Seven Northamptonshire girls needlessly examined at centre for rape victims, 'due to lack of FGM training'

Seven Northamptonshire girls needlessly examined at centre for rape victims, 'due to lack of FGM training' Northamptonshire girls are being put through intimate examinations at sex assault referral centres when a simple conversation with their parents about genital mutilation would suffice.

That is the opinion of Spring Boroughs-based group Somali Women and Girls, along with race and gender equality charity Creating Equalz. They say local NHS staff and schools do not know the signs of FGM and refer girls far too easily based on cultural assumptions, causing distress to families. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Ambulance choke man's death 'accidental', inquest rules

Ambulance choke man's death 'accidental', inquest rules The death of a mental health patient who choked on a McDonald's meal in an ambulance has been ruled accidental.

David Scales, 68, requested the food at Watford Gap services on the M1 in Northamptonshire, as he was taken from London to Leeds on 3 January 2017.

He fell unconscious and died on 11 January at Northampton General Hospital after a week in a coma.

An inquest jury said information about his current choking risk had not been made available to ambulance staff. BBC Northamptonshire

NHS trusts braced for a winter worse than last year

NHS trusts braced for a winter worse than last year The coming winter is likely to be even more difficult than the last for trusts, staff and patients, warns a new report from NHS Providers.

Steeling ourselves for winter 2018/19 explores how resilient the sector is to the pressures it will face this coming winter. It welcomes improvements that have been put in place by trusts and the national bodies, but also highlights areas where the challenges for the coming winter are even greater than this time last year. NHS Providers

See also:

• NHS trusts braced for winter worse than last year The Daily Mail
• NHS trusts fear this winter could be ‘more difficult than the last’ The Guardian
• NHS trusts braced for winter worse than last year ITV News

Antimicrobial Resistance needs to be a Top Five Policy priority

Antimicrobial Resistance needs to be a Top Five Policy priority Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance needs to be firmly established as a 'top five policy priority' for the Government in order to help prevent the virtual loss of worldwide modern medicine say the Health and Social Care Committee in its report.

No new classes of antibiotics have been developed for decades. Investment in basic scientific research is essential but so too is the investment by pharmaceutical companies in further development and bringing products to the market.

See also:

• 'Superbugs will kill more than cancer and diabetes by 2050' say MPs The Daily Mail
• Antimicrobial resistance must be policy priority, say MPs The Guardian
• MPs demand end to 'perverse' cost to GPs of testing before antibiotic prescribing Pulse

What’s really going on with nursing outside hospital?

What’s really going on with nursing outside hospital? Mark Dayan and William Palmer argue that we should treat figures appearing to show a plummeting community nursing workforce with caution. While a real problem exists, the statistics only count a subset of the workforce, and we can’t fully see what is happening with some other staff. Nuffield Trust

NHS saves £288 million on everyday essentials

NHS saves £288 million on everyday essentials Trusts across England saved £288 million in the last financial year by securing the best deals for commonly bought items, such as syringes, disposable gloves, loo roll and shoe covers. The money freed up can be reinvested into other services and equipment. NHS Improvement

See also:

• Procurement league table NHS Improvement
• Hospitals wasting £5.6 million a year on expensive rubber gloves, NHS leaders reveal The Daily Telegraph

Will population ageing spell the end of the welfare state?: a review of evidence and policy options

Will population ageing spell the end of the welfare state?: a review of evidence and policy options This brief reviews the main evidence on the health and long-term care costs associated with ageing populations to better understand the expected cost pressures due to changing demographics. At the same time, it explores how older populations can and do contribute meaningfully both in economic and societal terms, particularly if they are able to remain healthy and active into later life. World Health Organization

Age-friendly and inclusive volunteering: review of community contributions in later life

Age-friendly and inclusive volunteering: review of community contributions in later life  This review calls on charities, voluntary organisations and the public sector to do more to support and sustain the good will and effort of older volunteers. Making a contribution to our communities has been shown to improve our social connections, enhance our sense of purpose and self-esteem – and as a result, to increase our life satisfaction, happiness and wellbeing. It finds that very few people in later life make no contribution of any kind. However, some people encounter barriers to getting involved in all the ways they might want to, especially as their circumstances change. Centre for Ageing Better

Depressed? The places not to live if you need help

Depressed? The places not to live if you need help A flagship NHS mental health service is failing patients in one in seven areas of England, research by the BBC shows.

People with conditions like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are entitled to psychological therapies, such as counselling.

The NHS is meant to successfully treat half of the people it sees.

But an analysis of official NHS data showed this was not the case in 28 of the 195 local areas of the country in the first six months of this year. BBC News

Ministry of Defence to study armed forces suicide rates after more than 40 servicemen and women kill themselves in last year

Ministry of Defence to study armed forces suicide rates after more than 40 servicemen and women kill themselves in last year Suicide rates among veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are to be studied by the Ministry of Defence.

Cases where former servicemen and women have taken their own lives will be a focus for the research into the causes of death among those who leave the armed forces.

The study will take place amid concerns the rate of mental health problems among troops and veterans has surged in the last decade. The Independent

See also:

• Widow of suicide veteran tells minister to "get a grip" on mental health crisis The Daily Telegraph

Trauma doctors reveal horror of knife crime 'epidemic'

Trauma doctors reveal horror of knife crime 'epidemic' Exclusive: number of stabbing victims with life-threatening injuries rises sharply in two years

The number of stabbing victims with life-threatening injuries treated by specialist trauma doctors has increased by 34% in two years, according to NHS figures obtained by the Guardian.

Doctors are also reporting an increase in the severity of attacks, with victims increasingly arriving in hospital with multiple puncture wounds. The Guardian

NHS denies flu vaccine shortage amid complaints over delays

NHS denies flu vaccine shortage amid complaints over delays Patients outside of London say they have been unable to get jab due to short supplies

The NHS and healthcare bodies have sought to offer assurances that there are adequate supplies of the flu vaccine amid mounting unease among older people who have been unable to get the jab at surgeries and pharmacies outside of London.

Deliveries of this year’s adjuvanted trivalent vaccine (aTIV) – a new, more effective vaccine that has been recommended for patients aged over 65 – have been staggered because there is only one supplier. The Guardian

See also:

• Flu jab protected just one in 10 pensioners last year, amid concerns new vaccines will run out The Daily Telegraph
• Flu jab: Who needs the vaccine this winter and where can you get it? The Independent

NHS £20bn boost risks being spent to pay off debts, experts warn

NHS £20bn boost risks being spent to pay off debts, experts warn PM urged to write off £12bn in hospital overspending or extra healthcare will be unaffordable

Theresa May is being urged to write off almost £12bn in overspending by hospitals or risk her £20bn NHS boost being spent on debt repayment rather than improving healthcare.

NHS experts are warning that promised expansions of cancer and mental healthcare will prove impossible because a large amount of the £20bn that the prime minister pledged this year will go to the NHS by 2023-24 will be used servicing historic debts. The Guardian

Record numbers of gambling addicts were hospitalised last year, new NHS figures reveal

Record numbers of gambling addicts were hospitalised last year, new NHS figures reveal Record numbers of gambling addicts were hospitalised in the NHS last year, figures reveal, amid calls for the £2 cap on stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals to be brought forward.

Data released for the first time reveals more than 100 people were admitted because their “pathological” gambling addiction was so severe they needed hospital treatment.

It represents a rise of 50 per cent in just a year, and is a dramatic increase from the handful treated in 2000 when the World Health Organisation (WHO) first recognised gambling disorder as a medical condition. The Daily Telegraph

NHS IT blunder put 10,000 patients risk of wrong prescription

NHS IT blunder put 10,000 patients risk of wrong prescription More than 10,000 patients may have been given the wrong medication due to an IT blunder, an NHS investigation has warned.

Health chiefs have expressed “major” safety concerns after discovering the glitch, which has been disrupting prescriptions since 2010.

The failure, which was identified in August and affected up to 10,053 patients at 330 GP practices, meant repeat prescriptions that should have been cancelled continued to be provided. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• IT defect results in thousands of prescription errors Health Service Journal

The eye-watering sums paid to interim NHS managers

The eye-watering sums paid to interim NHS managers NHS trusts regularly splurge six-figure sums on interim managers, according to figures.

The Health Service Journal found a number of cases where short and mid-term employees were rewarded with huge pay packets.

Annual report data from more than 200 NHS trusts were assessed - with shocking results.

Specifically, eleven highlighted cases alone totaled more than £1,500,000 for the 2017-18 period. The Daily Mail