Wednesday 6 June 2018

Northamptonshire County Council: £66,000 pay-off for departing LGSS boss

Northamptonshire County Council: £66,000 pay-off for departing LGSS boss The former head of shared services jointly run by a "failing" council received a £66,000 pay-off.

Managing director of Local Government Shared Services (LGSS) John Kane took early retirement at the end of March after five years in charge.

Northamptonshire County Council's draft accounts for 2017-18 show he was given the money on top of a £152,000 salary.

A spokesman for LGSS said the payments Mr Kane received were made "in recognition" of his early retirement. BBC Northamptonshire

Carers action plan 2018 - 2020: supporting carers today

Carers action plan 2018 - 2020: supporting carers today The plan sets out the cross-government programme of work to support carers over the next two years. It is structured around the following themes: services and systems that work for carers; employment and financial wellbeing; supporting young carers; recognising and supporting carers in the wider community and society; and building research and evidence to improve outcomes for carers. Department of Health and Social Care

Our International Health Service

Our International Health Service The NHS relies on staff from all over the world. Over a quarter of NHS doctors – including almost half in some vital specialities – and almost one in six nurses, are from overseas. But following the Brexit referendum the NHS is finding it increasingly difficult to attract the clinical staff it needs from the EU. The number of EU nurses is already falling, and the proportion of European doctors gaining a licence in the UK has fallen from 25% of the total in 2014 to just 16% in 2017. This is making the NHS increasingly dependent on staff from outside the EU, who are being refused entry into the UK in their hundreds. Without relaxations in those restrictions and a commitment to erecting no new barriers to potential NHS staff from the EU after Brexit, the NHS will be unable to recruit the staff it needs. Global Future

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Time to deliver: report of the WHO Independent High-Level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases

Time to deliver: report of the WHO Independent High-Level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases This report calls for urgent action to address chronic diseases and mental health disorders. It demands high-level political commitment and the immediate scaling up of actions to address the epidemic of NCDs World Health Organization

Cuts to sexual-health services imminent

Cuts to sexual-health services imminent Some sexual-health clinics face closure or reduced hours as almost half the councils in England plan to cut spending, a BBC investigation reveals.

Of the 151 councils that responded to a BBC Freedom of Information request, 72 planned to cut sexual-health funding in 2018-19 compared with 2017-18.

Most said any savings would be made through efficiencies, but 16 councils said services would be cut or reduced.

The government said councils were being given money to spend on services. BBC News

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Almost half of GP consultations 'now includes a mental health issue'

Almost half of GP consultations 'now includes a mental health issue' Forty per cent of all GP consultations now see patients raising a mental health problem, a survey has revealed.

More than 1,000 GPs took part in the study, which also found that two in three GPs had seen an increase in the number of patients needing help with their mental health over the past 12 months.

The results have prompted health leaders from the BMA, the RCGP and mental health charity Mind to pen an open letter to Health Education England renewing calls for GP training to be extended from three to four years. Pulse

Each car in London costs NHS and society £8,000 due to air pollution, report finds

Each car in London costs NHS and society £8,000 due to air pollution, report finds Air pollution from cars and vans racks up health bills of nearly £6bn every year in the UK, according to a new report by researchers at the universities of Oxford and Bath.

The costs to both the NHS and society at large were highest in cities, and diesel vehicles were the worst offenders in terms of harmful pollutants.

In total, the scientists concluded the health cost of an average car in inner London over the vehicle’s lifetime was nearly £8,000. For diesel cars this figure was nearly double The Independent

Judge dismisses homeopathy challenge against NHS decision to stop funding unproven pills

Judge dismisses homeopathy challenge against NHS decision to stop funding unproven pills A judge has dismissed a challenge by homeopathic groups against the NHS’ decision not to fund unproven pills through prescriptions.

The bid by the British Homeopathic Association (BHA) and others was ended by a High Court ruling.

It was welcomed by NHS England (NHSE) boss Simon Stevenswho called the challenge “costly and spurious”. The Independent

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Theresa May faces dilemma over NHS cash boost, says IFS

Theresa May faces dilemma over NHS cash boost, says IFS PM will have to either raise taxes, slash public spending or break her own spending rules

Theresa May’s plans to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the NHS with a big cash boost will force the government to raise taxes, break its own budget rules or slash public spending elsewhere, according to the UK’s leading thinktank on the public finances.

Amid growing Westminster speculation that an NHS announcement would be made within the next month, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the size of the health service meant that any meaningful increase in funding would create problems for Philip Hammond. Continue reading... The Guardian

Long waits, cuts and rationing: happy 70th birthday NHS

Long waits, cuts and rationing: happy 70th birthday NHS | Zara Aziz It’s getting harder for doctors to provide good care. But the NHS would be lost without the goodwill of those who work there

Our National Health Service was founded on the principles that good healthcare should be available to all – free at the point of delivery. Seventy years on, does this still hold true? It is not uncommon for NHS trusts to run their on-call services (for their urgent work) with insufficient junior and senior staff to the point that it becomes unsafe. Many hospitals spend more than their incomes on treating the rising number of patients. GP surgeries close. Waiting times rise. Patients look for alternatives for which they have to pay, such as online providers or private hospitals.

Long waiting times are a big problem for those in physical or emotional distress. It takes around 20 weeks, if not longer, to see an NHS physiotherapist in our area – patients often have acute pain, loss of function, are off work and losing earnings. They can lose faith altogether and disengage from NHS services, or turn to private healthcare. Sometimes they pay for private physiotherapy, but then they start and stop after one or two sessions when the money runs out. Continue reading... The Guardian

Beware dog flu: scientists warn family pet could spark the next pandemic

Beware dog flu: scientists warn family pet could spark the next pandemic Scientists have warned that domestic dogs – anything from a loyal labrador to a precious pug – could be harbouring the virus that sparks the next big influenza pandemic.

New flu viruses are incubated in animals before they jump to humans.

The 1918 Spanish flu that killed between 50 and 100 million people is thought to have started in geese. And the milder 2009 "swine flu" pandemic was transmitted to humans via pigs, killing an estimated 245,000 people globally.

Now scientists have found domestic dogs are harbouring flu viruses with the potential to jump to humans, potentially turning man's best friend into one of our greatest threats. The Daily Telegraph