Healthwatch Northamptonshire wins national award

Healthwatch Northamptonshire wins national award Healthwatch Northamptonshire had plenty of reasons to celebrate at a national event.

The Healthwatch England Conference was held recently in Stratford upon Avon and was attended by all 152 local Healthwatch.

Healthwatch Northamptonshire came away with a number of awards, including highly commended for its work with Young Healthwatch in the volunteering category, highly commended for the ‘#ItStartsWithYou’ category and Healthwatch volunteer Sandra Bell was personally recognised for her work raising the issues around access to health and social care services for those with a hearing impairment. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

What does the Chequers plan mean for the NHS?

What does the Chequers plan mean for the NHS? This blog from Mark Dayan takes a closer look at the Prime Minister’s preferred Brexit plan and what its implications might be for the health service. Nuffield Trust

A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness – laying the foundations for change

A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness – laying the foundations for change This strategy sets out the government's approach to tackling loneliness in England. It builds on years of work by many organisations and individuals, brought together by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness in 2017. It sets out government’s long-term ambitions to work with others to build a more cohesive and connected society. Alongside this, it includes a number of initial commitments that benefit both wider society and people at specific trigger points when they are at greater risk of loneliness. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Guidance: Air pollution: a tool to estimate healthcare costs

Guidance: Air pollution: a tool to estimate healthcare costs A tool to help local authorities estimate the burden of air pollution on the health care system. Public Health England

Guidance: ‘Keep Warm Keep Well’ leaflet

Guidance: ‘Keep Warm Keep Well’ leaflet These leaflets give advice on staying well in cold weather, covering issues such as financial help, healthy lifestyle, flu jabs and heating. Public Health England

'Miracle' baby whose heart stopped for 22 minutes turns one

'Miracle' baby whose heart stopped for 22 minutes turns one A premature baby whose heart stopped beating for 22 minutes has been called a "miracle" by doctors who treated her, as she celebrates her first birthday.

Lacey Sherriff, who was born at 27 weeks weighing 1.4lb (635g), had two cardiac arrests during emergency surgery when she was five days old.

Her parents prepared for the worst - but their daughter survived.

Doctors at St George's Hospital, in London, say Lacey should develop and live a normal life. BBC News

Drop in health visitor numbers - ‘bleak’ for children

Drop in health visitor numbers - ‘bleak’ for children The number of health visitors has plummeted over the past year, according to the Labour Party, while school nurses have dipped by nearly a quarter since May 2010.

Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, today slammed what he described as ‘savage’ cuts to health visitor and school nurse numbers in England.

Mr Ashworth is set to highlight the workforce decline when he addresses the union Unite’s Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association (CPHVA) annual conference, in Bournemouth. OnMedica

Children of parents with mental illness need support

Children of parents with mental illness need support The government needs to do more to recognise and support the 3.4 million children in the UK who live with a parent with a mental illness.

This is the message from UK charity Our Time (formerly KidsTime Foundation), which has today launched it’s ‘Being Seen and Heard’ campaign calling for children affected by parental illness to be recognised within public policy and funding frameworks by 2021. OnMedica

NHS cannot be 'confident' about medicine supplies after a no-deal Brexit, senior official admits

NHS cannot be 'confident' about medicine supplies after a no-deal Brexit, senior official admits England’s most senior health official says he cannot be “confident” that essential medicines will still be available after a no-deal Brexit – describing the task as “extremely difficult”.

Maintaining supplies would be “very complex” if the UK crashes out of the EU, Sir Chris Wormald told MPs, adding: “I never use words like confident.”

Sir Chris, the department of health's permanent secretary, warned there were also major concerns about staff shortages and the treatment of British travellers to the EU after Brexit. The Independent

Life expectancy is rising in Finland – unlike in the UK. What’s going right? | Annika Koljonen

Life expectancy is rising in Finland – unlike in the UK. What’s going right? | Annika Koljonen Scandinavian countries spend more on public services and excel in preventive health. They should beware the British model.

Earlier this week, a new report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health warned that infant mortality in the UK could be 140% higher by 2030 than in comparatively wealthy countries if current trends continue. Infant mortality rates are already twice as high as in Finland. There are also big gaps between the UK and Finland on rising life expectancy. Life expectancy has stopped rising in the UK, and is now actually falling across much of the country. In stark contrast, Office for National Statistics figures show that out of 20 comparator countries, Finland has experienced the largest increase in improvements in life expectancy for men since 2010, and Finnish women’s life expectancy has also consistently risen. The Guardian

See also:

• UK life-expectancy rises to 23rd in world ranking despite obesity and smoking pressures The Independent

NHS made £70million by charging STAFF for parking last year

NHS made £70million by charging STAFF for parking last year The NHS charged its own staff nearly £70million for car parking last year, figures have revealed.

Patients and visitors in England stumped up a further £156million, according to data from NHS Digital.

Campaigners slammed the figures as 'scandalous', saying people are being charged for being ill and staff charges will take a chunk out of their recent pay rises.

One expert said it is 'unacceptable' for the NHS to use money from car parking – a total income of £226million in 2017-18 – to plug its financial shortfalls. The Daily Mail