KGH restricts visiting arrangements after flu admissions

KGH restricts visiting arrangements after flu admissions Kettering General Hospital has temporarily restricted its visiting arrangements.

The hospital has seen an increasing number of patients being admitted over the past few days with viral symptoms caused by influenza and the norovirus bug. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Public expectations of the NHS

Public expectations of the NHS In a guest blog for our NHS and the public project, Bobby Duffy, Managing Director of Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute, explores public expectations of the NHS and other public services. The King's Fund

What do winter pressures mean for paediatric care?

What do winter pressures mean for paediatric care? As a paediatric registrar working in London, for me winter is synonymous with long and stressful shifts. Over the past decade there has been an increase in emergency admissions as well as A&E attendances, especially for infants. Those on the frontline are experiencing mounting workload pressures, particularly over winter months.

We offer good paediatric care in the UK, but it could be much better. Worryingly, we have one of the highest infant mortality rates in Europe, with poor health outcomes strongly linked to rising child poverty and social inequalities. Understaffing and service design issues exacerbate the problem.

To illustrate what this means for patients over winter, let’s consider the fictional case of baby Ollie, a nine-month-old who was premature and spent the first month of his life in a special care baby unit. The Health Foundation

Healthy homes: accommodating an ageing population

Healthy homes: accommodating an ageing population This report argues that creating more modified homes, which encourage older people to keep mentally and physically fit for longer, could help save the NHS and social care system billions of pounds each year. It calls on the government to introduce financial incentives for construction companies to build for older living. Institution of Mechanical Engineers

See also:

• Housing for older people House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee

New antibiotic family discovered in dirt

New antibiotic family discovered in dirt US scientists have discovered a new family of antibiotics in soil samples.

The natural compounds could be used to combat hard-to-treat infections, the team at Rockefeller University hopes.

Tests show the compounds, called malacidins, annihilate several bacterial diseases that have become resistant to most existing antibiotics, including the superbug MRSA.

Experts say the work, published in Nature Microbiology, offers fresh hope in the antibiotics arms race.

Drug-resistant diseases are one of the biggest threats to global health.

They kill around 700,000 people a year, and new treatments are urgently needed. BBC News

A third of people with dementia in England 'not receiving full care'

A third of people with dementia in England 'not receiving full care' Age UK says many people do not have individual care package to which they are entitled

More than one in three people in England diagnosed with dementia are not getting the follow-up care they are entitled to, a charity has said.

The NHS specifies that everyone diagnosed with the condition should have an individual care plan that is reviewed at least once a year. Continue reading... The Guardian

Eating disorders: NHS reports surge in hospital admissions

Eating disorders: NHS reports surge in hospital admissions Experts say NHS services are failing those in need of help as admissions nearly double in six years.

The number of admissions to hospital of patients with potentially life-threatening eating disorders has almost doubled over the past six years, amid warnings from experts that NHS services to tackle anorexia and bulimia are failing to help those in need. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Eating disorder hospital admissions double in six years, figures show The Daily Telegraph
• 'People shouldn't have to move': getting care for an eating disorder The Guardian
• Long NHS delays can be 'devastating' for patients with eating disorders The Guardian

GPs urging long-term ill to attend group sessions

GPs urging long-term ill to attend group sessions Patients who have the same long-term condition, such as arthritis or diabetes, will take part in 90-minute ‘shared’ consultations – with their test results shown at the front of the room. The Daily Mail

NHS is refusing IVF to women if their husbands are obese

NHS is refusing IVF to women if their husbands are obese The Bath and North East Somerset clinical commissioning group (CCG) has drawn up proposals to stop funding IVF for women whose partners have a ‘body mass index’ of over 30. The Daily Mail