Round two for STP plans: a fresh start or a dangerous distraction?

Round two for STP plans: a fresh start or a dangerous distraction? In a recent letter to Trust chief executives and clinical commissioning group (CCG) accountable officers, NHS England and NHS Improvement confirmed that they ‘expect all sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) and integrated care systems (ICSs) to develop and agree new strategic plans for improving quality, achieving sustainable [financial] balance and delivering the long-term plan’. These will be developed during the first half of 2019 and submitted for sign-off in the summer. Meanwhile, one-year organisational plans will be submitted for 2019/20. The King's Fund

Evidence-based early years intervention

Evidence-based early years intervention The Committee calls on the Government to draw up a new national strategy for early intervention approaches to address childhood adversity and trauma. It urges the Government to capitalise fully on the opportunity that early intervention provides to transform the lives of those who suffer adversity in childhood, while also saving long-term costs to Government. The report identifies examples of early intervention working well around the country, but also the challenges that local authorities and their partners currently face in delivering effective, evidence-based early intervention. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee

Zholia Alemi: Foreign doctor checks after fake psychiatrist case

Zholia Alemi: Foreign doctor checks after fake psychiatrist case Some 3,000 foreign doctors in the UK are being urgently checked after a woman practised psychiatry for 22 years without any qualifications.

Zholia Alemi falsely claimed to have a medical degree from a New Zealand university when she registered in the UK in the 1995.

But she had actually dropped out of medical school in her first year.

The General Medical Council (GMC) - the doctors' watchdog - has apologised for its "inadequate" checks in the 1990s. BBC News

Allied Healthcare to transfer care contracts

Allied Healthcare to transfer care contracts The home care provider was warned this month by the care regulator about its financial sustainability. BBC News

More NHS cyber-attacks 'inevitable', warn experts

More NHS cyber-attacks 'inevitable', warn experts The 2017 WannaCry attack caused havoc. Has enough been done to prepare the system for next time?

Health service insiders fear the NHS will be hit by another cyber-attack similar to the WannaCry ransomware outbreak that caused widespread disruption to hospitals and GP surgeries last year.

Poor leadership, budgetary constraints, deficient IT systems and a lack of qualified staff mean another attack on the health service is inevitable, according to experts at a Guardian event supported by DXC. Guardian technology reporter Alex Hern spoke about the impact of the 2017 WannaCry cyber-attack, and clinicians, cybersecurity specialists, policy advisers and politicians discussed how to best protect NHS IT systems. The Guardian

UK cancer and children’s wards being hit by closures

UK cancer and children’s wards being hit by closures NHS staffing crisis is forcing patients to travel long distances for treatment as services are centralised

Growing numbers of hospital units that provide cancer care and children’s services are among those being forced to shut because the NHS’s deepening staffing crisis means it has too few doctors and nurses to operate them safely.

The closures are leading to patients having to travel further to receive care as NHS bosses increasingly decide to centralise services in fewer hospitals in response to gaps in rotas. The Guardian

People with severe mental health problems forced to wait longer for NHS help than those with mild depression

People with severe mental health problems forced to wait longer for NHS help than those with mild depression People with severe mental health problems are being forced to wait longer for NHS help than those with mild depression, experts have warned.

Research shows that patients with conditions such as schizophrenia and personality disorder are being denied help despite feeling suicidal.

Charity Rethink Mental Illness urged health officials to introduce NHS waiting targets for mental health problems, including a two week maximum wait for those suffering from psychosis. The Daily Telegraph

People with severe mental health problems forced to wait longer for NHS help than those with mild depression

People with severe mental health problems forced to wait longer for NHS help than those with mild depression People with severe mental health problems are being forced to wait longer for NHS help than those with mild depression, experts have warned.

Research shows that patients with conditions such as schizophrenia and personality disorder are being denied help despite feeling suicidal.

Charity Rethink Mental Illness urged health officials to introduce NHS waiting targets for mental health problems, including a two week maximum wait for those suffering from psychosis. The Daily Telegraph

NHS England announces a ‘major overhaul’ of cancer screening programmes

NHS England announces a ‘major overhaul’ of cancer screening programmes A top-to-bottom review has been launched into the screening services after private firm, Capita, failed to send cervical screening reminders and results and waited two months to tell the NHS about the error. The Daily Mail