Northants County Council paying for empty beds under care home contract

Northants County Council paying for empty beds under care home contract More than 140 beds are laying empty each week at private care homes being paid for by Northamptonshire County Council because the patients the authority is referring do not qualify under the contract.

A report released by the council this week has revealed that a huge percentage of the 204 beds it pays for across four health care centres run by Shaw Healthcare are unused.

The terms of the contract, which were agreed by the then Labour-run council 15 years ago, mean that a number of patients the council wants to refer to the beds are not eligible, so the beds remain unused. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

More than a third of Northampton cancer patients not sure if treatments are working

More than a third of Northampton cancer patients not sure if treatments are working More than a third of cancer patients treated at the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust say they do not feel they have been kept fully informed about whether their treatment is working.

Patients who underwent cancer treatment with the trust between April and June 2017, were asked about their care as part of this year’s National Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

The survey monitors patients’ impressions of their diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Access to children and young people’s mental health services – 2018

Access to children and young people’s mental health services – 2018 A new report by the Education Policy Institute assesses the state of children’s mental health services in England. The research examines access to specialist services, waiting times for treatment, and provision for those children that are not able to receive treatment.

The report uses Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to providers of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and local authorities in England.

See also:

• Child mental health referrals up 26% in five years, says report BBC News
• Tens of thousands of children in England rejected for mental health treatment The Guardian
• Number of children referred to mental health services in England rises by a quarter The Independent

NHS to prioritise doctors’ mental health

NHS to prioritise doctors’ mental health NHS chief Simon Stevens today announced a new mental health support scheme to cover all doctors working in the NHS. Speaking at a conference on ‘Wounded Healers’, Simon Stevens announced national funding for a new scheme for all NHS doctors in England, covering approximately 110,000 more doctors, in addition to those already supported. NHS England

Boots investigated over great-grandfather's fatal pharmacy error

Boots investigated over great-grandfather's fatal pharmacy error Regulators are investigating the actions of Boots after the death of a great-grandfather who was sent duplicate packs of prescription drugs.

Richard "Tony" Lee took a week of extra pills dispensed in error shortly before his death in December 2016.

The General Pharmaceutical Council, which regulates pharmacies, said it was investigating his daughter's complaint.

Boots said "extremely rare circumstances" led to the error and has now apologised to the family. BBC News

Staff 'afraid to question care' at Shropshire baby death trust

Staff 'afraid to question care' at Shropshire baby death trust Junior staff at a health trust undergoing a review into its maternity care were frightened to raise concerns, a former nurse has claimed.

The nurse, who worked in the maternity department at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust for a decade, said colleagues often did not ask questions about the care patients received.

An independent review into a series of baby deaths and injuries at the trust is looking at more than 100 cases. BBC News

Too few children receiving treatment for ADHD, figures suggest

Too few children receiving treatment for ADHD, figures suggest Exclusive: Findings undermine Ofsted chief inspector’s claim that too many children are being given Ritalin

Children in England and especially girls are being under-treated, not over-medicated, for ADHD, new figures obtained by the Guardian suggest.

In June, Ofsted’s chief inspector of schools, Amanda Spielman, claimed too many children were being given Ritalin, the main drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She said reliance on drugs meant behavioural problems were not being addressed. The Guardian

More than 260,000 diabetes inpatients had hospital medication errors in 2017

More than 260,000 diabetes inpatients had hospital medication errors in 2017 Diabetes UK calls on hospitals to improve patient experience for people with condition

More than a quarter of a million diabetes inpatients experienced a medication error at hospital last year, putting them at risk of serious harm or death, research by a leading charity has found.

Diabetes UK said more than 260,000 people with the condition had encountered errors during a hospital stay in 2017, 9,600 of whom suffered a serious and potentially life-threatening episode of hypoglycaemia because of poor insulin management. The Guardian

See also:

• Hospitals are putting thousands of lives at risk by ’regularly overdosing diabetics with insulin’ The Daily Mail
• NHS hospitals 'unsafe' for diabetics as quarter of a million experienced potentially life threatening errors last year, charity warns The Independent

NHS nurses told to dispose of clinical waste in patients' own dustbins

NHS nurses told to dispose of clinical waste in patients' own dustbins District nurses are being told to dispose of bandages and other clinical waste in patients’ own dustbins in the wake of the NHS body parts scandal.

A memo sent to carers tells them to use “sandwich bags and bin liners” to wrap up dressings, gloves, aprons and other clinical waste.

The nurses are specifically told not to use yellow or orange clinical waste bags, which cannot be taken away with household waste.

Bodily fluids, including blood, are to be flushed down a patient’s lavatory “for a temporary period” in what is described as “an alternative disposal process”. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS waste backlog: What are the rules on disposal? BBC News
• NHS supplier that kept body parts faces criminal investigation The Guardian
• NHS in outsourcing talks with Mitie after body parts fiasco The Guardian
• How do NHS hospitals dispose of clinical waste? The Guardian

GPs to see patients in groups of 15

GPs to see patients in groups of 15 Patients will be expected to see their GPs in groups of up to 15 under plans being considered by the NHS.

Doctors said group consultations should become “the default” option 
 offered by surgeries for many conditions, in an attempt to cope with growing shortages of GPs.

The scheme is expected to be included in the NHS 10-year plan which is due to be published later this year. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Shared GP appointments trialled - and patients 'like' them BBC News
• The doctor will see you ALL now: Patients to be asked to share GP appointments with up to 14 others The Daily Mail
• Some patients benefit from group appointments, GPs say The Guardian
• GPs to offer group appointments with up to 15 patients at a time The Independent 

The £6,000 kick in the teeth: Parents forced to pay out for children's braces the NHS refuse to fund

The £6,000 kick in the teeth: Parents forced to pay out for children's braces the NHS refuse to fund Tens of thousands of families are being forced to pay up to £6,000 for dental braces for children who should get them free on the NHS.

A Mail on Sunday investigation has found that at least 20,000 youngsters a year are being denied the corrective treatment they need for seriously misaligned teeth. The figure could be even higher, but there are no official figures. The Daily Mail

GPs to text patients urging them to change unhealthy habits

GPs to text patients urging them to change unhealthy habits Patients could be sent text messages urging them to change unhealthy habits under radical proposals from the Health Secretary.

Matt Hancock wants to use data from patients’ own medical records – as well as more general information on population trends – to work out their risk of developing certain illnesses.

Patients would then be sent targeted public health advice via an app, email or text message which is based on their specific risk. The Daily Mail

Nurses may soon be able to write sick notes to reduce the workload of over-stretched GPs

Nurses may soon be able to write sick notes to reduce the workload of over-stretched GPs Professor Gina Radford, deputy chief medical officer of NHS England, claims the health service is 'taking forward work to legislate an extension of fit note certification to other healthcare professionals'. The Daily Mail