Number of LGSS staff to return to control of Northamptonshire County Council

Number of LGSS staff to return to control of Northamptonshire County Council A number of LGSS staff will be returning to the direct control of Northamptonshire County Council as it comes to grips with the full extent of its finances.

The professional finance and democratic services teams working for Northamptonshire will be repatriated back to One Angel Square, after councillors on the LGSS Joint Committee agreed to the changes in Milton Keynes. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Outpatient services: A more intelligent approach needed

Outpatient services: A more intelligent approach needed Following our new briefing, co-author Nigel Edwards looks at the lessons that emerged from our recent work on outpatients – arguing that improving experts’ productivity without just making them work harder is the big challenge for many systems. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• Rethinking outpatient services: Learning from an interactive workshop Nuffield Trust

Diversity should be a strategic priority

Diversity should be a strategic priority Maya Angelou, the acclaimed US poet and activist said, ‘We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.’ Yet in my experience, discussions on diversity in health and care can often polarise people. The King's Fund

NHS could free up £480m by limiting use of temporary staffing agencies

NHS could free up £480m by limiting use of temporary staffing agencies The NHS could free up £480m to reinvest into NHS services and improve patient care if trusts filled temporary vacancies with workers from a ‘staff bank’ instead of using expensive staffing agencies.

Temporary staff, such as doctors and nurses supplied by agencies, cost on average 20% more than those from the NHS’s own ‘staff banks’ despite doing the exact same job.

Bank staff tend to come from internal pools of workers who are already employees of the NHS trust and have agreed to work flexible shifts.

As bank staff generally work within the trust, their use increases the likelihood of a patient being treated by the same healthcare professional throughout their care. NHS Improvement

See also:

• Health chiefs urge hospital trusts to only use agency staff as a 'last resort' The Daily Mail
• NHS still wasting £480m a year on temporary staffing from private agencies, watchdog says The Independent

The good childhood report 2018

The good childhood report 2018 This report examines the state of children’s well-being in the UK. It finds that one in six (16 per cent) of more than 11,000 children aged 14 surveyed reported self-harming. It looks at the reasons behind the unhappiness which increases the risk of children self-harming. The report urges the Government to make sure that every child can talk to a counsellor in their school. The Children's Society 

The Brexit White Paper on future relations and alternative proposals

The Brexit White Paper on future relations and alternative proposals This briefing paper looks at some of the proposals in the White Paper, their reception in the UK and EU, and any corresponding provisions in the DExEU ‘alternative white paper’. It discusses medicine and access to health care. House of Commons Library

Numbers of elderly in 24-hour care set to double by 2035

Numbers of elderly in 24-hour care set to double by 2035 The number of people aged 85 and over needing 24-hour care is set to double, says a new study, as an expert warns the care system is "at breaking point".

The study, published in the Lancet Public Health journal, analysed the projected health needs of the elderly in England between 2015 and 2035.

It found that the number of 65-year-olds and over needing round-the-clock care is also set to rise by a third.

The government says adult social care reforms will be set out in the autumn. BBC News

See also:

• Forecasting the care needs of the older population in England over the next 20 years: estimates from the Population Ageing and Care Simulation (PACSim) modelling study Lancet Public Health
• Modelling the growing need for social care in older people (comment) Lancet Public Health
• Carers not 'glorified bottom wipers' BBC News
• Britain faces a deepening care crisis for the elderly The Daily Mail
• Number of over-65s needing 24-hour care 'to rise by third over next 20 years' The Daily Telegraph
• Social care needs for over-85s predicted to double in next 20 years The Guardian
• Social care crisis: Over-85s needing 24 hour care set to double by 2035, major study shows The Independent

High suicide risk for 'men in construction'

High suicide risk for 'men in construction' The suicide rate among low-skilled male labourers is three times higher than the national average for men, according to figures by the ONS. BBC News

Dentists say fines deterring poor patients

Dentists say fines deterring poor patients The British Dental Association says a "huge fall" in people on low incomes going to the dentist in England is because they fear being wrongly fined when they claim for free treatment.

The most recent annual figures show almost 370,000 fines for people accused of "misclaiming" for free dental care.

But dentists say many of these are innocent confusions over paperwork and that many are overturned when challenged.

The NHS says that anyone entitled to free care should be able to access it. BBC News

See also:

• ​Low income patients turn away as ministers say 'don't run the risk' British Dental Association

'Life changing' asthma treatment that burns away muscle in airways could help 200,000 at risk of suffocating attacks

'Life changing' asthma treatment that burns away muscle in airways could help 200,000 at risk of suffocating attacks A specialist asthma treatment is to become widely available on the NHS in a move that will bring relief to patients suffering frequent "terrifying" attacks.

In changes proposed by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which recommends what treatments are funded on the NHS, patients with asthma that cannot be controlled with inhaler medication will receive bronchial thermoplasty.

Nice have said the procedure is safe and can reduce the severity and frequency of attacks. The Independent

See also:

• New “life changing” procedure can be offered to adults with severe asthma on NHS NICE
• New asthma treatment set for wider NHS distribution BBC News
• New treatment for severe asthma cases gets go-ahead for use in NHS The Guardian

Women should have the same midwife throughout pregnancy – here's why

Women should have the same midwife throughout pregnancy – here's why Healthcare in the UK has been a political football for decades. Despite the constant mantra that the NHS is the “envy of the world”, everyone knows there are problems. In my clinical area – maternity care – the Morecambe Bay scandal, where midwifery was found to be seriously sub-standard, and the fact that the UK has persistently high rates of pre-term birth, reveal that all is not well. The Independent

NHS bosses urge hospitals to send patients to private firms

NHS bosses urge hospitals to send patients to private firms Warning that announcement from NHS England will waste scarce funding and prompt private providers to increase prices

NHS bosses have urged hospitals to send patients to be treated by private healthcare firms in a bid to reduce the increasing number of patients waiting for planned operations.

The move has sparked claims that it will waste scarce NHS funding and that profit-driven operators will use the service’s desperation to cut waiting lists to charge higher prices.

Between 2010-11 and 2016-17, health spending increased by an average of 1.2% above inflation and increases are due to continue in real terms at a similar rate until the end of this parliament. This is far below the annual inflation-proof growth rate that the NHS enjoyed before 2010 of almost 4% stretching back to the 1950s. As budgets tighten, NHS organisations have been struggling to live within their means. In the financial year 2015-16, acute trusts recorded a deficit of £2.6bn. This was reduced to £800m last year, though only after a £1.8bn bung from the Department of Health, which shows the deficit remained the same year on year. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• NHS bosses launch urgent drive to address 'significant under delivery of elective activity' Health Service Journal

Why modern medicine is a major threat to public health

Why modern medicine is a major threat to public health | Aseem Malhotra Most patients will derive no health improvement from medication. We should tackle the root causes of disease instead

When former airline pilot Tony Royle came to see me last year to seek reassurance that it was OK to participate in an Ironman event, having stopped all his medications 18 months after suffering a heart attack, I was initially a little alarmed.

But after talking to him, I realised he had made an informed decision to stop the medication after suffering side effects, and instead had opted for a diet and lifestyle approach to manage his heart disease. Continue reading... The Guardian

Scandal-hit NHS Trust faces calls for wider investigation into deaths on maternity unit

Scandal-hit NHS Trust faces calls for wider investigation into deaths on maternity unit A scandal-hit trust is facing calls for a wider probe into dozens of deaths at a hospital's maternity unit, it was reported last night.

The Government is already investigating Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust after former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt ordered an independent inquiry in 2017 into seven deaths at the unit.

A failure to properly monitor the baby's heart rate was a contributory factor in five of the deaths

The announcement prompted a further 16 cases to come forward, and Senior midwife Donna Ockenden was appointed to review all 23 cases of alleged poor care last year. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Dozens more maternity failings exposed at scandal hit trust Health Service Journal

Disease X: China ignores UK request to share samples of flu virus with pandemic potential

Disease X: China ignores UK request to share samples of flu virus with pandemic potential Requests by UK experts to Chinese authorities for samples of the latest strain of a dangerous and evolving avian influenza virus, known as H7N9 have so far been ignored, the Telegraph has learned.

The news comes on the back of revelations earlier this week by the United States’ government that China has, for over a year, refused its requests to share lab samples of the same strain of avian influenza virus.

To date there have been 1,625 cases of H7N9 – a virus which usually circulates in poultry – in humans including a spike in cases in 2017, which prompted US researchers to request samples of the virus from Chinese authorities. The Daily Telegraph

Doctors who run GP surgeries earn £111,500 a year but patient satisfaction is at an all-time low

Doctors who run GP surgeries earn £111,500 a year but patient satisfaction is at an all-time low NHS figures have revealed the average salary for all GPs in the health service is now £92,500, but experts say difficulty recruiting new doctors means staff are having to work longer hours. The Daily Mail

Meningitis risk for millions as more than half of Britons don't know which jabs they have had

Meningitis risk for millions as more than half of Britons don't know which jabs they have had Research by British charity the Meningitis Research Foundation surveyed 2,000 people and discovered nearly one in ten think they've never had a vaccination or cannot remember having one. The Daily Mail