How can community involvement reduce health inequalities?

How can community involvement reduce health inequalities? Realising that people living just six miles apart in Morecambe Bay have a difference in life expectancy of more than 15 years made our Population Health Team think about how we could begin to work with communities to change this narrative.

We made a start by sharing information about health inequalities with some local headteachers. This led to some great conversations with staff and pupils about how we could create better health and wellbeing for our children and young people. The King's Fund

NMC launches new approach to resolving complaints about nurses and midwives

NMC launches new approach to resolving complaints about nurses and midwives Under the new arrangements, where nurses and midwives can show that, despite something going wrong, they have learnt from what happened and are safe to continue working, we may not seek to restrict their practice. To develop a culture of openness and honesty we will provide tailored advice and support to employers, nurses and midwives to enable professionals to learn from their mistakes. Nursing and Midwifery Council

Ethnic minority consultants 'paid less' than white colleagues

Ethnic minority consultants 'paid less' than white colleagues Senior ethnic minority doctors in the NHS are paid less than their white counterparts, research suggests.

A study in the British Medical Journal found black and minority ethnic (BME) consultants on average earned 4.9% less than white colleagues in basic pay - roughly £4,600 a year.

The gap was much smaller across other types of doctors and grades. BBC News

See also:

• NHS accused of racial discrimination on pay for senior doctors The Guardian
• Senior BAME doctors paid less by the NHS than their white colleagues, analysis finds The Independent

Nearly four million British children are too poor to eat healthily, study finds

Nearly four million British children are too poor to eat healthily, study finds The families of nearly 4 million children would struggle to afford enough fruit, vegetables and other healthy foods to meet the government’s nutritional guidelines, according to a study of food poverty in the UK.

Children living in low-income households face an increased risk of diet-related illnesses such as obesity and diabetes because they are priced out of eating healthy, the Food Foundation think tank found. The Independent

NHS to treat young cancer patients with expensive 'game changer' drug

NHS to treat young cancer patients with expensive 'game changer' drug Chief executive to announce use of CAR-T therapy drug Kymriah, which costs £282,000 per patient

The NHS is to treat children and young people with an expensive new cancer drug which has the potential to transform how the disease is treated.

Simon Stevens, the NHS England chief executive, will announce on Wednesday that a deal has been done with the drug company Novartis, which makes the immunotherapy drug under the name Kymriah. Continue reading... The Guardian

Number of doctors opting for early retirement doubles, amid pension clampdown

Number of doctors opting for early retirement doubles, amid pension clampdown The number of hospital doctors opting for early retirement has doubled in the past decade, NHS figures show.

The trend comes along side a clamp down on pensions, which cap the amount savers can amass without being taxed from £1.8m in 2012 to £1 million.

Medics blamed stress, and said they were increasingly overloaded, with the statistics also showing a rising numbers taking their pension early on grounds of ill-health. The Daily Telegraph

NHS hides true scale of superbug deaths for fear of looking like it's 'failing', Chief Medical Officer warns

NHS hides true scale of superbug deaths for fear of looking like it's 'failing', Chief Medical Officer warns The NHS is hiding the true scale of drug-resistant superbugs because hospitals are not admitting when patients die from them, the Chief Medical Officer has said.

Dame Sally Davies told MPs that relatives are often left in ignorance as to the real cause of their loved-one’s death because acknowledging that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) played a role would look bad for the health service.

AMR, where previously treatable infections become immune to antibiotics, has been identified as the single gravest threat to modern medicine and is thought currently to kill around 5,000 people a year in England. The Daily Telegraph

Leading insulin manufacturer is stockpiling FOUR MONTHS' supply to protect diabetics after Brexit

Leading insulin manufacturer is stockpiling FOUR MONTHS' supply to protect diabetics after Brexit Novo Nordisk, a Danish company which supplies more than half of the UK's insulin, says it will stash a 16 week supply to make sure the millions of diabetics who rely on the drug aren't hit by Brexit. The Daily Mail

Four in ten British women do not do enough exercise to stay healthy

Four in ten British women do not do enough exercise to stay healthy The World Health Organisation said four out of ten British women were putting their health at risk by failing to complete 150 minutes of moderate exercise during an average week. The Daily Mail