Non-Executive Directors and integrated care: time to think system

Non-Executive Directors and integrated care: time to think system It’s hard to keep track of the changing vocabulary of sustainability and transformation plans, accountable care organisations and, most recently, integrated care systems. Even as a supposed expert in health and social care, it can be hard work keeping up with the latest policy buzz phrases. For non-executive directors (NEDs) of NHS trusts, who hail from a range of backgrounds often outside the NHS, keeping up can be even harder. This might help to explain why NEDs generally do not seem to have played much of a part in sustainability and transformation partnerships. Yet at a time when the NHS is facing arguably the biggest challenges in its 70-year history, the need for NEDs to understand these changes and what they mean for their own role and responsibilities has never been greater. The King's Fund

Emergency readmissions to hospital for potentially preventable conditions on the rise, new research shows

Emergency readmissions to hospital for potentially preventable conditions on the rise, new research shows The number of patients being readmitted to hospital in an emergency with potentially preventable conditions such as pneumonia and pressure sores has grown significantly in the last seven years, analysis from The Nuffield Trust think tank shows today.

See also:

• Emergency readmissions: Trends in emergency readmissions to hospital in England Quality Watch
• Rise in 'preventable' emergency readmissions to hospital BBC News
• Inadequate care blamed for 40pc rise in emergency readmissions to hospital The Daily Telegraph
• Number of patients readmitted to hospital rises to 1.38m in a year The Guardian
• Patients returning to hospital less than one month after being discharged up by fifth under Conservatives, report shows The Independent

Bereaved parents 'let down at work by lack of support'

Bereaved parents 'let down at work by lack of support' Three out of five parents who went back to work after their baby died said no-one talked to them about their loss, a stillbirth charity says.

A survey of more than 2,500 bereaved parents also found that most employers did not offer any support.

One father said he was sacked after taking seven days off when his baby died.

Another father, Dan Wood, who lost his two-day-old daughter, says deaths should be acknowledged and not ignored. BBC News

See also:

• Sands launches #FindingTheWords campaign to help everyone talk about baby loss Sands Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity

Educate children to tackle ethnic minority donor crisis, MPs say

Educate children to tackle ethnic minority donor crisis, MPs say School pupils should learn about organ and blood donation to help tackle the "silent crisis" of a lack of ethnic minority donors in England, a group of Labour MPs has said.

Demand for blood, stem cells and organs in these groups is particularly high and supply very low, their review says.

Lack of awareness and a mistrust of clinicians were among the reasons.

MPs said teaching children about donation would boost donor numbers by preventing "misinformation spreading". BBC News

Senior doctors say NHS needs an extra £7bn

Senior doctors say NHS needs an extra £7bn On the back of the worst winter in a decade, NHS trusts in England have reported financial deficits twice as bad as anticipated.The number of GPs planning to leave the profession has risen to two in five. And senior doctors have today warned the government that the NHS needs an extra seven billion pounds a year if services are to get any better. Channel 4 News

Ovarian cancer 'game changer' drug which holds back disease's return gets first NHS fund approval

Ovarian cancer 'game changer' drug which holds back disease's return gets first NHS fund approval Thousands of women could benefit from a “game changing” ovarian cancer drug which can prevent the disease recurring for as much as a year and a half after it was approved for NHS use.

As many as 850 women a year could receive niraparib following its recommendation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) for inclusion in the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). The Independent

Why we’re not prepared for the genetic revolution that’s coming

Why we’re not prepared for the genetic revolution that’s coming Biohackers are already using modification methods to edit their own genes, for example, to enhance muscle tissue or treat HIV

When humans’ genetic information (known as the genome) was mapped 15 years ago, it promised to change the world. Optimists anticipated an era in which all genetic diseases would be eradicated. Pessimists feared widespread genetic discrimination. Neither of these hopes and fears have been realised. The Independent

Smoking declines around the world but most countries set to miss targets, report finds

Smoking declines around the world but most countries set to miss targets, report finds Tobacco use has fallen significantly since 2000 but less wealthy countries are lagging behind, a new report from the World Health Organization has found.

The report, released to coincide with Global No Tobacco Day, shows that worldwide the number of smokers fell by 29 million from 2000 to 2015 as more countries adopt policies to help their populations kick the habit. Today, some 1.1 billion people - 20 per cent of the population over the age of 15 - smoke.

Yet, although most countries have seen a fall in smoking rates, only a minority of countries look set to meet global and national commitments to cut tobacco use in over 15s by 30 per cent by 2025. The UK is one of a handful of countries on track to meet this goal. The Daily Telegraph