Thursday 13 September 2018

Half of European clinical trials haven’t reported results


Half of European clinical trials haven’t reported results A new interactive website, eu.trialstracker.net, shows that 49% of clinical trials on the EU clinical trials register have not reported results. EU rules say clinical trial results must be reported onto the EU register for every trial there within 12 months of the end of the trial. Only 51% of trials on the register are currently complying with this. No one has ever been sanctioned for breaking the European rules.
The EUTrialsTracker also shows that European academic institutes are lagging far behind companies in complying with the reporting rules – 68% of company-sponsored trials that are due to report results onto the register have but only 11% of academic trials have. This means that nearly 90% of the trials sponsored by European universities, governments, charities and research centres are breaking EU rules.

CQC calls for guidance to improve sexual safety on mental health wards

CQC calls for guidance to improve sexual safety on mental health wards The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is calling for new national guidance to improve the sexual safety of people and staff on mental health wards, following analysis of how mental health trusts in England report sexual incidents.
In its Sexual Safety on Mental Health Wards report published today (Tuesday 11 September) the CQC shares its findings and recommendations after reviewing patient safety incidents reported to the NHS National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS). The report follows engagement with trusts, national bodies, organisations representing people who use services and individuals with direct experience of sexual safety incidents. NHS Networks

Free flu vaccinations for social care and hospice staff

Free flu vaccinations for social care and hospice staff   NHS England will again provide free flu vaccinations for social care staff who offer direct patient care this flu season. This year, the free jab will also be extended to include health and care staff in the voluntary managed hospice sector who offer direct patient care. NHS Employers

NHS suffering worst ever staff and cash crisis, figures show

NHS suffering worst ever staff and cash crisis, figures show  The NHS’s staffing and financial problems are the worst they have ever been, official health service figures show. The number of vacancies across the NHS in England has hit a record high while NHS bosses have disclosed for the first time the service’s underlying deficit built up over recent years – £4.3bn.
At the end of June the health service had 107,743 unfilled posts, up 9,268 from the 98,475 total seen just three months earlier, NHS Improvement said in its latest quarterly report on the service’s performance.
The regulator warned that the NHS’s struggles to recruit and retain staff were so difficult that vacancies would become even more common during the rest of 2018-19. The Guardian

Hancock attacks NHS block on progress as he says all patients should be able to Skype their GPs 

Hancock attacks NHS block on progress as he says all patients should be able to Skype their GPs   Every patient should be able to Skype their GP on a smartphone, the new Health Secretary says today as he attacks the NHS for blocking progress and vows to end a “postcode lottery” in access to care. Matt Hancock accused health officials of standing in the way of a healthcare revolution, as he detailed ambitions for an expansion of virtual GP services across the country.
The minister, who became Health Secretary in July, personally uses the “GP at Hand” app which is offered by the NHS in some parts of London. The Telegraph


Mental health crisis teams in England: lost in translation?

Mental health crisis teams in England: lost in translation?   Rachel Rowan Olive writes her debut elf blog about a recent national survey of mental health crisis resolution teams and crisis care systems in England: Crisis Resolution Teams (CRTs) for working-age adults have been implemented across England since 2000. Their aim is to treat those in mental health crisis at home, reducing the need for hospital admissions. A recently published national survey (Lloyd-Evans et al, 2018) produced a snapshot of the care provided by CRTs across England in late 2016, testing how far they reflect the model set out in the policy guidance for their implementation. Mental Elf

From Brexit to the birth rate: why midwives are leaving the NHS – and causing a crisis

From Brexit to the birth rate: why midwives are leaving the NHS – and causing a crisis   Almost 3,000 midwives ended their careers in England last year, and only 2,000 came out of university to replace them. Vacancy levels are set to keep rising, so why do the numbers no longer add up? So many midwives are quitting the NHS that the 2,000-plus would-be midwives coming out of university each year are making almost no dent in the profession’s longstanding and widespread workforce shortage.
Despite all those new graduates, the total number of what the NHS calls full-time equivalent midwives working in the NHS in England rose by only 67 last year to 21,601. In England last year, almost 3,000 existing midwives decided that delivering babies and caring for them and their mothers was no longer for them. The Guardian

Mumsnet is driving women to request caesarean sections, a leading midwife has warned

Mumsnet is driving women to request caesarean sections, a leading midwife has warned Horrific tales of childbirth from friends and social media forums like Mumsnet are driving women to request caesarean sections, a leading midwife has warned. Catriona Jones, a lecturer in midwifery at the University of Hull, said up to 14 per cent of expectant mothers now suffer from ‘tocophobia’, which is defined as an unreasonable dread of childbirth. Although women throughout the ages have been afraid of labour, Mrs Jones warned that harrowing accounts on TV dramas and social media were fuelling the problem and called on mothers to avoid sharing their birthing horror stories. The Telegraph