Thursday 22 February 2018

Social care needs political support and better workforce planning

Social care needs political support and better workforce planning The workforce is sometimes cited as the biggest area of risk to the sustainability of the NHS in England. It is also a major area of concern for social care, where vacancy rates and turnover have been steadily increasingand are now double the national averages for the UK workforce as a whole. The King's Fund

Case study on staff wellbeing at mental health service

Case study on staff wellbeing at mental health service A case study looking at how Back on Track IAPT service, based in Hammersmith and Fulham, formed a wellbeing team to examine employees’ perceptions of their workplace and the challenges they face. NHS England

Mapping of specialist primary health care services in England for people who are homeless

Mapping of specialist primary health care services in England for people who are homeless This study finds significant variation in the type of service available, with some areas poorly covered. It also finds that homelessness projects in smaller towns and rural areas, and those working with young people who are homeless, were much less likely to be served by a specialist primary health care service. King's College London

Anti-depressants: Major study finds they work

Anti-depressants: Major study finds they work Scientists say they have settled one of medicine's biggest debates after a huge study found that anti-depressants work.

The study, which analysed data from 522 trials involving 116,477 people, found 21 common anti-depressants were all more effective at reducing symptoms of acute depression than dummy pills.

But it also showed big differences in how effective each drug is. BBC News

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Tool 'names and shames' hidden drug trials

Tool 'names and shames' hidden drug trials Institutions that fail to report the results of their drug and medical trials will be named on a new website.

Trials Tracker logs which clinical trials have missed deadlines for reporting their results in the US.

Some pharmaceutical organisations have been accused of burying unfavourable drug and medical test results.

Dr Ben Goldacre, who devised the website, told the BBC he hoped it would "nudge" institutions into properly disclosing data.

"For many years, trials transparency has been neglected," he said. BBC News

Thousands of faulty inhalers recalled over risk to asthma patients' lives

Thousands of faulty inhalers recalled over risk to asthma patients' lives Thousands of asthma inhalers have been recalled over a potential flaw that posed a risk to patient's lives.

Around 6,000 inhalers used by asthma patients are affected, health officials say.

Asthma UK said that "faulty inhalers could put people's lives at risk" as it called on patients to check whether their inhaler needed to be returned.

The call comes after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) urged asthma patients to replace specific batches of their Ventolin Accuhaler inhalers, used for the emergency relief of asthmatic symptoms, after it was discovered that a manufacturing issue resulted in some devices not delivering the full dose required. The Independent

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NHS deficit and staff shortage data ‘held up’ by government

NHS deficit and staff shortage data ‘held up’ by government Report showing NHS facing £900m deficit delayed after health department intervened

The NHS’s financial regulator has delayed publishing new information about the health service’s serious shortages of both money and staff after lobbying by the government, the Guardian can reveal.

The figures show that the NHS’s finances are even worse than previously thought – and include new official figures that reveal for the first time the full extent of the health service’s widespread lack of doctors and nurses. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Jeremy Hunt launches review into handling of vaginal mesh scandal

Jeremy Hunt launches review into handling of vaginal mesh scandal Health secretary admits official failings over a number of medical treatment issues

Jeremy Hunt, the health and social care secretary, has launched a nine-month review into how the NHS addresses concerns about medical treatments, including vaginal mesh devices.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he admitted the government had failed to respond adequately to a series of public health scandals caused by the side-effects of medical treatments, citing the surgical mesh scandal as a key example. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Nurses say dying patients are being failed in their final days because the NHS is under too much pressure to care for them properly

Nurses say dying patients are being failed in their final days because the NHS is under too much pressure to care for them properly Dying patients are being failed in their final days because the NHS is under too much pressure to care for them properly, nurses have warned.

Patients are being left stranded in hospitals rather than being allowed to die at home or in hospices, a survey of NHS nurses claims.

Others are dying alone because staff are too stretched to spend time with them, the report found. The Daily Mail

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