Patients in Northamptonshire urged to use NHS services wisely to ease pressure on county hospitals

Patients in Northamptonshire urged to use NHS services wisely to ease pressure on county hospitals People in Northamptonshire are being urged to use NHS services wisely as the county’s hospitals continue to deal with a large number of patients seeking emergency care.

Northampton General Hospital (NGH) and Kettering General Hospital (KGH) have both been extremely busy this week and pressure has built up on wards and A&E departments, bosses at Nene CCG say.

Nursing teams have seen an increase in flu cases and winter-related illnesses, particularly among older people with multiple conditions who need more intensive care. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Making sense of integrated care systems, integrated care partnerships and accountable care organisations in the NHS in England

Making sense of integrated care systems, integrated care partnerships and accountable care organisations in the NHS in England NHS England has recently changed the name of accountable care systems to integrated care systems, which describes more accurately the work being done in the 10 areas of England operating in this way. Our updated long read looks at work under way in these systems and at NHS England’s proposals for an accountable care organisation contract. The King's Fund

Winter pressures data: where are the blind spots?

Winter pressures data: where are the blind spots? Numbers don’t lie – but do they really tell the full story? So far, our winter pressures blog series has looked at what the available data tell us about NHS performance. NHS England publishes monthly performance reports all year round, but since the winter of 2010/11 additional winter monitoring data are also available. Between December and February, acute trusts provide daily updates, and the collated results are published every Thursday. These weekly ‘sitreps’ help provide transparency and, together with weekly flu stats from Public Health England, often drive media headlines. These statistics give us a snapshot, but not the full picture. In this blog, we consider areas where having more or different data might give us a more holistic overview of the impact of winter on health and social care. The Health Foundation

More than 200 million medication errors occur in NHS per year, say researchers

More than 200 million medication errors occur in NHS per year, say researchers A new study has revealed an estimated 237 million medication errors occur in the NHS in England every year, and avoidable adverse drug reactions (ADRs) cause hundreds of deaths.

Researchers from the Universities of Sheffield, York and Manchester report that an estimated 712 per year deaths result from avoidable ADRs.

However, researchers say that ADRs could be a contributory factor to between 1,700 and 22,303 deaths a year.

Of the total estimated 237 million medication errors that occur, researchers found that almost three in four are unlikely to result in harm to patients, but there is very little information on the harm that actually happens due to medication errors. University of Sheffield

See also:

• Prevalence and economic burden of medicationerrors in the NHS in England Policy Research Unit in Economic Evaluation of Health and Care Interventions
• College welcomes patient safety measures on prescribing Royal College of General Practitioners
• Drug errors cause appalling harm and deaths, says Hunt BBC News
• Up to 22,000 deaths a year caused by medication mistakes The Daily Mail
• NHS drug errors may be causing up to 22,000 deaths every year The Daily Telegraph
• Jeremy Hunt pledges crackdown on drug errors in NHS The Guardian
• NHS medication errors contribute to as many as 22,000 deaths a year, major report shows The Independent

One in four Emergency staff abused by patients

One in four Emergency staff abused by patients The first ever review of the experience of hospital A&E staff reveals that they have resigned themselves to patient violence and aggression.

In the UK, there were over 70,555 total reported assaults on NHS staff in 2016. Around the world, one in four hospital staff has experienced physical abuse. Lancaster University

See also:

• A qualitative meta-synthesis of emergency department staff experiences of violence and aggression (abstract) International Emergency Nursing
• A&E abuse: Medical staff report more than 70,000 physical and verbal attacks that leave them working in fear The Daily Mail

Are sick migrants avoiding NHS doctors over deportation fears?

Are sick migrants avoiding NHS doctors over deportation fears? The NHS has agreed to look into concerns about doctors having to pass names and addresses of suspected illegal immigrants to the Home Office.

It has launched a consultation on the policy after pressure from MPs but will not immediately ban it as some want.

Health bosses have been accused of ignoring evidence migrants are being deterred from seeking medical help for fear of deportation.

England's main health watchdog said it was a "serious risk" to public health.

Doctors and patient groups warned it was damaging trust in the health service and breaching patient confidentiality, in evidence last month to the Health Select Committee. BBC News

A new heart saved my life. Too many others don't get that chance

A new heart saved my life. Too many others don't get that chance An opt-out system for organ donation could improve the outcomes for critically ill people waiting for a heart transplant

I’m alive today because I had a heart transplant at the age of 38. I grew up in fear of what was around the corner because I knew that my heart was unreliable. Life was a rollercoaster of optimism and depression, the ups and downs of a future that ultimately relied on someone, somewhere, giving me the biggest gift possible – their heart.


A woman who died before her time, who I will never get to thank, gave me that gift. I can’t begin to tell you what this has meant to me and those I love.

If we would be willing to accept an organ, why would we not give one? Continue reading... The Guardian

Flu and norovirus cases are still piling pressure on A&E

Flu and norovirus cases are still piling pressure on A&E Cases of flu and norovirus are continuing to put pressure on A&E departments.

The number of bed closures due to norovirus or diarrhoea and vomiting rose to an average of 841 per day last week, up from 817 in the seven days before.

Weekly figures from NHS England also reveal 13,300 patients waited more than 30 minutes to be seen after arriving at A&E by ambulance, and of those 2,900 waited for longer than an hour.

This was an increase from the week ending February 11, when around 10,800 people waited more than half-an-hour and 2,200 more than an hour. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Consultants criticise 'catastrophic' rise in 12-hour A&E waits BBC News
• Ambulance handover delays worst since first week of 2018 as NHS pressures continue GPonline

Doctor asked to tell a patient they were being DEPORTED

Doctor asked to tell a patient they were being DEPORTED Government officials controversially asked a doctor to tell a patient they were being deported, it has emerged today.

The anonymous GP was approached by a branch of the Home Office to deliver the notice to an adult with mental health problems.

Union leaders condemned the 'unprecedented' request, that occurred in Liverpool, and blasted it as 'completely unacceptable'.

Despite the doctor's refusal to comply, fears have been raised that this could open the door to a flurry of similar requests. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Immigration agency asks GP to deliver deportation notice to patient GPonline