Northampton's best GP surgeries for making an appointment, according to their patients

Northampton's best GP surgeries for making an appointment, according to their patients Patients at GP surgeries were asked in March 2018 to rate their local practice on a range of important aspects that affect the healthcare experience.

One of these survey questions was to rate the 'experience of making an appointment'. Listed are the Northampton surgeries that scored the highest and are among the top 15 in the town. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

A 10-year story: visualising patient journeys

A 10-year story: visualising patient journeys A decade ago, we developed an approach to visualising individual patient journeys through charts which have come to be called Theographs. Theo Georghiou explains more about what they are and when they are most useful. Nuffield Trust

Workforce report highlights continuing struggle to staff UK cancer centres

Workforce report highlights continuing struggle to staff UK cancer centres Annual workforce figures released today by The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) reveal the continuing struggle to staff cancer centres.

Clinical oncology leaders have questioned how the NHS will be able to rollout cutting-edge life-saving innovations – such as immunotherapy drugs and high energy proton beam radiotherapy – without more investment.

The RCR’s Clinical Oncology UK Workforce Census Report 2018 details the current staffing crisis among clinical oncologists – the doctors who treat cancer with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

 See also: 

• Cancer doctor shortage 'puts care at risk' BBC News
• Severe shortage of NHS cancer specialists is threatening patient care, warns report The Daily Mail
• Cancer patients may suffer because of NHS consultant shortage, report warns The Independent

National LGBT survey 2017: healthcare amongst lesbian and bisexual women - research report

National LGBT survey 2017: healthcare amongst lesbian and bisexual women - research report This report presents key findings on health care amongst different groups of lesbian and bisexual women who responded to the survey, looking in detail at disclosing sexual orientation to health care providers, accessing and using mental health services, sexual health services and gender identity services. The analysis uses multivariate models to control for socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education level, income and region. Government Equalities Office

Without regulation, hospital disinfectants threaten intensive care patients

Without regulation, hospital disinfectants threaten intensive care patients Bacterial resistance to two disinfectants used in large amounts to control the spread of hospital infections is strongly associated with resistance to several antibiotics used to treat common infections, our latest study shows.

Our analysis, published in Nature Microbiology, focused on resistance to disinfectants in Staphylococcus epidermidis. This bacteria is found on the skin of healthy people and usually causes no harm. But it can cause serious blood infections in patients in intensive care units (ICUs), especially those with immune paralysis, where the immune system cannot recover despite bacteria being cleared with antibiotics. The Independent

Britain is now importing more doctors than it trains, figures show

Britain is now importing more doctors than it trains, figures show Britain is now importing more doctors than it trains, according to new figures showing a steep rise in the numbers recruited from overseas.

Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, said the health service must stop “denuding low income countries of health professionals they need” amid warnings of a growing moral crisis.

The figures, from the General Medical Council (GMC), show that last year, 53 per cent of those joining the medical register came from overseas to do so - a rise from 39 per cent in 2015. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Most new UK doctors are recruited from abroad for the first time in more than a decade The Daily Mail

NHS argues that replacing words such as 'nausea' with 'feeling sick' could help to save lives

NHS argues that replacing words such as 'nausea' with 'feeling sick' could help to save lives Language used on NHS websites is being made more understandable for patients.

The word nausea has been replaced by feeling sick, while a haemorrhage is to be referred to as a very heavy bleed.

The move is part of a drive to make NHS literature more user-friendly by September 2020. The writing guide was created based on feedback from more than 10,000 people who were polled on word use. The Daily Mail

'Please don't put me in an old people's home... I'm only 30'

'Please don't put me in an old people's home... I'm only 30' Edith Solenne, 31, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire was left 'terrified' when social services warned her she might be placed in an old people's home as a result of her multiple sclerosis. The Daily Mail