New report on apprenticeship levy strategies in NHS Trusts

New report on apprenticeship levy strategies in NHS Trusts A new report published by BPP University has surveyed 175 trusts on their apprenticeship levy strategies. The key findings from the report include:
- 95 per cent of the 175 trusts in England surveyed plan to use their apprenticeship levy fund
- more than half surveyed expect to spend the majority, if not all of their levy funds for 2017-18
- trusts plan to spend most of their levy funds on existing employees, rather than recruiting new employees into apprenticeship roles
- nine out of ten employers said they would use the levy to support workforce planning
- an appetite for nursing degree apprenticeships with 85 per cent of the 175 trusts surveyed looking to offer them. NHS Employers

Community-wide approach needed to tackle growing challenge of loneliness and social isolation

Community-wide approach needed to tackle growing challenge of loneliness and social isolation Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, has responded to a study published in the BMJ about the links between loneliness and social isolation and cardiovascular conditions.

She said: "Loneliness and social isolation can have a devastating impact on our patients' long term health and wellbeing - this is something the College has been highlighting for some time, and is backed up by this research.

"The reality is that loneliness and social isolation, particularly for older people, can be on a par in terms of its impact on health with suffering from a chronic long-term condition, and, as this study shows, increase the likelihood of developing serious conditions, such as heart attacks and strokes. Royal College of General Practitioners

Extended NHS 111 direct booking pilot subject to local pay decisions - Pulse

Extended NHS 111 direct booking pilot subject to local pay decisions - Pulse Local commissioners will decide how much, if at all, GP practices will be paid to take part in extended piloting of NHS 111 direct booking of appointments.

A pilot running in the North East of England since 2016 has offered practices 70p per patient, however NHS England told Pulse this was not national policy.

NHS England also confirmed that it will require CCGs to ensure 30% of all GP appointments are open to direct booking by NHS 111 from April 2019. Pulse

NHS 'is hiding care cash' as families blow life savings - The Times

NHS 'is hiding care cash' as families blow life savings - The Times Thousands of vulnerable elderly people may be missing out on state funding for their care because they and their families have no idea it exists, according to an exclusive survey.

Almost nine in ten people (87%) in a poll of more than 1,000 aged 45-60 — the group most likely to be taking care funding decisions for their parents — did not know about NHS continuing healthcare. This covers the care fees of those with complex medical needs. Crucially, it is available regardless of wealth. The Times

May must consider tax rises to fund NHS and social care, say MPs - The Guardian

May must consider tax rises to fund NHS and social care, say MPs - The Guardian Theresa May is under mounting pressure to consider tax rises to fund Britain’s creaking health and social care system, as a group of high-powered MPs on Monday call for a new commission to recommend money-raising measures.

Among the signatories to a letter to the prime minister are 21 select committee chairs who are urging May to set up a year-long “parliamentary commission”, echoing the approach taken after the banking bailouts.

Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes and chair of the health and social care committee, said: “We call on the government to act with urgency and to take a whole system approach to the funding of the NHS, social care and public health. On behalf of all those who rely on services, we need to break down the political barriers and to agree a way forward.” The Guardian

See also:

• An NHS tax would make the public question whether the health service is really worth what we pay for it The Telegraph
• How should we pay for the NHS? BBC News
• NHS finances in 'perilous state', says damning Public Accounts Committee report The Independent

Southern Health fined £2 million over deaths of two patients - BBC News

Southern Health fined £2 million over deaths of two patients - BBC News An NHS trust that admitted failing two patients who died in its care, one in a bath, has been fined £2m.

Connor Sparrowhawk, 18, drowned in Oxford in 2013. Teresa Colvin, 45, died in Hampshire in 2012.

Southern Health admitted to "systemic failures" and pleaded guilty in 2017 to breaching health and safety laws. BBC News

See also:

• NHS trust fined £2m for Connor Sparrowhawk and Teresa Colvin deaths The Guardian

Exclusive: GPs deliver services worth millions of pounds for free

Exclusive: GPs deliver services worth millions of pounds for free GP practices are continuing to provide services worth many millions of pounds per year for which they receive no funding, a GPonline poll reveals.Seven out of 10 GP partners say their practice delivers at least one non-core service for no extra money, the poll of 255 partners found - suggesting that more than 5,000 practices in England may be carrying out unfunded work. GP Online

Global antibiotic consumption soars feeding spread of UK 'super-bugs'

Global antibiotic consumption soars feeding spread of UK 'super-bugs'
Drug-resistant superbugs are rising in the UK because of lack of regulation of antibiotics in developing countries, experts have warned.

One of the biggest studies of antibiotic use around the world has established that while antibiotic use in Britain has slowed, global consumption jumped by 65 percent, to 34.8 billion daily doses between 2000 and 2015. The Telegraph

See also:

• 'I almost died': the true cost of antibiotic resistance in Britain and around the world The Telegraph
• Antibiotic demand has surged by 65 percent Mail Online
• Global use of antibiotics has risen by almost 40 % in 15 years Mail Online

Patients not told about doctors' big pharma conflicts of interest - new study

Patients not told about doctors' big pharma conflicts of interest - new study
Hospitals are failing to inform patients when doctors responsible for choosing their drugs have received thousands of pounds from pharmaceutical companies, a new study reveals.

A survey in the British Medical Journal shows just six per cent of NHS trusts publish their register of gifts and hospitality online and that the majority make it practically impossible for patients to determine if there is a conflict of interest.  The Telegraph

Thousands of bowel cancer patients at risk as hospitals ignore genetic test

Thousands of bowel cancer patients at risk as hospitals ignore genetic test The lives of thousands of bowel cancer patients are being put at needless risk because hospitals are failing to perform a simple genetic test, an investigation has found.

More than eight out of 10 hospitals are ignoring official guidelines by not carrying out screening for Lynch syndrome when patients are diagnosed with the cancer.

Carried by an estimated 175,000 people, the faulty gene makes a person 80 per cent more likely to develop bowel cancer and means chemotherapy is less likely to work. The Telegraph

See also:

• Four in five hospitals won't carry out 'life saving' bowel cancer test Mail Online
• Lynch Syndrome: Call for NHS to fund 'life-saving' bowel cancer test Sky News
• Hospitals 'failing' on genetic bowel cancer test BBC News