Wednesday 2 January 2019

Corby man’s charity perm raises funds for KGH

Corby man’s charity perm raises funds for KGH A Corby man took fundraising and his hair to new lengths by getting a perm for charity. Father-of-two Steve Gibson, a warehouse operative at Tata Steel in the town, decided to have the hairstyle as a fun way of raising money for the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Kettering General Hospital. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Training hub for front line ambulance crews opens in Northampton

Training hub for front line ambulance crews opens in Northampton
A new hub for training emergency first aid crews has launched at a Northampton ambulance station.

Previously, the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) had one regional training centre in Nottingham where new recruits from across the county were trained.

But now, a new hub for training crews in Northamptonshire has opened at the Northampton North Ambulance Station, off Kettering Road, in a modular building by Portakabin. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

All aboard! Volunteers needed at NGH to take little patients to theatre on a new train buggy

All aboard! Volunteers needed at NGH to take little patients to theatre on a new train buggy
Poorly young patients at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) are in need of hard-working volunteers to steer them to the operating theatre on a new train.

The green and yellow train, complete with a working bell, was unveiled at NGH last week and will transport younger patients around the hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire in laughing gas ‘epidemic’ says charity

Northamptonshire in laughing gas ‘epidemic’ says charity Potentially-lethal laughing gas is still being widely used by young people in Northamptonshire two years on from a law banning its sale for psychoactive purposes, a drugs charity has said. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire County Council: Former leader resigns

Northamptonshire County Council: Former leader resigns A former leader of what was dubbed the country's "worst-run council" has resigned as a councillor.

Heather Smith quit as Northamptonshire County Council leader in March after a report recommended it be scrapped after it ran out of money.

In a resignation letter for Oundle, Ms Smith said it was time to put "horrendous events of 2018" behind her and to "move on".

It means a by-election for an authority which is due to be axed in 2020BBC News

NHS trusts are spending millions to replace crutches

NHS trusts are spending millions to replace crutches Official figures show more than £14million was spent on nearly 560,000 walking aids since January 2014 by 66 trusts in England. Of those trusts with relevant data, 67,491 aids were returned by patients. Mail Online

NHS staff in New Year honours

NHS staff in New Year honours Dozens of NHS staff have been recognised in the 2019 New Year honours list, including 15 nurses, numerous doctors, dentists, physiotherapists and other health professionals, and those who led the response to terror attacks and major incidents. NHS Networks

The challenges facing the NHS in 2019 - BBC News

The challenges facing the NHS in 2019 - BBC News When the NHS is preoccupied with immediate pressures, like the surge in numbers of sick patients that winter brings, it's hard to imagine how there can be time for senior managers to think beyond the next month, never mind five years or more. But they are having to.

The long-term plan for the NHS in England - due out by the end of 2018 but delayed because of the government's preoccupation with Brexit - should now be published in January.

And it could set the tone for the NHS in England for the next decade. BBC News

Should the NHS pay for transgender fertility treatment?

Should the NHS pay for transgender fertility treatment? Changing gender can often leave people infertile but, if their eggs or sperm are frozen before treatment, it is possible for them to start their own families.

The BBC has found that about a quarter of all NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in England offer free fertility treatment to transgender patients, while the rest don't. BBC News

Average child has eaten 18 years of sugar by the age of 10, research finds

Average child has eaten 18 years of sugar by the age of 10, research finds British children have consumed 18 years’ worth of sugar by the time they reach the age of 10, new research shows.

Data from Public Health England shows that the average child consumes the equivalent of around eight excess sugar cubes every day. Telegraph

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Soaring numbers of patients sent home from hospital at night 

Soaring numbers of patients sent home from hospital at night
Vulnerable patients - many elderly - are increasingly being sent home from hospital in the middle of the night, despite repeated pledges to stop the practice.

An investigation reveals the number of patients being discharged between the hours of 11pm and 6am has risen by more than a fifth in five years. Telegraph

NHS England loses £216m a year to missed GP appointments

NHS England loses £216m a year to missed GP appointments Cost of patients not turning up and not telling surgeries could pay for 2,325 full-time GPs

More than 15m appointments at GP surgeries in England are being wasted each year because of patients failing to turn up and not telling practices in advance, costing the NHS more than £216m. The Guardian

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Mental health: target to boost staff numbers by 21,000 set to be missed

Mental health: target to boost staff numbers by 21,000 set to be missed NHS mental health trusts in England employed just 1,524 extra personnel in past year

Ministers are on course to miss their target of increasing the number of mental health staff by 21,000 by 2020, according to NHS workforce figures obtained by Labour.

A year after the government made the pledge, NHS mental health trusts in England had employed just 1,524 extra personnel, according to statistics collected by NHS Digital. The Guardian