Thursday 8 February 2018

What does the future hold for integrated care systems?

What does the future hold for integrated care systems? NHS England’s belated decision to change the name of accountable care systems to integrated care systems has the virtue of describing more accurately the work being done in the 10 areas of England operating in this way. Despite this, there is understandable confusion in many quarters about NHS England’s plans, and uncertainty about what they mean for the NHS in the medium term. King's Fund

Improving physical healthcare for people with severe mental illness in primary care: guidance for CCGs

Improving physical healthcare for people with severe mental illness in primary care: guidance for CCGs This guidance highlights the responsibilities of CCGs to commission services that deliver comprehensive physical health assessments and follow up care to people on the severe mental illness register in primary care, addressing the premature mortality experienced by people with SMI compared to the general population. NHS England

Brexit - the impact on the NHS workforce

Brexit - the impact on the NHS workforce A new resource, showing the impact that Brexit has had to date on the NHS workforce, has been produced by NHS Employers, NHS Providers and The Shelford Group.
The survey results, which have been used to produce the new resource, show that the number of healthcare providers with a strategy to recruit EU staff has fallen since the Brexit vote. Concerns about the impact of Brexit on the healthcare workforce has also deepened. A year on from the referendum 41 per cent of respondents now say they feel it will have a negative impact, compared with 19 per cent just after the vote. NHS Employers

Anti-obesity programmes in primary schools 'don't work'

Anti-obesity programmes in primary schools 'don't work' School programmes encouraging children to take more exercise and eat healthily are unlikely to have any real effect on childhood obesity, a study in the British Medical Journal suggests. More than 600 primary school pupils in the West Midlands took part in a 12-month anti-obesity programme. But the study found no improvements in the children's diet or activity levels.
Public health officials said they were working with industry to make food healthier. BBC Health News

Care sector: 'Short of nurses and other key staff'

Care sector: 'Short of nurses and other key staff' Low rates of pay and workload pressures mean care services can no longer fill key posts in England, a watchdog says. The National Audit Office said a lack of government planning and funding had undermined the "Cinderella" service and its 1.34 million staff.
The sector was struggling in particular to recruit nurses and senior staff to run services, causing the elderly and disabled to go without care, it said. The warning comes as ministers draw up plans to overhaul the sector. The government has promised a Green Paper with proposals to change the way care services work will be published by the summer. BBC Health News

GP share of NHS funding in England drops to 7.1%

GP share of NHS funding in England drops to 7.1% The share of NHS spending in England allocated to GPs will drop to 7.1% in 2018/19 following a £2.14bn hike to the funding uplift for the health service for the coming financial year. GP Online

Leeds NHS team leading the way in helping new mums tackle mental health illnesses - Yorkshire Post

Leeds NHS team leading the way in helping new mums tackle mental health illnesses A NHS unit in Leeds is leading the way in helping pregnant women and new mums dealing with mental health issues linked to the pressures of motherhood. Chris Burn reports. It is supposed to be the happiest time of your life, but for many expectant and new mothers the challenge of having a new baby - and the attendant pressures to act as though everything is going perfectly - puts considerable strain on their mental health. Yorkshire Post


Drug-related mental health admissions in NHS hit record high

Drug-related mental health admissions in NHS hit record high 82,135 hospital admissions had a primary or secondary diagnosis of drug-related disorders. The annual number of hospital admissions in England with a diagnosis of a drug-related mental or behavioural disorder has reached an all-time high, figures show.
There were 82,135 hospital admissions in the year to April 2017 with a primary or secondary diagnosis of drug-related mental and behavioural disorders, according to the NHS figures. That compares with 81,904 over the same period a year earlier and 38,170 in 2006-07. Guardian

Theresa May refuses to exclude NHS contracts from US trade deals

Theresa May refuses to exclude NHS contracts from US trade deals Prime minister is asked to give guarantee that US corporations will not have access to NHS. Theresa May has refused to rule out giving US companies access to NHS contracts as part of a future trade deal with Donald Trump’s White House.
At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the Liberal Democrat leader, Vince Cable, challenged May over how she would respond if Washington pushed for access to Britain’s public services for US corporations. Guardian