Northamptonshire County Council: £65m of cuts agreed

Northamptonshire County Council: £65m of cuts agreed A cash-strapped county council which had commissioners appointed after it faced a financial crisis has agreed a £65m package of cuts.

Northamptonshire County Council's cabinet backed a so-called "stabilisation plan".

Planned spending cuts on agency staff and highways services are among the main proposed savings. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Northamptonshire County Council's stabilisation plan not without 'risks' Northamptonshire Telegraph

New mental health campaign launched across the Midlands

New mental health campaign launched across the Midlands Public Health England’s new Every Mind Matters campaign encourages adults in the Midlands to look after their mental health as they do their physical health.

Improving children and young people’s mental health services

Improving children and young people’s mental health services This report examines whether the government is on track to meet its ambitions for children and young people’s services, taking the policy document, Future in Mind as the starting point. It focuses on how the government decided to implement Future in Mind; whether it is on track to deliver improved mental health services to young people; and accountability for spending and outcomes. National Audit Office

See also:

• Mental health waiting lists 'stole my youth and teenage years' BBC News
• Child mental health services will not meet demand, NAO warns The Guardian
• Mental health treatment still failing six years after dramatic change promised, health secretary admits The Independent
• Nearly 500,000 children have no-one to talk to when sad, survey finds The Independent

The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development

The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development A decade on from the 2007 Lancet Series on global mental health, which sought to transform the way policy makers thought about global health, a Lancet Commission aims to seize the opportunity offered by the Sustainable Development Goals to consider future directions for global mental health. The Commission proposes that the global mental agenda should be expanded from a focus on reducing the treatment gap to improving the mental health of whole populations and reducing the global burden of mental disorders by addressing gaps in prevention and quality of care. The Commission outlines a blueprint for action to promote mental wellbeing, prevent mental health problems, and enable recovery from mental disorders.

See also:

• Matt Hancock calls for world to unite in responding to the challenge of mental health Department of Health and Social Care
• World in mental health crisis of 'monumental suffering', say experts The Guardian
• UK must double mental health spending as global bill expected to top £12trillion by 2030, landmark report warns The Independent

Prime Minister appoints minister for suicide prevention

Prime Minister appoints minister for suicide prevention A minister for suicide prevention has been appointed in England by the prime minister as the government hosts the first ever global mental health summit.

Theresa May said the appointment of Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price to the new role will help tackle the stigma surrounding suicide.

While suicide rates are falling, 4,500 people take their own lives every year.

The appointment comes as ministers and officials from more than 50 countries assemble in London for the summit. BBC News

See also:

• PM pledges action on suicide to mark World Mental Health Day Prime Minister's Office
• Theresa May appoints first ever minister for suicide prevention The Independent

The NHS in numbers: What the service does in one day

The NHS in numbers: What the service does in one day The NHS is huge. It's the world's fifth-biggest employer and around 10% of government spending in the UK goes on it, so it's easy to get bogged down by the numbers.

So let's break it down. What does the NHS do in a single day? BBC News

Significant changes to tariff proposed for next year

Significant changes to tariff proposed for next year Regulators have proposed sweeping changes to NHS payment tariff rules, beginning next year, which could see significant swings in income for trusts.

The plans in a tariff engagement published by NHS England and NHS Improvement today include:

• Confirmation of a “blended approach” to paying for urgent and emergency care
• A revision of how the market forces factor is calculated, which could see shifts in income of up to 2 per cent next year
• Confirmation of substantial changes to outpatient tariffs
• Changes in payment for maternity services

Health Service Journal

Long-term NHS plan must be honest, realistic, achievable and clear

Long-term NHS plan must be honest, realistic, achievable and clear NHS leaders have warned of the effects on NHS staff of a “permanent cycle of public failure” as they miss key targets despite working harder than ever, thanks to rising demand and tough savings targets. NHS Providers’ chief executive Chris Hopson told delegates at their annual conference this morning that this paradox must end, as he called for a long-term NHS plan that is honest about demand, sustainable, achievable, clear and based on mutual respect. OnMedica

Body parts scandal: firm stripped of NHS contracts

Body parts scandal: firm stripped of NHS contracts Fifteen trusts have served termination notices to Healthcare Environment Services, minister says

Healthcare Environment Services (HES) has been stripped of NHS contracts after hundreds of tonnes of waste from hospitals, including human body parts, were allowed to pile up at its facilities, the health minister has announced.

HES is run by a husband and wife who have paid themselves almost £1m in dividends over the past two years despite the company losing around £1.7m. The Guardian

See also:

• NHS waste handler stripped of contracts BBC News
• Troubled firm at centre of NHS body parts scandal STRIPPED of its contract The Daily Mail
• Troubled firm at centre of NHS body parts scandal 'underestimated' scale of human waste The Daily Mail
• Waste firm stripped of NHS contract after stockpiling human body parts The Daily Telegraph
• NHS supplier stripped of contracts after human body parts and organs found ‘piling up at facilities’ The Independent

Treatment of autistic girl who injured Alder Hey nurses 'atrocious', says judge

Treatment of autistic girl who injured Alder Hey nurses 'atrocious', says judge High court hears traumatised girl assaulted staff after seeing hospital’s shrine to Alfie Evans

A high court judge has criticised Liverpool council over its “atrocious” treatment of a severely traumatised girl with autism who injured nine nurses on an NHS ward.

The 15-year-old, identified as R, was said to have post-traumatic stress disorder from living in a war zone in Iraq for several years. The Guardian

Brexit could have a 'catastrophic' impact on cancer research and affect healthcare, scientists say

Brexit could have a 'catastrophic' impact on cancer research and affect healthcare, scientists say  Brexit could have a 'catastrophic' impact on UK cancer research and may trigger a staffing crisis, a new study has said.

Overseas staff contributed to nearly 80 per cent of papers published in the UK between 2007 and 2014, and collaboration with EU scientists is increasingly common.

Restrictions on free movement after Brexit could risk undermining healthcare based on the research, according to a review led by Queen's University in Belfast. The Daily Mail

See also:

• The impact of Brexit on UK cancer research The Lancet Oncology

English hospitals cut sugary drinks sales

English hospitals cut sugary drinks sales All 227 hospital trusts in England have signed up to a national target to reduce the amount of sugar consumed by patients, staff and visitors – more than half of the NHS's 1.3m staff are overweight. The Daily Mail