New University of Northampton research is first step in cutting child deaths from treatable infections

New University of Northampton research is first step in cutting child deaths from treatable infections The UK has more childhood deaths from treatable infections than comparable European countries, and new research will investigate why fatal delays in hospitalisations occur.

Sweden and Italy both have better survival rates from conditions such as pneumonia and sepsis, and the hope is this project will identify ways to speed up admissions, and ultimately save lives.

The 18-month study - launched yesterday - will investigate concerns raised by Melissa Mead and Sue Morrish, who both lost sons to sepsis after high profile failures in the health system.

Led by the University of Northampton, the BeArH research project will examine in detail, incidents of serious infection in children under five years of age - from the moment a parent realises their child is ill, through contact with frontline health services, to their child’s subsequent admission to hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Failure on sepsis sees UK child mortality ranking shame  The Daily Mail

Corby employers urged to train mental health first aiders

Corby employers urged to train mental health first aiders Health bosses in Corby have urged businesses in the town to train people in mental health first aid.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course, designed to teach people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. Northamptonshire Telegraph

'Northamptonshire won't be able to fund some essential council services by 2019', finance member reveals

'Northamptonshire won't be able to fund some essential council services by 2019', finance member reveals Northamptonshire County Council has warned this may be the last budget where services to protect the likes of vulnerable children and the elderly remain untouched. Northamptonshire County Council has today (Monday) announced its full savings proposals of £34.3m for 2018/19 including the £9.6m of proposed budget savings which were announced in October. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Northamptonshire council tax to increase by nearly 5% BBC Northamptonshire

Learning from unintended consequences

Learning from unintended consequences The NHS is experimenting on increasingly large scales with new ways of delivering health care. With so much in motion, including sustainability and transformation partnerships and now accountable care systems, it is more important than ever to have ways of assessing the impact that these changes are having on quality and cost. The Health Foundation

NHS workforce 'at crunch point'

NHS workforce 'at crunch point' The UK’s medical profession is at ‘a crunch point’ and will suffer increasing pressure over the next 20 years unless action is taken, the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) State of Medical Education and Practice report warns today.

The report, published annually, analyses data on the medical workforce across the UK. It identifies a raft of challenges facing the medical profession today against a backdrop of an increasing and older population, and highlights four priorities for the UK’s governments and agencies responsible for medical training and workforce planning.

See also:

• NHS workforce 'at crunch point' BBC News

NHS welcomes “important improvements” for race equality in health service workforce

NHS welcomes “important improvements” for race equality in health service workforce The Chief Executive of NHS England has today welcomed signs of progress in tackling discrimination among health service staff, but warned of “hard work still ahead” in improving equality for all its workers.

Simon Stevens’ comments come as the NHS publishes today its latest annual report into race equality. The audit provides a comprehensive assessment of the experience of NHS employees from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, including whether or not they have equal access to career opportunities and receive fair treatment at work.

The 2017 Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) shows that an increasing proportion of senior nursing and midwifery posts is being filled by people from BME backgrounds, and that there has been a rise in senior BME leaders. The report confirms that an increasing number of trusts has more than one board member from a BME background, with 25 trusts being represented at board level by three or more people from BME communities.

NHS Digital publishes dementia and antipsychotic drug prescription data for first time

NHS Digital publishes dementia and antipsychotic drug prescription data for first time NHS Digital has published for the first-time data that shows the levels of prescribing antipsychotic drugs to dementia patients.

The data has been published as part of an expansion of the monthly Recorded Dementia Diagnoses report.

• The figures include three new counts for patients with a diagnosis of dementia. They are:
• Number of people with a prescription of antipsychotics in the last six weeks
• Number of people with a prescription of antipsychotics in the last six weeks and a diagnosis of psychosis
• Number of people with a prescription of antipsychotics in the last six weeks and without a diagnosis of psychosis

The statistics will contain two months of information and figures have been submitted by 98.8 per cent of GP practices.

The figures will be broken down to CCG, STP, sub-regional, regional and national level.

See also:

• Dangerous 'chemical cosh' drugs used on dementia patients The Daily Mail

NHS spending on mental health

NHS spending on mental health This is the increase in spending by CCGs on mental health compared to their overall core services budget allocation. The figures don’t account for inflation. Factoring that in, mental health spending went up by 3.9% over that time and overall CCG budgets went up by 1.5%. Full Fact

See also:

• Mental Health in England: Jeremy Hunt vs Ralf Little Full Fact

Retaining your clinical staff: a practical improvement resource

Retaining your clinical staff: a practical improvement resource This improvement resource outlines key steps to improving retention of clinical staff. We have distilled advice from interviews with trust HR directors, directors of nursing and medical directors. NHS Improvement

Changes to data protection requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Changes to data protection requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) This factsheet, developed in conjunction with Capsticks, outlines the key changes that will affect the way that employers in NHS organisations carry out tasks involving personal data, particularly around employment checks and recruitment processes. NHS Employers

UK suicide rates at 20-year low

UK suicide rates at 20-year low Suicide rates in the UK have seen the largest decrease in 20 years, official figures reveal.

There were 3.6% fewer suicides registered in 2016 than in 2015 - a decrease by 223 deaths from 6,188, Office for National Statistics data shows.

Rates fell for both men and women, although men still account for three-quarters of cases.

Experts believe the drop shows suicide-prevention initiatives are helping. BBC News

See also:

• Suicides in the UK: 2016 registrations Office for National Statistics

NHS hospitals unable to fill thousands of vacant posts, Labour says

NHS hospitals unable to fill thousands of vacant posts, Labour says Understaffing so acute almost one in four posts at some trusts in England are vacant, freedom of information requests show.

The NHS is short of more than 100,000 staff, and some hospitals are struggling to fill as many as 1,600 vacancies, according to new research that has sparked fresh fears about patient safety. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Labour: More than 100,000 full-time NHS posts are unfilled The Daily Mail
• Labour warns of NHS 'disaster' as 100,000 jobs across organisation lie empty The Independent

Slashing queues, helping new mothers: NHS explores apps for care in a digital age

Slashing queues, helping new mothers: NHS explores apps for care in a digital age Doctors, tech experts and scientists tested new ideas at a health ‘hackathon’ – now a fund aims to back the best with cash

Imagine if there were an app that reduced accident and emergency waiting times, ensured women are followed up after childbirth and even identified when hospital patients need to be transferred to intensive care.

These were some of the innovative ideas generated by more than 100 NHS doctors, dentists, technology developers, scientists and health economists at an unprecedented blue-sky thinking event that aimed to explore new possibilities in care in the digital age. Continue reading... The Guardian

Social care postcode gap widens for older people

Social care postcode gap widens for older people Council funding cuts have reduced help for the old in deprived areas, study shows

Older people in England’s most deprived areas are twice as likely to lack the help they need for basic acts, like using the toilet or taking medicine, compared with those in the richest neighbourhoods, according to figures that expose gross inequalities in access to social care.

The official analysis is another sign that years of cuts have damaged the ability of councils in poor areas to meet the growing demand for care, potentially putting significant pressure on the NHS. It comes on the back of the crisis over social care that is still unresolved. There have been a series of warnings about a multibillion-pound funding black hole and increasingly severe consequences for the health service. Continue reading... The Guardian

Britain’s most inspiring health worker

Britain’s most inspiring health worker When we asked readers to nominate their unsung champions of the NHS, we were overwhelmed by moving stories about staff from all parts of the health service. Last week our five finalists received their awards from the Prime Minister at Downing Street — here we tell the inspiring story of our overall winner. The Daily Mail