Patients badly failed by 'staggering' mishandling of sensitive data

Patients badly failed by 'staggering' mishandling of sensitive data The failures in the handling of sensitive clinical data by NHS SBS are staggering. Even as the Committee was looking into problems dating back at least three years, NHS England was uncovering more mishandled correspondence.

We were deeply unimpressed by the lack of grip NHS England still has on the handling of clinical correspondence, and dismayed to be informed of a further backlog of 162,000 items which need to be assessed.

Our evidence session was frustrated by the late provision of additional information by the NHS England Chief Executive. It would have been more helpful if this information had been supplied in time to allow Members to consider it. The Committee will return to this subject once it has further information. Public Accounts Select Committee

See also:

• Outrage as 900,000 NHS patient letters lost The Daily Mail

Results of the national audit of intermediate care 2017

Results of the national audit of intermediate care 2017 The national audit of intermediate care (NAIC) provides the only comprehensive data on intermediate care services.

Funded by a subscription model between 2012-2015, this year NHS England funded the NAIC so all commissioners and providers of intermediate care services had the opportunity to take part free of charge. The NAIC provides benchmarked information on service models, spend, activity, workforce and outcomes with data sharing arrangements in place so that commissioners’ positions will be shared between areas and with providers. NHS Benchmarking Network

New rules on blood donation come into force

New rules on blood donation come into force Changes to the rules on blood donation in England come into force on 28 November. The new rules will allow more people to donate blood, without affecting the safety of the blood supply.

The changes were announced in July, on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO). Department of Health

Cuts, Closures and Contraception

Cuts, Closures and Contraception The Advisory Group on Contraception (AGC) conducted an FOI audit of all 152 upper and unitary tier local authorities over the summer of 2017. The findings of the report show local authority contraception budgets are being cut and that contraceptive care services have closed or are under threat in more than one third of English local councils since 2015, with the pace of closures accelerating.

Viagra can be sold over the counter

Viagra can be sold over the counter Men will no longer require a prescription to obtain the impotence drug Viagra and will instead be able to buy it over the counter at pharmacies.

The decision by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency follows a public consultation.

It will be up to pharmacists to judge whether men over the age of 18 can safely be sold the little blue pills.

Manufacturer Pfizer hopes to get stocks of Viagra Connect (sildenafil 50mg) into UK pharmacies by spring 2018.

Experts say making the medication more widely available will help men who might not feel able to visit their GP about impotence.

The MHRA hopes it will stop some men buying unregulated medicines from websites operating illegally. BBC News

Organ donation: If black lives matter, then this is an opportunity to prove it

Organ donation: If black lives matter, then this is an opportunity to prove it A charity wants more black people to donate their organs after only 17 people from the African Caribbean community donated a kidney last year.

Black patients who need a kidney wait, on average, more than a year longer than white patients, says the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT).

At least 250 African Caribbean patients died last year waiting for a donor. BBC Newsbeat

The true cost: How the UK outsources death to Dignitas

The true cost: How the UK outsources death to Dignitas In the UK it is currently illegal to assist someone to die. As a result, many people travel to Switzerland to arrange an assisted death. One British person travels to Dignitas to die every 8 days. Using the voices of those most affected, we uncover the real stories behind the statistics. The Independent

‘Bullying and being bullied is everywhere now, at every level in the NHS’

‘Bullying and being bullied is everywhere now, at every level in the NHS’ | Matthew Barbour Domineering behaviour and sexism have dogged the medical profession, especially among surgeons. Now victims are being taught to fight back

“What can be perceived as harmless banter or acceptable behaviour by some people for decades can actually be deeply offensive, or even abusive,” says Judy Evans, consultant plastic surgeon at the private Nuffield hospital in Plymouth. “We’re now at a point where huge numbers of surgical positions aren’t being filled because millennials don’t want a job in which they think they will be bullied.”

Evans lost her job as an NHS consultant in 2000 after standing up for a junior doctor who had been bullied. “The bullying culture in medicine goes back decades,” she says. “Over 30 years ago, I remember turning up for a surgeon’s exam when I was seven months pregnant and being asked bluntly: ‘What are you doing here looking like that?’ Sadly, that kind of behaviour was seen as something women just had to put up with. Continue reading... The Guardian

Hunt 'risking repeat of junior doctors' row' with plan to change NHS pay

Hunt 'risking repeat of junior doctors' row' with plan to change NHS pay Unions voice concerns after health secretary says he wants to overhaul money staff receive for working antisocial shifts.

The government has triggered a row with NHS staff by unveiling plans to overhaul their pay, including how much they receive for working antisocial shifts.

Health unions have warned Jeremy Hunt that he is risking a repeat of the acrimonious junior doctors’ dispute by seeking to reduce the extra amounts staff get for weekend and overnight working. Continue reading... The Guardian

The NHS is not immune to sexual harassment. It happened to #metoo | Rachel Clarke

The NHS is not immune to sexual harassment. It happened to #metoo | Rachel Clarke It’s the high-profile celebrity cases that get all the attention, but in an organisation as big as the NHS, many women will have experiences like mine

A few weeks before I sat my medical finals, a male surgeon of the old-school variety flashed up the next slide in his revision lecture on breast cancer.

Suddenly – incongruously – there on his powerpoint presentation, amid the bleak statistics about the second biggest cancer killer of women in Britain, was a young blonde woman, sitting coquettishly in front of a mammography machine, her naked breasts prominently displayed. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS pays out after Virgin threatens to sue after losing out on contract

NHS pays out after Virgin threatens to sue after losing out on contract Virgin Care, part of Sir Richard Branson’s business empire, appears to have been paid a settlement by the NHS after the healthcare group lost its bid to provide children’s services in Surrey.

The three-year, £82m deal covering health visitors, school nurses and speech and occupational therapy for children was awarded to a consortium formed by in-house NHS providers and a social enterprise.

Virgin Care Services started High Court proceedings against NHS England, Surrey County Council and the CCGs in November last year, after its bid failed. The Daily Telegraph

NHS hires 5,500 'rolling' nurses from abroad

NHS hires 5,500 'rolling' nurses from abroad The NHS is hiring up to 5,500 'rolling' nurses from India and the Philippines in an attempt to fill understaffed wards.

They will work here for two to three years gaining specialist experience and skills before returning back home.

The 'earn, learn and return' scheme aims to ease the NHS's staffing crisis whilst also training up developed countries' workforce.

Professor Ian Cumming, chief executive of Health Education England, told MPs it was an 'ethically based' project. The Daily Mail

Outbreak of potentially deadly measles has spread

Outbreak of potentially deadly measles has spread Two mothers have shared photos online of their measles-stricken babies who were both repeatedly misdiagnosed as a warning to other parents.

One woman revealed doctors missed her nine-month-old son had the highly infectious viral illness even when the tell-tale rash had 'spread like wild fire over his body'.

Both mothers urge families to be vigilant explaining their children's symptoms started off similar to those of a common cold.

This comes just days after officials confirmed to MailOnline that an outbreak of deadly measles has spread from the north west to the Midlands.

Last Friday, Public Health England (PHE) revealed there has been 17 confirmed cases in Leeds and eight in Liverpool, which also has three probable cases.

Manchester has been placed on high alert to be hit next and there are growing concerns it will spread across the UK following an epidemic in Europe.  The Daily Mail