NGH welcomes state-of-the-art virtual assistant to give visitors health tips and directions

NGH welcomes state-of-the-art virtual assistant to give visitors health tips and directions Northampton General Hospital has become the first organisation in the town to welcome an unusual new addition to the team to dish out vital information.

The virtual assistant, who’s been given the name Mia (messaging, information and advice), looks like a real person and "speaks" to people coming into the hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire pilot project offers treatment instead of jail time for low-level offences by women

Northamptonshire pilot project offers treatment instead of jail time for low-level offences by women A pilot scheme in Northamptonshire is helping to divert women offenders with low-level mental health problems away from jail by providing treatment instead.

The programme is backed by the Ministry of Justice, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England with the aim of increasing the use of community sentences for mental health, drug and alcohol treatment requirements.

Dr Sunil Lad, principal counselling psychologist at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and clinical lead for the project, said: “This has been an exciting project to be part of. We have been helping women who are in contact with the criminal justice system having experienced adverse life events resulting in developing unhelpful ways of coping.

"We are able to better understand how they come into these difficulties and have introduced them to different ways of coping." Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Developing new care models through NHS vanguards

Developing new care models through NHS vanguards The vanguard programme, one of NHS England’s attempts to better meet patients’ needs and deliver savings by developing new care models to integrate health and social care services, has not delivered the depth and scale of transformed services it aimed for at the beginning of the programme, says today’s report by the National Audit Office.

Separated at birth The impact of poor access to mental healthcare during pregnancy

Separated at birth The impact of poor access to mental healthcare during pregnancy One in five women experience a mental health problem during pregnancy or the first year after birth, but often receive inadequate care from the NHS reports the British Medical Association

See also:

• Babies at risk of being harmed by mothers with postnatal depression due to lack of help on the NHS The Daily Mail
• Mothers separated from newborns amid 'disgraceful' lack of specialist care The Daily Telegraph
• Mums With Mental Health Issues Are Being Separated From Their Babies, Warn Doctors HuffingtonPost UK

Review of the National Childbirth Trust 'Hidden Half' report and GP consultation

Review of the National Childbirth Trust 'Hidden Half' report and GP consultation This report found that resourcing GPs to offer a ten-minute appointment about the mother’s health would cost around £27 million a year but this could help to identify more women who are experiencing mental health difficulties after the birth of their child, and ensure that they receive timely, effective support. It concludes that an additional health check with GPs would provide an important opportunity to help women whose difficulties were missed during pregnancy. Centre for Mental Health

The value of the executive commissioning nurse

The value of the executive commissioning nurse Since their establishment, CCGs have been required to include a registered nurse on their governing body to expand the clinical knowledge and patient experience of the board. Many CCGs have expanded this role in recognition of the contribution that executive nurses embedded full-time in the day to day decision making of the CCG can make. This infographic showcases the expertise and insight that executive commissioning nurses can bring for patients, populations and the health care system. NHS Clinical Commissioners

Seeing the same doctor over time 'lowers death rates'

Seeing the same doctor over time 'lowers death rates' Patients who see the same doctor again and again have lower death rates, a study suggests.

The benefits applied to visits to GPs and specialists and were seen across different cultures and health systems.

University of Exeter researchers said the human aspect of medical practice was "potentially life-saving" but had been neglected.

GPs' leaders said they recognised the value of patients seeing "their own" doctor.

Because of intense workforce pressures, however, this could mean waiting even longer for an appointment, the Royal College of GPs said. BBC News

See also:

• Continuity of care with doctors—a matter of life and death? A systematic review of continuity of care and mortality (open access) BMJ Open
• Balancing continuity of care and access to GP services a 'huge challenge', says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• Why seeing the same doctor every time could save your life The Daily Mail
• Seeing the same GP really is a matter of life and death, major study finds The Daily Telegraph
• GP continuity of care linked with lower death rate, study shows GPonline

Deprived areas 'have five times more fast food outlets'

Deprived areas 'have five times more fast food outlets' Deprived areas such as Blackpool and parts of Manchester and Liverpool have five times more fast food outlets than affluent areas, a survey suggests.

The data, from Public Health England (PHE), compared levels of deprivation with numbers of takeaways such as chip shops, burger bars and pizza places.

Experts say children exposed to fast food on the way home from school are more likely to eat unhealthily.

PHE wants local authorities to refuse applications from new takeaways.

One in three children is now overweight or obese by the age of 11. BBC News

See also:

• Research and analysis: Fast food outlets: density by local authority in England Public Health England

NHS at 70: Being a nurse in the 1940s versus now

NHS at 70: Being a nurse in the 1940s versus now Grace Stephenson and Ethel Armstrong have both worked in nursing for the NHS, but they have a 68-year age gap.

While Ethel began her career as a cadet back in 1948, Grace started her training last year.

The women, aged 20 and 88, share their experiences of the NHS during a visit to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. BBC News

Traditional GP model will be swept aside by tech revolution, NHS England chair predicts

Traditional GP model will be swept aside by tech revolution, NHS England chair predicts The NHS has reached a tipping point in the way it provides care and the traditional model of general practice may not be able to cope with the increasingly complex wealth of data that will be available in the future, NHS England's chair has said. GPonline

NHS chief: Major ramp up of children's mental health services needed

NHS chief: Major ramp up of children's mental health services needed Simon Stevens has said significant expansion required to treat increasing problems

Children’s mental health services will need to expand significantly to cope with the growing problems faced by young people, the head of the NHS in England has said.

Simon Stevens said higher rates of mental illness combined with a greater willingness of people coming forward with problems meant there would have to be a “major ramp up” in services. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Children's mental health services need 'major ramp up' BBC News
• NHS will 'ramp up' children's mental health care to deal with social media fallout The Daily Telegraph
• NHS chief calls for 'major ramp up' of children's mental health services The Independent

Protect the NHS – but don’t protect it to death

Protect the NHS – but don’t protect it to death | Harry Quilter-Pinner As our beloved health service turns 70, it would be wrong to allow it to stagnate. It really must embrace change

Dancing doctors, uniform-clad nurses and children jumping on hospital beds. There are very few countries that would include a celebration of their healthcare system in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. But this was the sight that greeted the millions who tuned in at the start of London 2012. After all, as former chancellor Nigel Lawson said: “The NHS is the closest thing the English people have to a religion.”

Now the country will once again celebrate the NHS, as it turns 70. And so we should. Across the globe, 400 million people still don’t have access to essential healthcare services. Thanks to the NHS, no one in the UK faces this injustice. It is there for us all – regardless of race, sexuality, gender or financial means – at our times of greatest need. Continue reading... The Guardian

Doctors 'should not have to report' suspected terrorists

Doctors 'should not have to report' suspected terrorists Doctors should not be obliged to refer concerns about suspected terrorists to Prevent de-radicalisation authorities, their union has ruled.

The British Medical Association agreed a motion to support any members who refuse to take part in training in the scheme.

Doctors said the obligations on them were “Orwellian” “Kafka-esque” and “like a scene from Minority Report” – claiming the measures were creating “a climate of fear and mistrust”.

They said that the obligation to refer suspicions about patients or colleagues to the authorities could undermine trust in medics. The Daily Telegraph

Vacation DOES bust stress - but the benefits fade after three days, study finds

Vacation DOES bust stress - but the benefits fade after three days, study finds After vacations, most Americans feel less stressed and more motivated, the American Psychological Association found. But a stressful work culture means we're just as tense again in three days. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Vacation Time Recharges US Workers, but Positive Effects Vanish Within Days, New Survey Finds American Psychological Association