Thursday 19 April 2018

Developing new models of care in the PACS vanguards: a new national approach to large-scale change?

Developing new models of care in the PACS vanguards: a new national approach to large-scale change? This independent report was commissioned by NHS England as part of a package of support provided to primary and acute care system (PACS) vanguard sites by The King’s Fund. The PACS model is an attempt to bring about closer working between GPs, hospitals, community health professionals, social care and others.

Global burden of multiple serious illnesses must be urgently addressed

Global burden of multiple serious illnesses must be urgently addressed Increasing numbers of people worldwide are suffering life-long disability and dying prematurely due to the ineffective treatment of people with multiple health conditions, a new report suggests.

Most health services, including the NHS, are not designed to care for patients with multiple illnesses. This is likely to contribute to the increasing pressures on health systems and budgets worldwide, the report suggests. It concludes that without a better understanding of multimorbidity, it will not be possible for any country to plan future healthcare resources and redesign services effectively. Academy of Medical Sciences

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Women in a quarter of the UK still can’t access vital maternal mental health services

Women in a quarter of the UK still can’t access vital maternal mental health services New maps launched today by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s Everyone’s Business Campaign show that pregnant women and new mums in a quarter of the UK still cannot access lifesaving specialist perinatal mental health services, which meet national guidelines.

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance welcomes the encouraging signs of progress seen in some parts of the UK but raises the alarm: there is not progress for all parts of the country at the same rate, meaning right now, women and families still face a postcode lottery.

According to the new data, pregnant women and new mums in 24% of the UK still have no access to specialist perinatal mental health services (rated red on the map). The maps show that whilst many more women now live in an area coloured green on the map, meaning specialist perinatal mental health services are available in their locality, it is unacceptable that so many women and their families still cannot access essential care.

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Less waste, more health: a health professional's guide to reducing waste

Less waste, more health: a health professional's guide to reducing waste This report report explains how health professionals can positively influence societal health and wellbeing by making simple changes to the procurement and disposal of medical supplies. It features a range of case studies and 12 recommendations setting out how everyone from individual to trust level can: positively influence the health of patients; aid financial savings; and shape the impact of the NHS on the environment. Royal College of Physicians

Cyber attack on the NHS

Cyber attack on the NHS The Public Accounts Committee states that the WannaCry cyber-attack on Friday 12 May 2017, was a wake-up call for the NHS. The Department of Health and Social Care and its arm's-length bodies were unprepared for the relatively unsophisticated WannaCry attack; they had not shared and tested plans for responding to a cyber-attack, nor had any trust passed a cyber-security inspection.The report sets an end of June deadline for the Department of Health and Social Care to provide anupdate on costed plans for vital security investment. Public Accounts Select Committee

Workforce to care force: who cares?

Workforce to care force: who cares? This discussion paper has been prepared by John Bryant, Head of Integration and development at Torbay Council and chair of the Workforce Group for Association of Adult Social Services (ADASS) South West branch. The paper explores some questions about the future of the health and social care workforce, and discusses some of the changes in assumptions and practices which may be needed across the UK in the next few years. Institute of Public Care

Retrospective review of use of mesh or tape for urogynaecological surgery

Retrospective review of use of mesh or tape for urogynaecological surgery This report has been produced to investigate activity, summarised within Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data, for the NHS, in England, of patients who have had a urogynaecological procedure for the treatment of urogynaecological prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, including those where mesh, tape or their equivalents have been used. It has been undertaken to assist the NHS and others in establishing a clearer national picture of patients who have had such procedures. These statistics are classified as experimental and should be used with caution. Experimental statistics are new official statistics undergoing evaluation. They are published in order to involve users and stakeholders in their development and as a means to build in quality at an early stage. NHS Digital

NHS reform: How many patients will benefit?

NHS reform: How many patients will benefit? Billed as the biggest national move to integrate care of any Western country, radical changes are afoot in parts of the NHS in England.

From this month, groups of local NHS and social care leaders are working together formally to devise appropriate care for individual patients, which will increasingly be provided away from hospitals.

But few are aware of these schemes and that's probably because, so far, they only affect a small minority of the population.

The so-called integrated care systems are up and running in 10 areas of England.

NHS leaders say more will come on stream soon with about 20% of the population covered by the end of the current financial year. BBC News

Mental health patients want immediate diagnosis, says report

Mental health patients want immediate diagnosis, says report Mental health diagnosis needs to be useful for patients and not simply a meaningless label, a report suggests.

Research from Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and University of East Anglia suggests patients would prefer to be told their diagnosis face-to-face rather than by other means.

However, doctors said that a diagnosis can be complex and take time to assess.

Royal College of GPs chairwoman Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard told the BBC a diagnosis should be a "starting point".

She said it should be the position "from which we can begin a course of treatment tailored to that individual, in partnership with them. No patient should ever see a diagnosis as a 'meaningless label'." BBC News

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NHS website defaced by hackers

NHS website defaced by hackers An NHS website hosting data from patient surveys that was defaced by hackers has been fixed.

The site, insights.london.nhs.uk, was given a black background, eerie music and a message in white text that read: "Hacked by AnoaGhost."

Cyber-security expert Kevin Beaumont spotted the defacement and tweeted a screenshot of it to his followers on Tuesday afternoon.

A few hours later, the message was removed. BBC News

200 GPs working for Babylon as 40000 NHS patients apply

200 GPs working for Babylon as 40000 NHS patients apply Babylon, the company behind the GP at Hand online app, now has 200 GPs on its roster, it has been revealed.

This includes GPs working across its private and NHS services, remotely or from its London headquarters.

Pulse has learned that Babylon offers a full-time salary of around £90,000 to work from home, or £108,000 if office based.

But GP leaders warned the company's rapid expansion risked spreading the rest of the NHS GP workforce 'more thinly'.

NHS workers top list of those applying for payday loans

NHS workers top list of those applying for payday loans NHS workers’ representatives say it is a ‘terrible state of affairs’ for staff to be forced to take on loans with interest of up to 1,325%

NHS staff, council officials and gig economy workers are among the most regular applicants for payday loans, which charge interest of up to 1,325% per year, industry data has revealed.

In Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, city council workers were among the most frequent applicants for the ultra-high interest debt last month, according to figures from a loan comparison website. Continue reading... The Guardian

Two-thirds of NHS healthcare assistants doing nurses' duties, union finds

Two-thirds of NHS healthcare assistants doing nurses' duties, union finds Unison survey finds HCAs give out medication, dress wounds and take blood pressures

Almost two-thirds of healthcare assistants (HCAs) are performing roles usually undertaken by nurses, such as giving patients drugs and dressing their wounds, in the latest illustration of the NHS’s staffing crisis.

The apparently growing trend of assistants acting as “nurse substitutes” has sparked concern that patients may receive inferior or potentially unsafe care because they do not have the same skills.

The UK has fewer doctors and nurses than many other comparable countries both in Europe and worldwide. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Britain comes 24th in a league table of 34 member countries in terms of the number of doctors per capita. Greece, Austria and Norway have the most; the three countries with the fewest are Turkey, Chile and Mexico. Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, regularly points out that the NHS in England has more doctors and nurses than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010. That is true, although there are now fewer district nurses, mental health nurses and other types of health professionals. Continue reading... The Guardian

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GPs at one in 12 practices are still prescribing homeopathic treatments for their patients

GPs at one in 12 practices are still prescribing homeopathic treatments for their patients More than 600 GP surgeries have been prescribing homeopathic treatments for their patients – even though there is no scientific evidence that it works.

Research by Oxford University found that doctors at one in 12 practices had used the controversial alternative therapies.

Last year Simon Stevens, the head of the NHS, urged doctors to stop prescribing homeopathy remedies, while health service guidelines state they are no better than placebos and should not be used to treat any health condition. The Daily Mail

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