Northants County Council could U-turn over adult care cuts

Northants County Council could U-turn over adult care cuts County council bosses are planning a U-turn over some cuts to adult care services.

In February a number of Northants charities and voluntary organisations which provide services for deaf and blind people were told their funding was to end as part of widescale cuts.

But now it looks like some services could have their funding reinstated as the top officer in charge of adult services Anna Earnshaw is asking Northamptonshire County Council’s cabinet to approve new short-term contracts. Northamptonshire Telegraph

New 24-hour service for young victims of sexual assault to launch in Northampton

New 24-hour service for young victims of sexual assault to launch in Northampton The Office of Police and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire has partnered with Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and other PCCs from across the East Midlands to launch a new specialist hub in the county that will support young victims of sexual violence and assault. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Former Northampton General Hospital nurse struck off after trying to straddle colleague

Former Northampton General Hospital nurse struck off after trying to straddle colleague A Northampton General Hospital nurse, who touched a colleague's bottom and attempted to straddle her, has been banned from the profession.

Simon Carl Bates was working as a senior A&E nurse for Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust at the time. Northamptonshire Chronicle and Echo

Data for public benefit: balancing the risks and benefits of data sharing

Data for public benefit: balancing the risks and benefits of data sharing This report is a joint initiative between Carnegie UK Trust, Involve and Understanding Patient Data. It presents new research from across six local authority areas in England and has found that there are big differences in how public services currently define and weigh up public benefits and risks of data sharing. A framework has been developed to help organisations make better decisions about when data should and shouldn’t be shared. This framework will help professionals weigh up the purpose of sharing data against the potential for harm and help public service providers have conversations with the public about data sharing. Carnegie UK Trust

Powerful patients, paperless systems: how new technology can renew the NHS

Powerful patients, paperless systems: how new technology can renew the NHS This report proposes the Department of Health and Social Care should drive a fundamental shift in behaviour by working closely with suppliers and NHS partners to achieve three key targets over the next decade: to move the NHS from paper-first to digital-first.

The aim should be to ensure that 100 per cent of all interactions within the health service are digitally driven by 2028; to build a flourishing ecosystem of apps and innovation within and around the NHS, to better serve patients and to put them in control; and to ensure that savings from automation and innovation are ploughed back into frontline services, and that R&D and technology training see their budgets rise at least in line with NHS spending. Centre for Policy Studies

Tackling obesity: what the UK can learn from other countries

Tackling obesity: what the UK can learn from other countries 2020health’s third report on obesity since 2014 highlights that strong and mandated central policy, supporting bold, holistic local action, is still needed to impact what is arguably the greatest health challenge of the 21st century. The report examines topical obesity intervention strategies from around the world to frame the question: can the UK learn from policy abroad?

The hardest hit: addressing the crisis in alcohol treatment services

The hardest hit: addressing the crisis in alcohol treatment services This report, launched at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Harm, highlights how severe funding cuts, rapid re-tendering cycles, loss of qualified staff and lack of political support are impacting on some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Breast cancer screening: Grieving husband describes 'shell shock' after realising late wife may have not have been invited for tests

Breast cancer screening: Grieving husband describes 'shell shock' after realising late wife may have not have been invited for tests A grieving husband has described his shock at realising his wife may have been among those whose lives were cut short due to a breast cancer screening error.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said a “computer algorithm failure” dating back to 2009 had meant many women aged between 68 and 71 in England were not invited to their final routine screening.

He said it was not currently known whether any delay in diagnosis resulted in avoidable death, but that it is estimated between 135 and 270 women had their lives shortened as a result. The Independent

See also:

• Women offered NHS breast screening after missed invitations Public Health England
• Breast screening error 'affects 450,000 women' BBC News
• Breast screening error: What went wrong? BBC News
• Breast screening error angers survivor and family of deceased BBC News
• We must find out who was truly responsible for the NHS screening blunder and hold them to account The Daily Telegraph
• Jeremy Hunt to announce inquiry into breast cancer screening after hundreds of thousands were not tested due to error The Daily Telegraph
• NHS accused of breast cancer 'cover up' as nurse asks: 'I don't know if I'll survive... how did this happen?' The Daily Telegraph
• Hunt pledges advice for GPs after 450,000 women denied breast screening GPonline
• Breast cancer screening IT error: what you need to know The Guardian
• The computer glitch that led to the breast screening disaster The Guardian
• I'm not surprised that women were the victims of a life-altering NHS scandal – this should end Jeremy Hunt's career The Independent

I've been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for 20 years – it's no surprise that patients are being abused while detained under the Mental Health Act

I've been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for 20 years – it's no surprise that patients are being abused while detained under the Mental Health Act I have been coming in and out of psychiatric hospitals, first as a patient, later as a professional, for over 20 years. In this time, I have met people whose lives have been saved by compulsory detention under the Mental Health Act. But I have also met many others who have been traumatised, silenced and degraded by their experiences. It is yet to be seen whether the new government-commissioned report on the Mental Health Act, published today, will provoke the revolution in inpatient care that psychiatric survivors have been demanding for over 40 years. The Independent

See also:

• What is it like to be sectioned? BBC News

I never wanted to be a nurse but helping a suicidal patient changed my mind

I never wanted to be a nurse but helping a suicidal patient changed my mind I failed twice to get a nursing degree, but I’ve seen how my experience of mental health problems can help others

Working as a nurse was not something I ever saw myself doing while I was growing up. The possibilities seemed endless and I dreamed of being everything from an archaeologist to a vet. However, at the age of 15 I received a life-changing diagnosis and the world I knew fell apart. Overnight my life changed from that of a normal teenager to one punctuated with unrelenting rounds of in-patient psychiatric treatment and a near-fatal battle with anorexia.

My own journey, and the healthcare professionals who had influenced it – both good and not so good – had a profound effect on me and I began to consider nursing as a career. I wondered if I would be able to use my experience to help others in similar positions, and felt a strong desire to give something back. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS staff aren’t border guards. We won’t police the ‘hostile environment’

NHS staff aren’t border guards. We won’t police the ‘hostile environment’ NHS Digital is sharing confidential patient data with the Home Office. This betrays those we are committed to caring for

NHS Digital, which collects confidential patient information, is sharing this personal data with the Home Office to support its immigration enforcement work. This can result in patients being detained and potentially deported.

In the Doctors of the World (DOTW) UK London clinic, doctors, nurses and support workers provide medical care for people excluded from NHS services – including asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. Here we see the impact of the fear of sharing patient data every day. We see vulnerable people who are simply too scared to approach NHS services, anxious it will lead to a knock on the door from the Home Office. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• As a doctor, I can see that denying NHS care to immigrants is inhumane The Guardian

NHS should treat sex addiction as a medical condition, charities say

NHS should treat sex addiction as a medical condition, charities say Sex addiction should be recognised as a medical condition and treated on the NHS, charities have said.

Groups providing support for those addicted to sex say they have seen a fourfold increase in people seeking help in the last decade and that treatment should be provided free on the health service.

Currently NHS guidance states that experts disagree over whether it is possible to become addicted to sex and refers patients to voluntary organisations for help. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Sex addiction: 'Five times a day wasn't enough' BBC News

NHS spends £23million a year on 'useless' eczema lotion

NHS spends £23million a year on 'useless' eczema lotion The NHS is wasting more than £23million a year on anti-eczema products that do not make any difference, a study has suggested.

Emollient bath additives are estimated to make up as much as a third of the cost of treating eczema in the UK, according to the report in the BMJ. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Emollient bath additives for the treatment of childhood eczema (BATHE): multicentre pragmatic parallel group randomised controlled trial of clinical and cost effectiveness The BMJ
• Bath additives for child eczema ineffective, study finds BBC News
• NHS spends £23m a year on eczema bath treatments that researchers say don't work The Daily Telegraph

How the NHS has changed since the 1970s

How the NHS has changed since the 1970s Amateur photographer Chris Porsz has taken hundreds of pictures of doctors, nurses, patients and wards at the main hospital in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, over the past four decades. The Daily Mail