Investigation into Kettering General Hospital ward after staff raise concerns

Investigation into Kettering General Hospital ward after staff raise concerns An investigation has taken place into a female-only medical ward at Kettering General Hospital after a number of concerns were raised by staff.

Pressures to discharge unwell patients, inadequate medical cover, the lack of piped oxygen provision and no direct access to drinking water were issues highlighted by worried staff in three separate complaints to the hospital trust about the Poplar Ward between April and September this year. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Service that provides late and weekend GP appointments is rolled out in Northampton

Service that provides late and weekend GP appointments is rolled out in Northampton A service which makes GP appointments available in the evening and at weekends has been rolled out across Northamptonshire - but not in Corby.

In 2014 the Government pledged to extend opening hours at GP surgeries across the country and Nene CCG is the latest to introduce the GP Extended Access Service.

The service means appointments will be available until 8pm from Monday to Friday and in the mornings at the weekends and on bank holidays at central surgeries. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Child cruelty reports six times higher in Northamptonshire compared to five years ago

Child cruelty reports six times higher in Northamptonshire compared to five years ago Child cruelty and neglect figures have increased sixfold over the last five years in Northamptonshire, the NSPCC has revealed.

A report by the child protection charity has shown there were 262 offences recorded by Northamptonshire Police in 2017/18, up from just 39 in 2012/13.

Reports to the police included extreme cases of when a parent or carer deliberately neglected, assaulted, abandoned or exposed their child to serious harm. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The Care Quality Commission and improvement: a system-wide issue

The Care Quality Commission and improvement: a system-wide issue Many policy issues seem simple from afar but they nearly always become more intricate on closer inspection, one current example being Brexit. Understanding the impact of the regulatory approach of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is no different. On the surface, we seem to have a simple bilateral interaction: CQC tells a provider where it needs to improve; the provider then does or does not make the improvement. When we look closer, however, this view starts to fragment. The King's Fund

Identifying the active ingredients for success: Reducing emergency admissions from care homes

Identifying the active ingredients for success: Reducing emergency admissions from care homes As a preview to the much-anticipated NHS long term plan, the Government recently announced a national initiative to reduce avoidable admissions to hospital by providing enhanced community health care, including rapid response teams, to support people in their own homes. Significantly, this support is also going to be available to people living in care homes.

The initiative builds on work of the the Enhanced Health in Care Homes vanguards which were announced as part of the Five Year Forward View for the NHS in England. The vanguards have been widely evaluated, meaning that there is a rich evidence base available for those implementing the new initiative. The Health Foundation

The future of surgery

The future of surgery The Commission on the Future of Surgery gazed twenty years into the future to identify advances in medicine and technology that are likely to change surgical care. The report analysed evidence and assessed the implications of such developments for patients, the surgical profession and the healthcare system. Royal College of Surgeons

See also:

• C-sections to be performed by healthcare assistants, report predicts The Daily Telegraph
• Medical advances could soon spare patients surgery, say experts The Guardian

Building a positive culture around exception reporting

Building a positive culture around exception reporting Find out how University Hospitals of Derby and Burton embedded exception reporting processes across the trust. NHS Employers

Xanax: Treatment for addiction doubles in children

Xanax: Treatment for addiction doubles in children The number of children being treated for addiction to tranquilisers has doubled in a year, to more than 300, according to Public Health England.

The drug Xanax, and copies of it, accounted for the sharpest rise - from eight children receiving treatment in 2016-17 to 53 in 2017-18.

Ambulance services around the country have also reported a growing problem.

In 2017-18, more than 15,500 children had help for substance misuse, 88% for cannabis.

The total number receiving treatment was 5% down on the previous year. BBC News

See also:

• National Statistics: Substance misuse treatment for young people: statistics 2017 to 2018 Public Health England
• Generation Xanax : doubling in children being treated for addiction The Daily Telegraph

NHS urged to change so prevention vision can become reality

NHS urged to change so prevention vision can become reality Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock promised to “radically change the focus” when he announced his new prevention vision last month.

His insistence that the NHS, as well as local government, must put prevention at the heart of everything it does and tackle the root causes of poor health, rather than simply treating the symptoms, was welcomed as sound logic.

But details of how this ambitious vision will be put into practice must wait until the promised publication of a public health green paper next year. With the ongoing political turmoil in Westminster, one could be forgiven for wondering when, or indeed if, it will ever materialise. Local Government Chronicle

New tax on over-40s being considered by ministers to fund social care would raise £15bn a year, study finds

New tax on over-40s being considered by ministers to fund social care would raise £15bn a year, study finds A new tax being considered by ministers as a way to fund social care could raise up to £15bn a year, according to a new report.

The proposal would see a 2.5 per cent levy applied to the earnings of people over the age of 40, similar to the model used in Germany.

The revenue generated by the new tax would go into a ring-fenced pot used to fund social care.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has previously said he is “attracted to” the proposal, which is expected to be one option included in a government green paper due to be published before Christmas. The Independent

Surge in young people receiving help from Childline for coping with anxiety

Surge in young people receiving help from Childline for coping with anxiety The number of teenagers receiving help to deal with anxiety from Childline has almost doubled in two years, fuelling concerns that charities are filling the gap left by public mental health services.

The NSPCC, which runs Childline, said it had delivered 21,297 counselling sessions to young people trying to deal with feelings of anxiety in the past year.

Overall, the service delivered 106,037 counselling sessions to young people experiencing problems with their mental and emotional health and wellbeing – marking a 5-per-cent increase on the previous year. The Independent

Ministers and NHS England chief at loggerheads over targets

Ministers and NHS England chief at loggerheads over targets Exclusive: Simon Stevens is pushing back against demands for specific improvements linked to £20.5bn cash boost

The head of the NHS and the government are at loggerheads over how much the health service can be improved for the £20.5bn extra Theresa May has pledged to give it, the Guardian can reveal.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, has been having major disagreements behind the scenes in recent weeks with Downing Street, the Treasury and Department of Health and Social Care about how much the forthcoming NHS long-term plan can promise to boost care. The Guardian

One in 10 patients waits 3 weeks to see their GP, new figures show

One in 10 patients waits 3 weeks to see their GP, new figures show One in ten patients is waiting at least three weeks to see their GP, new figures show.

The monthly data, published for the first time, shows that in October 2.8 million people secured an appointment more than 21 days after seeking it.

They included 1.4 million people who saw a doctor four weeks after trying to arrange a consultation.

Every day, around 1 million people see a GP in England, the figures show. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Appointments in General Practice, October 2018 NHS Digital
• One in five patients now waits at least two weeks to see a GP, finds report The Guardian
• GP practice appointment numbers rising OnMedica