Wednesday 4 July 2018

Learning by doing: integrating health and care in Scotland

Learning by doing: integrating health and care in Scotland Imagine a place where you could debate and refine policy on integrating health and social care for three years, leading up to legislation. And then, organisations and staff could take a full year to learn new ways of working together in shadow form, with unwavering political support, before becoming accountable for bringing services together to improve health, care quality and value. There’s no need to imagine; that’s what is currently happening in Scotland. The King's Fund

The health and social care interface

The health and social care interface  A report assessing the challenges preventing health and social care from working together effectively. In a move to encourage the government to create a long-term plan for a sustainable, joined-up care sector, the head of the NAO, Amyas Morse, is urging further and faster progress towards a service that centres on the needs of individuals, meets growing demands for care and delivers value to the taxpayer. National Audit Office

Over two million children in England are growing up in families where there are serious risks

Over two million children in England are growing up in families where there are serious risks The report, “The Children’s Commissioner’s 2018 Report into Childhood Vulnerability”, estimates that 2.1 million of England’s 11.8 million children – one in six – are living in families with risks so serious that they need some level of help. The study also warns that for 1.6 million of those vulnerable children, the support is effectively ‘invisible’ – we don’t know if they are actually getting any coordinated help, despite the difficulties they are growing up with. Some of the risks these children face include parents with mental health problems or parents who are alcoholics or have substance abuse problems. Children's Commissioner

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Woman arrested in Countess of Chester Hospital baby deaths probe

Woman arrested in Countess of Chester Hospital baby deaths probe A healthcare professional has been arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill six others at a hospital.

Cheshire Police said the woman's arrest was a significant step forward in an investigation into deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Officers have been investigating the deaths of 17 newborns at the neonatal unit between March 2015 and July 2016.

A spokesman said the probe also covered 15 "non-fatal collapses".

The cases being investigated involve families from the Cheshire and north Wales area. BBC News

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The challenges faced by doctors with disabilities

The challenges faced by doctors with disabilities The regulatory body which oversees the education and training of doctors says there are “unacceptable barriers” in recruiting and educating disabled medics.

Around one in five of the UK population has a disability, yet the General Medical Council estimates only 3% of medics and doctors have a declared disability.

It’s now calling for universities and employers to provide equal access and has launched new guidance to try and improve recruitment and retention.

Hannah and Kelly are two doctors with the same disability but very different experiences of life in medicine. BBC News

Jeremy Hunt answers young people's questions on mental health

Jeremy Hunt answers young people's questions on mental health "It's an actual illness - you would never say to someone who has a broken leg, oh just deal with it, it'll be fine."

Those are the words of one young woman on her experience of child and adolescent mental health services, or CAMHS, speaking as part of the latest episode of Radio 4's series Storm and Stress.

A number of young people recorded their frustrations anonymously - delays, sudden switch to adult services at 18 and lack of support in schools, for example - for the programme.

So how does the man in charge of health and social care in England, Jeremy Hunt, respond to them? BBC News

Medical cannabis: Doctors 'should be able to prescribe drug', says UK's chief adviser

Medical cannabis: Doctors 'should be able to prescribe drug', says UK's chief adviser Medicinal cannabis has proven therapeutic benefits and doctors should be able to prescribe it, the government’s chief medical adviser has said.

In the first part of an evidence review ordered by the home secretary, Sajid Javid, Professor Dame Sally Davies recommended medicinal cannabis should be moved out of schedule one – a group of drugs considered to have no medical purposes that cannot be legally possessed or prescribed. The Independent

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'It's going to create a revolution': how AI is transforming the NHS

'It's going to create a revolution': how AI is transforming the NHS Technology is making impressive inroads into cancer treatment – saving lives and money.

The tumour is hard to miss on the scan. The size of a golf ball, it sits bold and white on the brain stem, a part of the organ that sends messages back and forth between body and brain. In many ways it is the master controller: from the top of the spinal cord, the brain stem conducts every heartbeat, every swallow, every breath.

For this young man, the cancer came to light in dramatic fashion. The growing tumour blocked fluid draining from his brain, triggering a huge seizure. Now doctors must work out the best way to treat him.

It could enable a new way of treating cancer that is faster and a lot less burdensome Continue reading... The Guardian

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Routine DNA tests will put NHS at the 'forefront of medicine'

Routine DNA tests will put NHS at the 'forefront of medicine' From 1 October new cancer patients will have tumours screened for key mutations.

People in England will have access to DNA tests on an unprecedented scale from the autumn when the NHS becomes the first health service in the world to routinely offer genomic medicine.

From 1 October, hospitals across England will be connected to specialist centres that read, analyse and interpret patient DNA to help diagnose rare diseases, match patients to the most effective treatments, and reduce adverse drug reactions. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Who profits when private providers take over health services?

Who profits when private providers take over health services? As the NHS turns 70, many campaigners are worried about its increasing privatisation

Last weekend tens of thousands of NHS staff, patients and campaigners marched to Westminster in protest against the underfunding of the NHS and the privatisation of many health services in England. The government may have pledged to invest another £20bn in the NHS over the next four years, but there are concerns that much of this could find its way into the hands of private companies. Addressing the crowds, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, called for an end to privatisation, the closure of the internal market and for staff to no longer be subcontracted to private companies, “the profits of which could and sometimes do, end up in tax havens around the world. I don’t pay my taxes for someone to rip off the public and squirrel the profits away,” he stated. Continue reading... The Guardian

People not getting enough exercise from long walks – report

People not getting enough exercise from long walks – report Strengthening and balance activities are vital for future wellbeing, says Public Health England

Walking is just not enough, according to a new review of the evidence from Public Health England, which reveals a major disconnect between the exercise people need and what they actually do.

Those who thought 10,000 steps a day or a brisk daily trudge from a further bus stop meant they were doing enough to stay fit and healthy have got it wrong. People should also all be doing tai chi, weight lifting or ballroom dancing – although carrying home heavy shopping bags might do the trick. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Poor rural broadband means elderly people in the countryside will miss out on the healthcare revolution

Poor rural broadband means elderly people in the countryside will miss out on the healthcare revolution Poor rural broadband means elderly people living in the countryside will miss out on the healthcare revolution, local authorities have warned.

Technology has been touted as the answer to social care shortfalls, but those most in need could be unable to access crucial at-home help - because rural internet is too slow.

In a report about rural England the Local Government Association predicted that in non-city areas there would be 53 people aged 65 or over for every 100 working people aged 16 to 64 by 2039.

It said people living outside cities were still struggling with slow internet, which could prevent them using smart devices which can monitor someone's activity and alert family or carers if something goes wrong. The Daily Telegraph

First death linked to air pollution as government asthma advisor finds 'striking association' with girl’s fatality

First death linked to air pollution as government asthma advisor finds 'striking association' with girl’s fatality  A nine year-old girl's fatal asthma attack is the first death to be linked directly to air pollution.

A government health advisor said there was a “striking association” between the times young Ella Kissi-Debrah was admitted to hospital in an emergency, and spikes of nitrogen dioxide and PM10s, the most noxious pollutants, near her home.

Ella lived just 80ft from London's South Circular Road - a pollution "hotspot" in the city - and in the three years before her death in February 2013 she went to hospital 27 times. The Daily Telegraph

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Britain is lagging behind other major countries in offering IVF

Britain is lagging behind other major countries in offering IVF Some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England pay more than four times as much as others for just one IVF treatment cycle, according to experts. The Daily Mail

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