NGH Paddington ward gets £27,000 worth of new beds for parents to stay with poorly children

NGH Paddington ward gets £27,000 worth of new beds for parents to stay with poorly children The mayor of Northampton councillor Gareth Eales and the mayoress, councillor Terrie Eales open the newly refurbished Paddington children's ward.

Half of Paddington children’s ward at Northampton General Hospital has been given a makeover to produce a safer, more modern and efficient environment for patients, parents, carers and staff. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

‘Stay away if you’ve been sick’, says KGH

‘Stay away if you’ve been sick’, says KGH KGH and Nene CCG are urging people not to attend A&E – or visit relatives in hospitals – if they have or have recently had vomiting or diarrhoea.

The common stomach bug norovirus is currently prevalent in the county and so far this month KGH has had 11 confirmed cases in the hospital.

The bug affects individuals in workplaces, care homes and schools and nurseries and there is no specific cure, with the best treatment to stay at home. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Performance of the NHS provider sector for the month ended 30 September 2017

Performance of the NHS provider sector for the month ended 30 September 2017 This report finds that despite the NHS treating more patients than even before, more people were seen within four hours in A&E and within 18 weeks for planned care. However, the combined end of year deficit for hospitals in England will be an estimated £127 million worse than planned. NHS Improvement

Faye’s story: good practice when prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Faye’s story: good practice when prescribing opioids for chronic pain The British Medical Association’s (BMA) recent study into prescribing analgesics has shown long term opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain is becoming an increasing issue in England.

These resources highlight the difficulties in prescribing opioids to manage chronic pain and offer advice and guidance to all healthcare professionals who are responsible for administering them. NHS Improvement

Child abuse survivor reveals horrific treatment at mental health unit being investigated by police

Child abuse survivor reveals horrific treatment at mental health unit being investigated by police Exclusive: Man describes beatings and forced sedation at Hill End Hospital Adolescent Unit.

“We were beaten, we were punched, we were put in headlocks, we had our heads rammed into doors…I was one of the lucky ones because I wasn’t raped, but I know of other people who were.”

Alan was 11 years old when he was taken into Hill End Hospital Adolescent Unit in St Albans – a place where he was meant to be cared for alongside other vulnerable children.

It was 1993 and he had been “naughty”, running away from the children’s homes and care centres social services shifted him between.

Hill End was supposed to treat teenagers with psychiatric illnesses, but by the time Alan arrived it had become what he called “dumping ground” for children for whom the NHS and local authorities had run out of other ideas. The Independent

Philip Hammond dismisses NHS chief's call for £4bn emergency cash injection

Philip Hammond dismisses NHS chief's call for £4bn emergency cash injection The chancellor told the BBC that heads of public services always predict ‘Armageddon’ in the run-up to a budget

Philip Hammond has dismissed calls from the head of the NHS for an emergency cash injection of £4bn, as he said people running public services always predict ”Armageddon” before a budget.

The chancellor hinted the NHS could get more money to cover the cost of ending the public sector pay freeze for nurses and other workers. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Support for tax rise to fund NHS has grown over past year, major poll finds The Independent

Hospitals attack ‘barking mad’ NHS target to manage winter crisis

Hospitals attack ‘barking mad’ NHS target to manage winter crisis Official edicts to banish long trolley waits and treatment in corridors are deluded, say trusts.

Health service chiefs have been declared “barking mad” for ordering hospitals to ensure no patient is treated in a corridor or languishes on a trolley for hours when this year’s winter crisis hits.

NHS England’s instructions, intended to avoid a repeat of hospitals’ descent into the sort of meltdown seen last year, also say that patients should not have to wait more than 15 minutes in the back of an ambulance outside an A&E unit as they wait to be handed over to hospital staff. Continue reading... The Guardian

Cross-party MPs request urgent non-partisan debate on future of NHS

Cross-party MPs request urgent non-partisan debate on future of NHS Group tells Theresa May health system has been failing patients and calls for public sector pay cap for NHS workers to be lifted

Ninety MPs including several senior Tories have urged Theresa May to launch a cross-party convention on the future of the NHS and social care in England.

Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Commons health committee, organised a letter in conjunction with the Liberal Democrat former care minister Norman Lamb and Labour’s former shadow care minister Liz Kendall, that has been sent to the prime minister and the chancellor, Philip Hammond.

Govt also needs to focus on the long term, stop planning for health & social care in separate silos as this approach is setting us up for failure. Finance & workforce need urgent attention for the here & now but also for the long term & MPs from all Parties ready to engage

Current plans to kick social care into the long grass (again) & to separate planning for young and older adults creates even further fragmentation . Essential to think about whole system of NHS & Care Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Social care: MPs seek cross-party group to 'sustain' NHS BBC News

Surgeons to guard hospital doors this winter in bid to stop overcrowding

Surgeons to guard hospital doors this winter in bid to stop overcrowding Surgeons should be posted at hospital front doors this winter to turn away non-urgent patients from A&E, the professions leadership has said.

In an unprecedented appeal, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) said even its most senior members should volunteer for new “rapid assessment” units in a bid to prevent overcrowding.

Supported by the NHS leadership, the RCS said the only way to prevent the cancellation of routine operations, which happens increasingly as hospitals become busier, was to channel manpower into making sure A&E is only attended by those in the most need. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Surgeons asked to staff hospital front doors to head off emergency pressures this winter Royal College of Surgeons 

NHS considers deliberate three-month waits for routine ops

NHS considers deliberate three-month waits for routine ops Patients needing hip, knee and cataract surgery face being deliberately kept ‘on hold’ on hospital waiting lists for a minimum of three months.

Under a controversial scheme to save money, patients will be made to wait a minimum of 12 weeks before they can even be considered for routine operations.

Managers claim some patients will get better while they are waiting and decide they no longer need the potentially life-changing surgery.

But critics said bosses were hoping patients would go private – or die – before their operation so the NHS would never have to pay. The Daily Mail

Number of patients on mixed sex wards hits six-year high

Number of patients on mixed sex wards hits six-year high The number of patients who have to endure the indignity of being on a mixed sex ward has hit a six-year high, figures revealed yesterday.

Some 1,140 patients had to sleep on the wards last month, the highest figure since October 2011.

Last year alone, 10,110 were put on the wards – an average of 200 patients every week.

This figure has doubled in two years and is four times higher than the same period in 2015. Critics say the wards are dehumanising and frightening, with one MP calling the practice ‘an affront to basic human dignity’. The Daily Mail