th birthday, finds regulator The Guardian

Prime Minister launches world-leading project on impact of ethnicity on everyday life

Prime Minister launches world-leading project on impact of ethnicity on everyday life The ethnicity facts and figures website brings together information from across government about how ethnicity affects people's everyday lives

The Prime Minister will challenge society to “explain or change” disparities in how people from different backgrounds are treated, as the government publishes the findings of a ground breaking audit of public services.

Launching the new ‘Ethnicity Facts and Figures’ website today (Tuesday 10 October), Theresa May will host a discussion round the Cabinet Table involving key stakeholders at Downing Street.

She will tell them the audit will become an “essential resource in the battle to defeat ethnic injustice” which must be confronted at all levels of society – from central government to local communities.

The new website – a first of its kind in terms of scale, scope and transparency - contains thousands of statistics covering more than 130 topics in areas including health, education, employment and the criminal justice system. The Cabinet Office

New infographic launched on the routes into nursing

New infographic launched on the routes into nursing Previously the routes into nursing have been limited, with the university degree being the main way to train registered nurses. The introduction of the nursing degree apprenticeship gives a new opportunity for employers to train nurses. The creation of the new nursing associate role can also help to be a bridge between healthcare assistants and graduate registered nurses. NHS Employers

Care after miscarriage 'not consistent enough'

Care after miscarriage 'not consistent enough' Women are not being told all the options when deciding how to dispose of pregnancy remains after miscarriage in England, a report suggests.

Corinne Fowler did not realise she could take her baby's remains home - instead they were disposed of with other clinical waste.

Looking back, she says she would have found a special place to bury the child she would never see again.

The Miscarriage Association said better and more consistent care was needed.

The Death Before Birth report, carried out by researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol, looked at the experiences of women who had gone through early pregnancy loss, such as miscarriage, terminations for foetal anomaly or stillbirth before 24 weeks.

In the UK, one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage and there are around 2,000 terminations following pre-natal screening each year. BBC News

Why mental health services in England are finally receiving attention

Why mental health services in England are finally receiving attention With the promise of an extra £1.3bn a year and reform of legislation on the cards, the mental health sector is getting the political backing it needs

England is witnessing the “biggest expansion of mental health services in Europe”, according to health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has promised that an extra £1.3bn would be invested annually in mental health services by 2021.

With one in four people expected to suffer from mental illness at some time in their life – whether it’s a new mother struggling with postnatal depression, a teenager with an eating disorder, or an older person isolated and lonely at home – the financial commitment is welcome. Continue reading... The Guardian

Gambling remains a hidden addiction because 'healthcare staff lack training'

Gambling remains a hidden addiction because 'healthcare staff lack training' There are an estimated 400,000 problem gamblers in the UK – most do not access treatment or know how to get help.

Gambling is often described as a hidden addiction. Yet there are an estimated 400,000 problem gamblers in the UK. Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, consultant psychiatrist at the National Problem Gambling Clinic – the only one of its kind in the UK – says that a lack of training among healthcare professionals could partly be to blame for the problem flying under the radar.

“For many years while drug and alcohol addictions were being researched and funded in terms of treatment, the issue of gambling wasn’t taught at medical school,” Bowden-Jones says. “Even as an addictions psychiatrist, we weren’t taught about pathological gambling – I came across it by chance.” Continue reading... The Guardian