Stopping the blame game around delayed transfers of care

Stopping the blame game around delayed transfers of care The ongoing row about the Better Care Fund and delayed transfers of care has flared again during a debate in the House of Commons on social care. Labour MP, and former shadow Care Minister, Liz Kendall said that one local county council, Leicestershire, feared it could lose £22 million in ‘fines’ after it was judged to be one of the ‘poorest performers’ in reducing delayed transfers of care (DTOCs).

The current Care Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price, did not like the word ‘fine’, preferring to say that the government ‘reserved the right to review allocations’ but – as current Labour shadow Barbara Keeley observed – the clear implication was that this review would be downwards and not upwards. The King's Fund

No domestic quick fixes on workforce: we must secure overseas recruitment

No domestic quick fixes on workforce: we must secure overseas recruitment Uncertainty over international recruitment is threatening safe, high quality care for patients a major report by NHS Providers has warned.

There for us: a better future for the NHS workforce says there are no domestic “quick fixes” to the severe workforce shortages in the NHS, and that any significant reduction in the number of overseas staff in the next few years is likely to have a serious and damaging impact on services for the public.

The report criticises the slow, disjointed, response from the Department of Health and its arms-length bodies to the NHS’s growing workforce challenges. It calls for urgent steps to ease intolerable pressures on front line staff, and to develop an NHS workforce fit to meet the growing and changing needs of the population.

See also:

• There for us report related resources NHS Providers
• NHS staff 'working on edge of safety' BBC News
• NHS staff crisis means EU workers should get right to stay post-Brexit The Daily Telegraph
• Doubt over EU staff in NHS threatens patient care, hospital bosses say The Guardian

Embedding health and wellbeing into your reward package

Embedding health and wellbeing into your reward package Our new case study highlights how using health and wellbeing as part of the reward offer to staff, has positively impacted what staff think about working for the organisation as well as led to a reduction in short-term absence. NHS Employers

'I've waited 4 years for a transplant'

'I've waited 4 years for a transplant' Doctors say black and Asian patients are needlessly dying while waiting for organ transplants because of a severe shortage of ethnic minority donors in the UK. BBC News

What it would mean if, as a nation, we really did take mental health seriously?

What it would mean if, as a nation, we really did take mental health seriously? Theresa May has said many of the right things about mental health. “If you suffer from mental health problems, there’s not enough help to hand,” she said as she became Prime Minister last year. But, as we report today, 12 charities in the field say that the fine words need to be backed by public money in this month’s Budget. The Independent

Hundreds of trainee GPs facing hardship as a result of salary delays

Hundreds of trainee GPs facing hardship as a result of salary delays Exclusive: Payment delays leave some trainees unable to cover mortgages and forced to ask for emergency funds

Hundreds of trainee GPs have not received their salaries from the outsourcing company responsible for paying them, forcing some to turn to charities for emergency funds, according to the BMA. Continue reading... The Guardian

Smartphone GP service 'risks luring doctors from frontline practice'

Smartphone GP service 'risks luring doctors from frontline practice' General practitioner leaders say they are ‘really worried’ about list of those ineligible for virtual consultation scheme

GP leaders have raised concerns about the first NHS smartphone virtual GP service.

Millions of NHS patients who live or work in various locations in London can sign up to the service offering a GP consultation via a smartphone 24 hours a day. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS to open first A&E unit specially for elderly patients

NHS to open first A&E unit specially for elderly patients The NHS is to open its first A&E unit specially for elderly patients amid widespread fears they are waiting too long to be seen.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital announced the pioneering plans to stop the frail having to endure delayed stays.

Beginning later this month, patients over the age of 80 will be sent directly to the hospital's older people's emergency department.

They will be met by a team of consultants and nurses - similar to that of a traditional A&E, as well as geriatrics who specialise in looking after the elderly.

The plans, believed to be the first in the country, have been dubbed a 'massive step forward' in slashing waiting times - which are some of the worst on record. The Daily Mail

See also:

• NHS to open its first A&E for the elderly The Daily Telegraph