KGH: Don’t visit A&E unless absolutely essential

KGH: Don’t visit A&E unless absolutely essential Kettering General Hospital has pleaded with the public not to visit A&E unless they absolutely have to.

The hospital is extremely busy and is currently seeing a lot of seriously unwell older patients.

 Anyone attending who is not a very urgent case is likely to wait longer than normal to be seen.

A KGH spokesman said: “If there is any way you can avoid using A&E by accessing other NHS services please do so.  Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS Staff Survey 2017 results are “challenging"

NHS Staff Survey 2017 results are “challenging”  The results of NHS England’s latest Staff Survey 2017 are “challenging”, show that staff cannot absorb further work pressures, and show that investment is needed in health and social care services, according to NHS Employers chief executive Danny Mortimer.

See also:

• 2017 survey results NHS Survey Coordination Centre
• NHS England publishes latest NHS staff survey results NHS England
• 'Woeful' pay rises have taken their toll on NHS staff The Daily Mail

Leeds hospital ward killings revealed in report

Leeds hospital ward killings revealed in report Two men died after being attacked on a hospital ward by a fellow patient with paranoid schizophrenia whose drugs had been stopped, it has emerged.

Roger Lamb, 79, and Ken Godward, 76, were beaten by 70-year-old Harry Bosomworth at St James's University Hospital, Leeds, in 2015.

A report, leaked to the Health Service Journal (HSJ), found nurses on the ward had little mental health care training.

Two trusts have admitted failings and said they were working on improvements. BBC News

See also:

• Two elderly patients killed on acute hospital ward, investigation reveals The Daily Telegraph
• NHS trusts accused of cover-up over attack on hospital ward The Guardian

Alzheimer's researchers win brain prize

Alzheimer's researchers win brain prize Four dementia scientists have shared this year's 1m Euro brain prize for pivotal work that has changed our understanding of Alzheimer's disease.

Profs John Hardy, Bart De Strooper, Michael Goedert, based in the UK, and Prof Christian Haass, from Germany, unpicked key protein changes that lead to this most common type of dementia.

On getting the award, Prof Hardy said he hoped new treatments could be found.

He is donating some of his prize money to care for Alzheimer's patients. BBC News

Exclusive: GPs face growing risk from violent patients, poll suggests

Exclusive: GPs face growing risk from violent patients, poll suggests One in three GPs have felt threatened by a patient and one in six say they or a colleague have been attacked in their practice in the past year, GPonline can reveal.

Nursing associates: will they become a cheap substitute for nurses?

Nursing associates: will they become a cheap substitute for nurses? As the first cohort of trainees prepare for this new NHS role, there are fears it could be exploited and become a dead-end job

Hilda Alexis has always wanted to be a nurse. But lack of educational opportunity and raising a family meant that being a healthcare assistant was the closest she thought she would ever get. Now, mid-career, she has a chance to realise her dream.

Alexis is one of the first 2,000 trainee nursing associates (NAs) who are part way through preparation for a new role in the NHS in England. The job is seen as a bridge between healthcare assistant and registered nurse (RN), taking on some tasks usually performed by the latter. But it will also offer a route for some NAs to qualify as nurses. Continue reading.. The Guardian

NHS shortfalls affected dozens of mental health patients who later died

NHS shortfalls affected dozens of mental health patients who later died Legal warnings issued to health bodies prompt claims poorly funded services cannot cope

A lack of beds, staff and specialist services affected the care of dozens of mental health patients who later died, the Guardian can reveal. Coroners have identified 45 cases in England and Wales in the last six years in which a patient’s NHS treatment for mental health problems was affected by the issues. Continue reading...

See also:

• The Guardian view on mental health: saving lives requires money and monitoring | Editorial The Guardian

NHS trusts accused of creating ‘dozens of Carillion-style meltdowns’

NHS trusts accused of creating ‘dozens of Carillion-style meltdowns’ Thousands of non-medical staff are being transferred to subsidiary firms in a bid to cut tax bills and reduce salaries and pension payments

Growing numbers of hospital trusts are transferring staff into newly created private subsidiary firms in a move health unions warn will create a “two-tier workforce” in the NHS. Trusts are starting to see subsidiaries as a way of saving money after seven years of below-inflation annual budget increases and mounting financial problems due to an increased demand for healthcare.

Nineteen NHS trusts in England have already established a wholly owned subsidiary and begun transferring thousands of non-medical staff to them. Sixteen other trusts are considering doing the same in a fast-growing change in practice that they insist is intended to save money as employers, especially through paying less VAT. While private firms working for the NHS can claim back any VAT they are charged by the government, an NHS trust cannot, under the terms of the 1994 VAT Act. Continue reading... The Guardian

Trampolining craze is leaving children with broken bones, health bosses warn

Trampolining craze is leaving children with broken bones, health bosses warn A craze for trampolining is leaving children with broken bones, health bosses have warned.

NHS staff attended an average of three injuries a day at indoor trampoline parks in England last year, mainly treating broken bones, sprains, and ligament damage after 1,181 call outs, new figures show.

The number of injuries, the figures indicate, have shot up as indoor trampoline venues in the UK increased dramatically from just three 2014 to around 200 this year. The Daily Telegraph