An NHS Bonus How fixing the NHS’s broken pay system can deliver better outcomes for patients

An NHS Bonus How fixing the NHS’s broken pay system can deliver better outcomes for patients The NHS as a whole employs approximately 1.7 million people making it, famously, the fifth biggest employer on the planet. Almost two thirds of its budget goes towards staff salaries. Yet its systems of rewarding and motivating staff are outdated, inflexible and frequently unfair.

‘An NHS Bonus’ argues that by introducing greater flexibility into the system, and linking pay more closely with performance and objectives, we could improve both NHS productivity and patient outcomes. It urges the Government, and NHS managers, to make reform of the pay system an urgent priority as part of the new funding settlement. Centre for Policy Studies

See also:

• NHS pays moonlighting medics five times as much as Theresa May to plug gaps The Daily Telegraph

NHS planning 'extensively' for no-deal Brexit

NHS planning 'extensively' for no-deal Brexit "Extensive" planning is under way to prepare the health service for a no-deal Brexit scenario, the NHS England chief executive says.

Simon Stevens said immediate planning was taking place around the supply of medicines and equipment.

"Nobody's pretending this is a desirable situation, but if that's where we get to it will not have been unforeseen," he said.

Ministers say they do not want a "no-deal" scenario.

"I believe that is an option that can be very firmly avoided," Housing Secretary James Brokenshire told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. BBC News

See also:

• NHS is preparing to stockpile medicine in case of a no deal Brexit The Daily Mail
• NHS preparing for disruption to supplies from no-deal Brexit The Guardian
• Brexit: 'Significant planning' underway to guarantee medical supplies don't run out in event of no deal, says NHS chief The Independent

New NHS app 'puts patients in control of their own healthcare'

New NHS app 'puts patients in control of their own healthcare' For its 70th anniversary, the NHS is unveiling a new mobile phone app which allows patients to make appointments with their GP and order repeat prescriptions. It will be available to download at the end of the year. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt explains how it may benefit patients and doctors. BBC News

See also:

• New NHS app has potential but safeguards must be in place says College Royal College of General Practitioners
• NHS app: Will it cut down on wasted appointments? BBC News

The NHS saves my life every day – we must do everything we can to protect it

The NHS saves my life every day – we must do everything we can to protect it Rationed at the point of need, which is increasingly becoming the type of system we have, is nudging us towards the situation that exists in the USFree at the point of need.

That for me, as we debate the NHS on its 70th birthday, is the one thing that should remain sacrosanct. It is a beautiful concept, and a line that should not be crossed.

Whatever the NHS’s flaws, it means that if you get sick you should expect to be treated without regard to your resources or your position in society. At least in theory. The Independent

NHS protest: Thousands of demonstrators march on Downing Street as service marks 70th year

NHS protest: Thousands of demonstrators march on Downing Street as service marks 70th year Thousands of protestors from Lancaster to the Isle of Wight converged on London on Saturday to celebrate the NHS in the week it turns 70 and to demand the government acts to ensure it is around in another 70 years’ time.

Calls to reverse the cuts to the NHS and to “save the life savers” suggested those in attendance remained unconvinced by Theresa May’s recent pledge to increase the NHS budget by £20bn over the next five years. The Independent

See also:

• 'Cuts leave scars': thousands protest in London over NHS funding The Guardian

NHS wields the axe on 17 'unnecessary procedures'

NHS wields the axe on 17 'unnecessary procedures' Varicose vein surgery and tonsil removal feature on list of routine operations to be axed

Hundreds of thousands of NHS patients will be refused operations judged futile as part of cost-cutting measures in the health service.

Procedures including injections for back pain, surgery to help snorers and knee arthroscopies for arthritis form part of an initial list of 17 operations that will be discontinued completely or highly restricted by NHS England as many of these problems get better without treatment. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Developing the NHS long term plan: evidence based interventions NHS England
• Evidence-based interventions: consultation document NHS England
• NHS England to stop 'ineffective' treatments BBC News
• 'NHS is becoming unrecognisable' over treatment changes BBC News
• Surgery for varicose veins and snoring among 17 treatments NHS chiefs plan to cut back on The Daily Telegraph

IVF services slashed in England as NHS bosses cut costs

IVF services slashed in England as NHS bosses cut costs Fertility Network UK says figures reveal unfairness in system.

A growing number of areas in England have axed IVF treatment on the NHS and the proportion offering the recommended three cycles of treatment has fallen to just over one in 10, the Guardian can reveal.

The data, gathered by the Fertility Network UK, also show that a further one in 10 are considering restricting or axing fertility treatment, amid widespread NHS cuts and the rationing of services in an effort to save money. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• 'How many IVF cycles an area offers isn't always clear' The Guardian

Is the NHS the world's best healthcare system?

Is the NHS the world's best healthcare system? On its 70th birthday, there are reasons to celebrate Britain’s favourite institution, though it has changed beyond all recognition from the service set up in 1948

Nothing inspires national pride quite like the National Health Service. More than two-thirds of respondents in a recent poll said they considered the establishment of the institution, which turns 70 this week, to be Britain’s greatest achievement.

But it is a very different thing now compared with its earliest incarnation, when health boards took control of 2,751 of Britain’s 3,000 hospitals, which had been run by charities or local authorities. It is not just the illnesses, facilities, technologies and demographics that are different, but the service’s very purpose. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• 'We felt we were special': 70 years of saving lives on the NHS frontline The Guardian
• He’d be amazed at progress in NHS, says Attlee's granddaughter The Guardian

Paramedics to be given body cameras to protect them from violent patients

Paramedics to be given body cameras to protect them from violent patients Paramedics will be given body cameras in a bid to protect them from violent patients.

Ministers said the measures to counter soaring levels of violence would help to prevent crimes against staff and bring attackers to justice.

They said the protection was part of a wider package of support to healthcare workers, including quicker access to mental health help, and physiotherapy.

In an initial pilot, 465 ambulances and their paramedics will be equipped with body cameras, with potential for a full rollout to all such staff, and other workers who suffer threats from patients. The Daily Telegraph

Dementia crisis 'will leave 100,000 victims with no beds by 2035'

Dementia crisis 'will leave 100,000 victims with no beds by 2035' Tens of thousands of vulnerable elderly people with dementia will end their lives 'isolated and alone' due to a rapidly growing shortage of care home places, a leading charity has warned.

The Alzheimer's Society predicts the gulf between demand and supply for care home beds in England will reach 30,000 by 2022.

By 2035, it estimates the gap will be 100,000 — equivalent to the population of a city the size of Lincoln.

Society chief Jeremy Hughes accused Ministers of ignoring a looming disaster. The Daily Mail

NHS chief reveals 18,000 have been stuck in hospitals for three weeks

NHS chief reveals 18,000 have been stuck in hospitals for three weeks Around 18,000 people have been stuck in NHS hospitals for more than three weeks because there are no care services in their community, the NHS chief executive revealed today.

Simon Stevens said most of them could be better looked after elsewhere and said it illustrated why the NHS is buckling under growing pressure.

Mr Stevens said Government had to get to grips with the ageing population, warning the growing elderly population was among the biggest challenges in 70 years of the NHS. The Daily Mail