Monday 8 January 2018

Merger will see Corby-based health provider serve more patients with ‘super-practice’

Merger will see Corby-based health provider serve more patients with ‘super-practice’ Corby-based Lakeside Healthcare has announced it is merging with three GP practices in Cambridgeshire, creating a ‘super-practice’ serving more than 150,000 patients.

Eaton Socon Health Centre and Cedar House Surgery in St Neots and Yaxley Group Practice are to merge with Lakeside Healthcare, which operates surgeries in Corby, Kettering, Brigstock, Rushden and Oundle as well as Stamford in South Lincolnshire. The merger will further expand the biggest single GP partnership in the NHS. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northampton GP 'stroked 16-year-old's nipples'

Northampton GP 'stroked 16-year-old's nipples' A GP stroked a 16-year-old patient's nipples during an unnecessary examination, a tribunal has found.

Dr Jonathan Raphael - a former England and Northampton Saints rugby player - pulled down her bra without asking for her consent at his surgery in Northampton.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) rejected his claim he was attempting to diagnose pregnancy.

It found his actions were sexually motivated.

The panel heard the patient went to see Dr Raphael at Mounts Medical Centre in 2014 because she had not had a period for a few months. BBC Northampton

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Did funding cuts in health and social care budgets lead to excess mortality in England? The devil is in the detail

Did funding cuts in health and social care budgets lead to excess mortality in England? The devil is in the detail Research into the impact of austerity in health and social care on mortality has been the subject of much attention and discussion. While it’s instinctive to link austerity with poorer health outcomes, especially for more vulnerable people, does the latest research establish a clear causal relationship? The Health Foundation

Using rotational posts

Using rotational posts A new briefing document exploring how rotational posts can be an effective response to the challenges faced by employers in attracting and retaining staff.

The briefing looks at the need to be innovative with workforce supply strategies to attract, develop and retain staff, and how this can be done through rotating substantive staff into different departments, organisations, or across a range of organisations. NHS Employers

Programme launched to support AHPs and healthcare scientists to return to practice

Programme launched to support AHPs and healthcare scientists to return to practice The Department of Health, in collaboration with Health Education England (HEE), has launched a new initiative to support allied health professionals (AHP) and healthcare scientists (HCS) return to practice.

Piloted in the East Midlands by HEE, the programme is now being expanded across the whole of England. NHS Employers

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Newspaper leaders back CPS call for NHS Royal Commission following surgery cancellations

Newspaper leaders back CPS call for NHS Royal Commission following surgery cancellations Amid yet another winter crisis for the NHS, which this year has led to the cancellation of all non-urgent surgeries for a month, several newspapers have come out in support of an NHS Royal Commission. Centre for Policy Studies

Heart attack care dangerously unequal for women, study finds

Heart attack care dangerously unequal for women, study finds Fewer women who suffer a heart attack would die if they were given the same treatments as men, a new study found.

Researchers analysed the outcomes of 180,368 Swedish patients who suffered a heart attack over a 10-year period.

They found women were three times more likely to die from their heart attack than men in the year after having one.

The British Heart Foundation said: "Heart attacks are often seen as a male health issue, but more women die from heart disease than breast cancer."

Researchers at the University of Leeds and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analysed data from Sweden's online cardiac registry.

They found women were on average less likely than men to receive the recommended treatments after a heart attack. BBC News

Boots pharmacists raise staffing concerns

Boots pharmacists raise staffing concerns One whistleblower, a former manager, said he resigned in 2015 after he took his concerns to the independent industry regulator.

Several current Boots pharmacists told BBC Inside Out that understaffing could pose a risk to patients.

But the chain said its pharmacies were not understaffed and it had an industry-leading patient safety record. BBC News

Theresa May: The NHS is better prepared than ever before

Theresa May: The NHS is better prepared than ever before Theresa May has said the NHS had never been better prepared for winter than it was this year, despite 16,900 people having to wait more than 30 minutes to be seen by staff at emergency departments over the Christmas week.

Thousand of operations have been delayed for up to a month to help cope with the crisis.

The prime minister told the BBC's The Andrew Marr show the postponement of operations was "part of the plan".

"The NHS has actually been better prepared for this winter pressures than it has been before.

"It's about making sure that those who most urgently need care are able to get that treatment when they need it," she said.

Mrs May praised the "fantastic job" NHS staff were doing. ITV News

Mass closure of NHS walk-in centres is fuelling winter crisis, claim campaigners

Mass closure of NHS walk-in centres is fuelling winter crisis, claim campaigners Easy access to medical help for many denied after 40% of services shut

Dozens of NHS walk-in centres have shut since 2010, depriving patients of easy access to medical help for minor ailments without having to wait days for an appointment, and adding to the pressure on A&E units.

A total of 95 walk-in centres – 40% of the overall original number – have closed since the Conservatives came to power, or are due to shut soon, says the campaigning organisation 38 Degrees.

A combination of factors are at play. Hospitals have fewer beds than last year, so they are less able to deal with the recent, ongoing surge in illness. Last week, for example, the bed occupancy rate at 17 of England’s 153 acute hospital trusts was 98% or more, with the fullest – Walsall healthcare trust – 99.9% occupied.

We will be monitoring the situation in hospitals over the next few months and want to hear your experiences of the NHS this winter. We are keen to hear from healthcare professionals as well as patients about the situation. Have operations been cancelled? Has pressure led to certain wards being closed?  Continue reading... The Guardian

The Observer view on NHS funding | editorial

The Observer view on NHS funding | editorial The NHS is still one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Mrs May’s apologies to patients are not enough – she must allocate them more money

Five years ago, Britain’s best-loved institutions were at the centre of Danny Boyle’s Olympic opening ceremony. The NHS took pride of place alongside James Bond, the Queen and EastEnders: as the rest of the world watched with bemusement, the stadium in Stratford was transformed into a 1950s-style hospital in a celebration of the state-funded health service the nation holds so dear.

We have to go back 70 years to the pre-NHS world to understand why the public regards the health service not just as an everyday medical reality but as a cherished national institution. Before 1948, getting sick for many meant not just the pain and worry of illness but the knowledge that their lack of means meant treatable conditions could prove terminal.

Two-thirds of the public are willing to pay more taxes to maintain the level of spending needed on the health service Continue reading... The Observer

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Doctors and nurses urged to get flu jab amid warnings that a French epidemic could spread to Britain

Doctors and nurses urged to get flu jab amid warnings that a French epidemic could spread to Britain NHS trusts are failing to get medical workers to have flu jabs amid warnings that a French epidemic could spread to Britain, a Sunday Telegraph analysis has found.

Health officials are pleading with NHS staff to have the jab as figures show as few as one in three workers have been vaccinated at some hospitals.

Public health officials urged staff to protect themselves and their patients amid warnings that flu has reached epidemic levels across the channel. The Daily Telegraph

Ambulance service apologises after pensioner with chest pains dies after hours-long wait

Ambulance service apologises after pensioner with chest pains dies after hours-long wait An ambulance service has apologised to the family of a pensioner who died after waiting nearly four hours for paramedics to arrive. It took three hours 45 minutes for a crew to reach the home of an 81-year-old woman who rang 999 complaining of chest pains.

The emergency call was made at around 8pm on Tuesday and the woman was still alive when she spoke to the control room again at 9.47pm.

It took another two hours for an ambulance to arrive at her property in Clacton, Essex.

Paramedics then had to break into the home and by the time they reached the woman she had stopped breathing and could not be saved. The Daily Telegraph

Could THIS be why you have to wait weeks to see your GP?

Could THIS be why you have to wait weeks to see your GP? Doctors spend almost 400,000 days each year on keeping a portfolio of evidence that shows they are meeting standards, a damning new analysis shows.

The estimate comes as GPs warn they are overwhelmed and flocks of patients are being forced to wait two weeks for an appointment.

Overstretched doctors have been forced to cancel their holidays and work late into the night following a surge in cases of flu this winter.

New research, made by Pulse, suggests the 'collating of information' to prove they are fit to practice to the General Medical Council is only adding to their workload. The Daily Mail