Carer filmed slapping Kettering dementia patient

Carer filmed slapping Kettering dementia patient A carer has been caught on camera slapping and shouting at an elderly dementia patient.

It happened as Sabina Marsden, 78, was being looked after in her home in Kettering, Northamptonshire, on 13 June 2017.

The woman was sacked by her employer and given a police caution. BBC News

See also:

• Carer is caught on camera slapping Kettering OAP Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Expand the nursing workforce at scale and pace, say Committee

Expand the nursing workforce at scale and pace, say Committee The Health Committee say too little attention has been given to retaining nurses in the NHS, which has resulted in more nurses now leaving than joining the professional register, in its report into the Nursing workforce.

There are many causes for this shortfall, including workload pressures, poor access to continuing professional development, pay and a general sense of not feeling valued. Health Select Committee 

See also:

• Nurses say they no longer able to talk to worried patients over a cup of tea  The Daily Telegraph
• Mental health care crisis looming because trainee nurses are being driven away by bursary cuts, MPs warn The Independent

Report links childhood experience with mental health risks

Report links childhood experience with mental health risks People who have experienced abuse, neglect and other adverse childhood experiences are at much greater risk of mental illness throughout life.

This study found that adults who had suffered four or more types of adverse experience were almost ten times more likely to have felt suicidal or self-harmed than those who had experienced none. It also found that some opportunities offered through communities help build resilience to protect individuals from developing the mental health problems. Public Health Wales

NHS continuing healthcare: effective commissioning approaches

NHS continuing healthcare: effective commissioning approaches This report suggests ways in which the provision of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) in local areas can be improved for the benefit of patients and commissioners and shares some of the approaches that have been developed by local CCGs which have proved to be effective in delivering their CHC commitments. NHS Clinical Commissioners

Calls for mandatory health information on alcohol labels

Calls for mandatory health information on alcohol labels The Royal Society for Public Health is calling for change in alcoholic drinks labelling, citing a public "awareness vacuum" on how alcohol affects health.

The society wants it to be mandatory to include the government's guideline to drink no more than 14 units a week.

Drink manufacturers could also warn of the link with health conditions such as bowel and breast cancer.

But a drink industry body said the public is "strongly opposed to cramming more information on a pack".

In its report, the RSPH suggests a drink-drive warning and using traffic light colour coding, similar to that used on many food items in the UK, could be helpful for drinkers. BBC News

Winter flu outbreak is peaking, say health experts

Winter flu outbreak is peaking, say health experts The winter flu outbreak appears to be peaking, health officials say.

Officials are hopeful the worst of the season may soon be over after a fall in the numbers being admitted to hospital.

While the numbers still remain "very high" - around 4,000 in England last week - the rate of hospitalisation was lower then the week before.

The numbers coming to see their GP have fallen in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although small rises have been seen in England and Wales.

Public Health England's Richard Pebody said the fact flu rates had stabilised was a good sign and suggested "flu activity is starting to peak". BBC News

See also:

• Flu rates 'levelling off' for the moment show RCGP figures Royal College of General Practitioners 
• Flu death tolls hit 191 in the UK The Daily Mail
• 'Sharp increase' in cases of the winter vomiting bug The Daily Mail
• Flu cases remain at highest point this year as outbreak levels off GPonline
• NHS hospitals still in grip of winter crisis, figures show The Guardian
• Three times more people dying from flu in UK than last winter The Guardian
• One in three GP practices running out of flu vaccine Pulse
• More than 31,500 patients present to GPs with flu despite rise 'levelling off' Pulse

If I can come back from wanting to kill myself, so can others

If I can come back from wanting to kill myself, so can others Peer-to-peer support was the key to my recovery. Now I run a charity where I use my experience to help others with mental health problems

When I was a child, my mum said I had a depressive personality. I was prone to low periods that intensified as I reached adulthood and when I started my police career.

There was and still is a huge stigma around mental health, so I, like many others, tried to mask it in the hope it would go away. In secret, I visited my GP for what they thought was clinical depression, worried that my job as a detective would be compromised. I managed to convince other people that I was living a normal and successful life, but behind closed doors I was living a different story – just about managing to cope with my depressive episodes. When in a manic phase, I couldn’t sleep and would work 18-hour days. I wasn’t really looking at the evidence that I had a serious mental illness.

If peer-to-peer support was a huge part of my recovery, couldn’t it work for others? Continue reading... The Guardian

Public Health England 'increasing risk of eating disorders' in children with 100 calorie campaign

Public Health England 'increasing risk of eating disorders' in children with 100 calorie campaign Public Health England are increasing the risk of children developing eating disorders by telling parents to count calories, a leading charity has claimed.

The Change4Life campaign encourages parents to "Look for 100 calorie snacks, two a day max", to help them offer healthier snacks to tackle the obesity epidemic that is seeing a third of children leave primary school overweight or obese.

Eating disorder charity Beat said it was important that messages aimed at reducing obesity considered the impact they may have on those at risk of developing an eating disorder. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Beat’s response to Change4Life’s 100 calorie snacks campaign Beat Eating Disorders
• Call for ban on chocolate price cuts to fight obesity crisis The Guardian

Doctor whose mistakes cost life of six-year-old struck off after High Court challenge

Doctor whose mistakes cost life of six-year-old struck off after High Court challenge A doctor whose mistakes cost the life of a six-year-old has been struck off after a High Court challenge.

Jack Adcock, from Glen Parva, Leicestershire, who had Down's Syndrome and a known heart condition, died at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2011 after he developed sepsis.

Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter in 2015 and sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years.

Mr Justice Nicol said that neither Dr Bawa-Garba or a nurse who was on duty at the time "gave Jack the priority which this very sick boy deserved".

However, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal imposed only a sanction of 12 months' suspension. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Jack Adcock: Doctor struck off over six-year-old's death BBC News
• Patient safety fears after GMC wins bid to strike off junior doctor GPonline
• Health secretary 'deeply concerned' about implications of GMC court ruling Pulse
• GMC successful in High Court bid to strike off junior doctor Pulse