Wednesday 13 March 2019

The NHS needs to be more productive – or is it more efficient?

The NHS needs to be more productive – or is it more efficient? Stop reading this and get back to work – you need to be more productive. Or is it more efficient?

In the long-term plan, NHS England sets out a goal of achieving at least 1.1 per cent increases in productivity over each of the next five years. But there’s often confusion about the term ‘productivity’ and what it really means, with efficiency and productivity often used interchangeably despite meaning very different things. In the simplest terms, an increase in productivity is when a business makes more of a product (in the case of the NHS, it would be more “care”- doing more operations, for example) using the resources they have available. Efficiency, however, relates to the quality of the work being done – so producing the same, but at a lower cost to the NHS or with less waste. The King's Fund

The wider public health workforce: a review

The wider public health workforce: a review This review identifies three broad categories of work completed by the wider public health workforce: leading and advocating for health; influencing the wider determinants of health; and direct contact with individuals and communities. It reports on progress to date to engage and develop the wider public health workforce across a range of sectors: healthcare; social care; emergency services; VCSE; education; employment; criminal justice; housing; and planning. Public Health England

Clinically-led review of NHS access standards: interim report from the NHS National Medical Director

Clinically-led review of NHS access standards: interim report from the NHS National Medical Director In 2018 Professor Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, was asked to carry out a clinical review of standards across the NHS, with the aim of determining whether patients would be well served by updating and supplementing some of the older targets currently in use. In this interim report, Professor Powis sets out his recommendations for doing so. NHS England

'Unacceptable' self-harm images still on Instagram

'Unacceptable' self-harm images still on Instagram The NSPCC has criticised Instagram for continuing to allow "distressing" pictures of self-harm to remain on the site.

Last month, Instagram said all graphic images of self-harm would be removed.

The BBC reported three images of people cutting themselves to Instagram. The social media platform added warnings to two but ruled that all three could remain on the site.

A spokesman for Instagram said it "will take time... to get this right". BBC News

Italy bans unvaccinated children from school

Italy bans unvaccinated children from school Italian children have been told not to turn up to school unless they can prove they have been properly vaccinated.

The deadline follows months of national debate over compulsory vaccination.

Parents risk being fined up to €500 (£425; $560) if they send their unvaccinated children to school. Children under six can be turned away.

The new law came amid a surge in measles cases - but Italian officials say vaccination rates have improved since it was introduced. BBC News

Air pollution responsible for more deaths than smoking, study says

Air pollution responsible for more deaths than smoking, study says The number of people dying as a result of air pollution may exceed the number killed by smoking, a major new study suggests.

German researchers estimate that as many as 8.8 million deaths per year globally can be attributed to dirty air.

In Europe alone they estimate there are more than 790,000 additional deaths as a result – double the previous estimate, which did not properly account for the additional rates of cardiovascular disease. The Independent

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Hospital gave teenage cancer victim's address to estranged father

Hospital gave teenage cancer victim's address to estranged father Mother of girl who died a day after diagnosis says Bristol trust’s error added to her grief

The mother of a girl who died of cancer a day after being diagnosed has said the hospital compounded her grief by sharing the family’s address with the teenager’s estranged father.

The University Hospitals Bristol NHS foundation trust apologised to Kelly Baverstock and admitted it had breached its duty of confidentiality by giving doctor’s letters and her address to the father of 13-year-old Tanisha despite the fact he had not seen his daughter in years. The Guardian

Stephen Hawking's former nurse struck off for failing to provide him with 'care he deserved'

Stephen Hawking's former nurse struck off for failing to provide him with 'care he deserved' The former nurse of Professor Stephen Hawking has been struck off the nursing register after a panel found she failed to provide appropriate care to the late scientist.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said on Tuesday that Patricia Dowdy "failed to provide the standards of good, professional care that we expect and Professor Hawking deserved". The Daily Telegraph

Inquiry into deaths at scandal-hit maternity unit is widened to investigate more than 250 families

Inquiry into deaths at scandal-hit maternity unit is widened to investigate more than 250 families More than 250 families have now raised concerns about an NHS trust at the centre of a maternity scandal.

Their cases are being investigated by an independent review team set up to look at services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust, it was revealed last night.

Many families allege that babies died or were left with lifelong brain injuries as a result of poor care at the Shropshire trust.

The independent review was launched by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt in April 2017 when it was looking into 23 cases. But that number has increased ten-fold in what could be one of the NHS’s worst maternity care scandals. The Daily Mail

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Government announces 'appalling' price hike of NHS dental treatment

Government announces 'appalling' price hike of NHS dental treatment The Government has revealed plans to raise the cost of NHS dental treatments by five per cent.

It means that a standard trip to the dentist for a routine examination and possible cleaning will cost £22.70 from April.

Patients will have to fork out £62.10 for fillings, while crowns and other band three treatments will cost £269.30.

However, critics today slammed the 'appalling' price hike and argued it will only discourage more people from seeing a dentist. The Daily Mail