Friday 2 March 2018

'Fantastic work' of maternity teams ranks Northampton hospital as one of best labour wards in country

'Fantastic work' of maternity teams ranks Northampton hospital as one of best labour wards in country New mothers have praised Northampton General Hospital's maternity unit as one of the best in the country.

Northampton is performing better than most hospitals and topped the score in five survey questions in a national survey by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

NGH was picked out as only one of four NHS trusts scoring better than expected across all labour and birth issues, and scored the highest ratings nationally for treating patients with kindness emotional assessment, help from staff about homebirths and attention while in hospital after the birth. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Is transformation in the NHS really transformational?

Is transformation in the NHS really transformational? Transformation – a complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that that thing or person is improved – is fast becoming an overused word in the debate around public sector reform. As a result, it is often deemed a euphemism for delivering more with less and is at risk of becoming meaningless. There seems to be a lack of consensus on what it actually means in terms of service reform though it is often presented as a possible panacea for the many and complex challenges facing public sector organisations. The King's Fund

Reducing emergency admissions

Reducing emergency admissions Emergency admissions cost the NHS £13.7 billion in 2015-16 and pose a serious challenge to both the service and financial position of the NHS, according to today’s report by the National Audit Office (NAO). Over the last four years, the NHS has done well to manage the impact on hospitals, despite admitting more people as emergency admissions. While progress has been made in some areas the challenge of managing emergency admissions is far from being under control.

See also:

Inequality in life expectancy widens as improvements reverse among most deprived females

Inequality in life expectancy widens as improvements reverse among most deprived females Data analysed by Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirm statistically significant increases in the inequality in life expectancy in England between the most and least deprived.

For males at birth in England, a 0.3-year increase in the inequality in life expectancy was observed between 2011 to 2013 and 2014 to 2016, and now approaches a decade of life difference at 9.3 years. This increase in the inequality was largely a result of a very small increase of less than a month among the most deprived males, while the least deprived males gained more than four months of life since 2011 to 2013.

For females, the inequality grew slightly more than for males by 0.4 years; the least-deprived females are now living 7.4 years longer than the most-deprived. The change in the inequality for females arose because of a statistically significant fall in life expectancy of more than two months for the most-deprived, while it grew by more than three months for the least deprived since 2011 to 2013.

See also:

Mental health rehabilitation inpatient services

Mental health rehabilitation inpatient services This briefing looks at mental health rehabilitation inpatient services, including ward types, bed numbers and use by clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts. It voices concerns about the high number of beds situated a long way from the patient’s home. Care Quality Commission

Public at risk from 'daily cocktail of pollution'

Public at risk from 'daily cocktail of pollution' People are being exposed to a daily cocktail of pollution that may be having a significant impact on their health, England's chief medical officer says.

Prof Dame Sally Davies said the impact of air, light and noise pollution was well recognised in the environment.

But she said its role in terms of health was yet to be fully understood.

Dame Sally added there was enough evidence to suggest action had to be taken.

And, in her annual report, she said the NHS could lead the way in cutting pollution levels.

She said one in 20 vehicle journeys was linked to the NHS, either from patients or staff travelling. BBC News

See also:

Why the world needs to get ready for more people dying

Why the world needs to get ready for more people dying For decades, lifespans have grown ever longer, delaying the inevitable fact of death. But the coming years will see a sharp rise in the number of people dying, presenting a challenge about how we care for those at the end of life.

We started the 20th Century without penicillin, but now genomic medicine raises the possibility of increasingly sophisticated treatments tailored to an individual's genetics.

In little more than a century, medical and scientific breakthroughs like these have seen life expectancy increase dramatically - by about 30 years, to 79 for men and 83 for women in England, for example. BBC News

High Court grants legal challenge against NHS-Home Office deal to hand over patient data to immigration officials

High Court grants legal challenge against NHS-Home Office deal to hand over patient data to immigration officials The High Court has granted a legal challenge against a NHS-Home Office deal to hand over patient data to immigration officials.

The challenge, put forward by Migrants Rights Net (MRN), a UK charity advocating for the rights of migrants, will now go to a full hearing.

Currently the Home Office makes thousands of requests each year through the deal with NHS Digital and the Department of Health and only a fraction – around 3 per cent – are turned down. The Independent

One day I was director in a mental health trust. The next I was suicidal

One day I was director in a mental health trust. The next I was suicidal Depression sucked the life and soul out of me but I knew from my clinical experience that I could recover

I can now see that depression crept up on me slowly and silently. Despite 30 years’ experience as a registered mental health nurse I didn’t recognise, acknowledge or even notice the range of symptoms I had been experiencing, or how they had been affecting me. It was only when I finally cried at work that I realised something was wrong.

At the time I was working as an executive director in a London mental health NHS trust. There had not been any obvious feeling of being extremely sad, just a slow downhill trundle and loss of enjoyment in life. My symptoms included being overly self-critical and a loss of interest in things I usually enjoy. I was tired but not sleeping, procrastinating and felt I was a failure. Continue reading... The Guardian

Controversial ‘CareBnB’ scheme could be rolled out in Cambridgeshire

Controversial ‘CareBnB’ scheme could be rolled out in Cambridgeshire A controversial Airbnb-like scheme that sees homeowners receive up to £1,000 a month to rent their rooms to hospital patients could be rolled out in Cambridgeshire.

Dubbed 'Carebnb' and described as 'Airbnb for social care', the private start-up CareRooms for those recuperating after treatment is bidding to launch a new trial in the county.

This comes after it was forced to terminate its first pilot with the NHS in Essex last November - despite receiving around 600 applications in three days - after concerns were raised about care being provided by non-professionals.

CareRooms was devised as a radical way to free up hospital space, as bed-blocking rates remain high while the NHS battles a heavy winter.  The Daily Mail

See also:

NHS bosses warn 'perfect storm' of freezing weather

NHS bosses warn 'perfect storm' of freezing weather NHS bosses have warned a 'perfect storm' of -16°C blizzards, norovirus and flu is piling pressure on over-stretched hospitals.

Performance statistics show sub-zero temperatures, icy blasts and blizzard-like conditions hit A&E departments across the country hard last week.

Bed occupancies remain worryingly high and show no sign of falling to safe levels amid the 'worst winter ever', with more cold weather expected.

Storm Emma, rolling in from the Atlantic, is meeting the Beast from the East's chilly Russia air - causing further widespread snowfall and bitter temperatures.

Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the severe weather is an added burden on top of the recent 'usual' winter. The Daily Mail