Thursday 7 February 2019

Higham Ferrers surgery's staff problems a factor as health watchdog rates it as 'inadequate'

Higham Ferrers surgery's staff problems a factor as health watchdog rates it as 'inadequate'  Health watchdog inspectors have rated a Higham Ferrers GP surgery as 'inadequate', highlighting staffing issues that led to poor services and morale. Higham Ferrers Surgery in Saffron Road was given a rating according to whether it is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Though found to be 'good' in terms of being effective, it was deemed 'inadequate' in the responsive and well-led categories, and 'requires improvement' in the safe and caring criteria.  Northamptonshire Telegraph

Embedding the learning from speaking up - Health Service Journal

Embedding the learning from speaking up - Health Service Journal Moving from a blame culture to a learning culture is an integral part of Freedom to Speak Up. Dr Henrietta Hughes explains how the National Guardian’s Office is helping organisations embed learning through its case review process. Health Service Journal (HSJ)

Polypharmacy: getting our medicines right

Polypharmacy: getting our medicines right A report from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society summarises the scale and complexity of the issue of polypharmacy. NHS Networks

Assisted dying: 'I wish the law let me have him for longer'

Assisted dying: 'I wish the law let me have him for longer' Geoff Whaley has motor neurone disease and has decided to end his life rather than experience the final stages of the illness.

Assisted suicide is illegal in the UK, so he and his wife Ann have travelled to a clinic in Switzerland. They would like the UK to change its law, and have met peers and MPs to explain their views. BBC News

Children and electronic devices - how to keep young people safe

Children and electronic devices - how to keep young people safe Mobile phones should be banned from the dinner table and bedtimes as part of a healthy approach to devices, the UK's four chief medical officers have said.

Children should also take a break from screen-based activities every two hours, the guidance said. They also said technology companies must do more to keep children safe. BBC News - Health

See Also:

Cervical screening intervals should be extended

Cervical screening intervals should be extended Women would be better protected by a switch from cytology (smear) testing to screening for high risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection with longer intervals between examinations, suggests a study* published today in The BMJ.
UK researchers concluded that screening for HR-HPV infection works well in practice and is more sensitive than smear testing, offering greater protection against cervical cancer. On Medica

See Also:

Students paid up to £3,500 to catch potentially deadly diseases for science 

Students paid up to £3,500 to catch potentially deadly diseases for science  Cash strapped university students are being paid as much as £3,500 to be infected with dangerous tropical diseases including typhoid, malaria and pneumonia.

The UK students are among a growing number of healthy volunteers being paid to be infected with exotic bacteria and viruses for scientific research at institutions including Oxford University and Imperial College London.

The UK is a world leader in the study of infectious diseases and the experiments - known as “challenge trials” where human guinea pigs, mainly students, are “challenged” with an infectious disease - have become a popular way to progress the development of new vaccines at a fraction of the cost of field studies. The Telegraph

How is your hospital coping this winter? Performance tracker breaks down figures for local trusts

How is your hospital coping this winter? Performance tracker breaks down figures for local trusts England's worst performing hospital trusts have been named and shamed in an interactive tool.

Using only the name of a town or a postcode, the NHS Performance Tracker can reveal if hospitals are meeting health service targets.

A&E waits, patient safety incidents, the proportion of full beds and cancer waiting times are all measures included.

The handy tracker is regularly updated with the latest NHS figures, released every week during the winter by officials. Mail Online