NHS's urgent appeal for families to talk after patients die waiting for transplants in Northamptonshire

NHS's urgent appeal for families to talk after patients die waiting for transplants in Northamptonshire Northamptonshire families are being urged to talk during Organ Donation Week (September 3-9) as new figures show 32 people from the area have died waiting for a transplant in the last five years.

Tragically, despite the fact more and more people are supporting donating their loved one’s organs, there is still an urgent need for more people to support donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant is now asking more people in Northamptonshire to tell their families that they want to save lives through organ donation. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Seven Northamptonshire councils vote to scrap themselves

Seven Northamptonshire councils vote to scrap themselves A plan to scrap Northamptonshire's eight councils has been backed by all but one of them.

The proposal to replace them with two unitary authorities from 2020 is to be sent to ministers on Friday and is expected to be approved.

Labour-run Corby Borough Council voted against it last night, while the seven Conservative-run authorities backed it. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Calls for transparency as Northants moves forward with unitary process Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Solving the puzzle of social care: the time for action is now

Solving the puzzle of social care: the time for action is now Social care is one of the biggest policy puzzles in English politics. A succession of reviews has suggested how the puzzle might be solved but governments of all colours have failed to find the will or the means to act. In the words of Labour’s former home secretary, Charles Clarke, social care remains firmly in the ‘too difficult’ box, seemingly resistant to the solutions put forward by some of the best brains in the land. The King's Fund

NHS performance: bad, better or both?

NHS performance: bad, better or both? Imagine you had to run to a 100m finish line in 20 seconds, for most of us this falls into the ‘challenging but doable’ category. But what if the rules of the game changed, so now each time you run that race the finish line moves further away? The King's Fund

Record demand for sexual health services amid spending cuts

Record demand for sexual health services amid spending cuts A record 3.3 million visits were made to sexual health clinics in England last year, as local councils warn over funding cuts and stretched resources.

Figures show there were 3,323,275 visits across the country in 2017, an increase of 13% from 2013.

The extra demand comes at the same time as £600m has been cut from public health spending.

The Local Government Association (LGA) is urging the government to reverse the budget cuts. BBC News

See also:

• Record demand on sexual health services putting system at tipping point Local Government Association 
• Sexual health services are at 'breaking point' after 3.3million people visit clinics in one year The Daily Mail
• Why online dating and divorce are putting a strain on sexual health clinics The Daily Telegraph

Doctors' mental health problems 'last taboo'

Doctors' mental health problems 'last taboo' Patients rely on doctors to look after their mental health but is enough being done to help the doctors when they are the ones with problems? There are concerns that some medical professionals in England are unable to get the help they need.

In 2016, 26-year-old junior doctor Sophie Spooner suffered a panic attack while working on a paediatrics ward.

Twenty-four hours later, she had taken her own life. BBC News

See also:

• Complaints against doctors pushing up suicide rates, leading medic says The Daily Telegraph
• Top GP issues mental health warning as 400 doctors die by suicide Pulse

One in four nurses drop out before graduating, new research reveals

One in four nurses drop out before graduating, new research reveals One in four student nurses dropped out of their degrees before they graduated last year, exacerbating the NHS staffing crisis, according to new research.

The revelation prompted the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) to warn that trainees were plagued by financial difficulties and exploited as “cheap labour”, leading them to quit their courses.

Of 16,544 UK nursing students who began three-year degrees due to finish in 2017, 4,027 left their courses early or suspended their studies, giving a drop out rate of 24 per cent in the UK, according to data obtained by industry publication Nursing Standard and research charity the Health Foundation. The figures were provided by 55 out of 74 universities asked. The Independent

See also:

• Why as many as one in four nursing students could be dropping out of their degrees (free but registration required) Nursing Standard
• One in four student nurses drop out of their degrees before graduation The Health Foundation
• Quarter of student nurses drop out before finishing their degree The Daily Mail
• Quarter of UK student nurses drop out before graduation, study finds The Guardian

UK's longest waiting patient for heart transplant pleads for more organ donors

UK's longest waiting patient for heart transplant pleads for more organ donors Gareth Evans, waiting almost a decade for a new heart, has asked future donors to tell their families of their wishes

The UK’s longest waiting patient for a heart transplant has appealed for potential donors to “be a hero”, as organ donation week begins.

Gareth Evans, 45, from Stockport, has been waiting for a new heart for more than nine years. His condition has deteriorated recently and he has spent the last three months in Wythenshawe hospital, south Manchester. Continue reading... The Guardian

AI can predict how cancers will progress, scientists find

AI can predict how cancers will progress, scientists find Scientists have used artificial intelligence to predict how cancers will progress and evolve, which could help doctors design the most effective treatment for each patient.

A team led by the Institute of Cancer Research London (ICR) and the University of Edinburgh developed a new technique known as Revolver (Repeated evolution of cancer), which picks out patterns in DNA mutation within cancers and uses the information to forecast future genetic changes.

They said the ever-changing nature of tumours is one of the biggest challenges in treating cancer - with cancers often evolving to a drug-resistant form. The Daily Telegraph

NHS threat to pioneering £75,000 heart transplant method which has saved more than 60 lives

NHS threat to pioneering £75,000 heart transplant method which has saved more than 60 lives NHS England’s decision not to provide the extra cash has forced Papworth Hospital in Cambridge to take £1.5 million from its charity fund so it can keep providing the treatment. The Daily Mail

Nurses' union admits communication was ‘not up to standard’ on controversial pay deal

Nurses' union admits communication was ‘not up to standard’ on controversial pay deal The Royal College of Nursing has admitted communication with its 435,000 members was not good enough after nurses were angered when they received smaller pay rises than they had expected. The Daily Mail