Wednesday 6 December 2017

Chance to help shape proposals to improve healthcare in Corby

Chance to help shape proposals to improve healthcare in Corby NHS Corby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is holding a public workshop about the future of healthcare in the town.

The event on Thursday, December 14, at the Best Western Hotel in Corby, will be the last chance for people in Corby to help shape the proposed changes to healthcare services before the consultation in 2018.

Although the event is open to people registered with a Corby GP, they must inform the organisers in advance of the event that they wish to attend. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Enhancing health in care homes: system leadership in action

Enhancing health in care homes: system leadership in action "Effective leadership in complex systems is not solely an attribute of top bosses, but is better understood as a shared process of many ‘small’ (and great) leaders working together"

This quote came to mind when we reflected on the outcomes of our first King’s Fund/My Home Life Care homes, health, housing and social care learning network – a network established to improve collaborative working between many of the organisations involved in improving the health of older people living in care homes.

‘System leadership’ was not a topic on the network’s agenda, nor was this phrase mentioned by participants, even though skilled system leadership is required to drive the close co-ordination between care homes and other organisations – in health, social care and housing – needed to enhance the health of care home residents. The King's Fund

Older people living with frailty in hospitals

Older people living with frailty in hospitals This review brings together research on what can be done to identify and manage the needs of frail older people living in hospital. It covers four key aspects of caring for this group of people: assessment, identifying and managing symptoms associated with frailty in hospital, discharge planning and caring environments. NHS National Institute for Health Research

State of support: local Healthwatch funding 2017/18

State of support: local Healthwatch funding 2017/18 This report sets out the data on the amount of funding that local Healthwatch organisations have received from local authorities. The analysis indicates that between 2016/17 and 2017/18, overall funding has fallen by 6.9 per cent. The report is accompanied by a letter to the Secretary of State for Health which highlights concerns around resourcing for patient involvement and advocacy.

NHS cancer plan marks first step towards fixing chronic staff shortages

NHS cancer plan marks first step towards fixing chronic staff shortages Cancer rates are increasing, meaning more people than ever are being diagnosed with the disease. And with more people to look after, the NHS is coming under growing strain to meet demand – especially as it strives to meet the priority of diagnosing more cancers earlier.

To deliver the best cancer care in the world, the NHS needs enough trained and employed staff to carry out and interpret tests that diagnose cancer. Right now, that’s not the case.

And if it’s not working now, rising rates will only make this situation worse.

That’s why we’ve been campaigning to tell the Government to stop leaving the NHS short staffed. Cancer Research UK

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Payout after woman was kept alive against her will

Payout after woman was kept alive against her will The family of an 81-year-old woman has received a £45,000 payout after she was kept alive against her will.

Brenda Grant made a living will stating she feared degradation and indignity more than death after seeing her mum lose independence through dementia.

But the George Eliot hospital, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, misplaced the document and she was artificially fed for 22 months.

The trust has apologised for its failure. BBC News

How I beat type 2 diabetes with a liquid diet

How I beat type 2 diabetes with a liquid diet Nearly half of patients have reversed type 2 diabetes in a "watershed" trial, say doctors in Newcastle and Glasgow.

People spent up to five months on a low-calorie diet of soups and shakes to trigger massive weight loss.

Isobel Murray, 65, who had weighed 15 stone, lost over four stone (25kg) and no longer needs diabetes pills. She says: "I've got my life back."

The charity Diabetes UK says the trial is a landmark and has the potential to help millions of patients. BBC News

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Two thirds of GPs say their practice will struggle to cope this winter

Two thirds of GPs say their practice will struggle to cope this winter More than two out of three GPs say their practice will struggle to cope this winter, amid warnings that seasonal pressure on top of what the BMA has called a 'year-round NHS crisis' will put patients at risk. GPonline

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Nick Robinson: cancer death statistics 'terrify' patients

Nick Robinson: cancer death statistics 'terrify' patients Doctors need to arm their patients with better information about cancer survival to stop them becoming “terrified” by “Dr Google”, the BBC journalist Nick Robinson has said.

The Today presenter, who was treated for lung cancer in 2015, said oncologists were failing to adapt to the digital revolution leaving patients at the mercy of online statistics they often do not understand.

Mr Robinson said his own research on Google and Wikipedia following his diagnosis had left him “anxious and depressed”, and that online statistics had made him wrongly believe he had just a one per cent chance of survival. The Daily Telegraph

How much have YOU cost the NHS?

How much have YOU cost the NHS? If you've ever sat down and wondered just how much you cost the cash-strapped NHS each year, here's your answer.

A new interactive tool jots up roughly how expensive you've been to the taxpayer-funded health service in terms of keeping healthy.

The handy quiz even compares your final answer to how much you've contributed to the NHS over the past year.

It comes as the NHS is facing its worst financial crisis in a generation as it struggles to meet the needs of the aging population on a very tightly-constrained budget. The Daily Mail

17,000 elderly at risk as care home teeters on the brink

17,000 elderly at risk as care home teeters on the brink A debt-ridden care home chain with around 17,000 vulnerable residents is on the brink of collapse amid a row between its wealthy backers.

Four Seasons Health Care could be tipped into administration within 10 days if it misses a £26m interest payment due next Friday that it has warned it may not pay.

Its owner, private equity firm Terra Firma which is run by tycoon Guy Hands, and key lender, US hedge fund H/2 Capital Partners, have yet to agree on a rescue deal as the deadline looms. The Daily Mail