Thursday 21 March 2019

Childcare offered for free to smear-test mums

Childcare offered for free to smear-test mums Dozens of childcare providers across the UK are offering to look after children for free to enable mothers to attend cervical screening appointments.

Public Health England is currently spearheading a campaign to increase take-up rates of tests, said to be the lowest for about 20 years.

Some providers are offering an hour's free care, saying: "A child needs their mummy." BBC Northampton

Closing the gap: key areas for action on the health and care workforce

Closing the gap: key areas for action on the health and care workforce The workforce challenges currently facing the health service pose a threat to the delivery and quality of care over the next 10 years. In advance of the NHS's workforce implementation plan later this year, the Nuffield Trust has joined forces with the Health Foundation and The King's Fund to outline a detailed and costed set of solutions for overhauling how the NHS recruits and keeps its staff, provided this can be backed by £900m a year in investment.

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Home to the unknown: getting hospital discharge right

Home to the unknown: getting hospital discharge right This research explored patients’ unplanned stays in hospital and what it was like for them after they had returned home. More specifically, the research sought to reveal: patients’ experiences of being discharged from hospital; hospital systems and healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions of the discharge process; and what it was like for people returning home from hospital feeling more or less prepared. As a result, it aimed to explore the impact of discharge on recovery and wellbeing and to identify opportunities to improve systems, communication and support. British Red Cross

Exploring variations in the opportunity cost cost-effectiveness threshold by clinical area: results from a feasibility study in England

Exploring variations in the opportunity cost cost-effectiveness threshold by clinical area: results from a feasibility study in England This research paper provides empirical evidence on the relationship between health outcomes and health expenditures in England. Results suggest that setting a cost-effectiveness criterion for NICE may not be capable of being synthesised using scientific methods alone, but involve political judgements. Office of Health Economics

Unprecedented drug shortage linked to Brexit, NHS bosses say

Unprecedented drug shortage linked to Brexit, NHS bosses say Hospitals across England are experiencing medicine shortages because of "stockpiling and price pressure as the Brexit deadline approaches", NHS Providers has told BBC Newsnight.

The trade association warned some trusts had seen shortages of up to 160 different drugs in the past six weeks.

This was compared with just 25 to 30 drugs in normal times, it said.

The Department of Health said there was "no evidence" the "small number of supply issues" were related to Brexit. BBC News

Instagram eating disorder content 'out of control'

Instagram eating disorder content 'out of control' Content on Instagram that encourages eating disorders is "spiralling out of control", psychiatrists have warned.

A BBC investigation found children swapping graphic images of weight loss and advice on how to make their illnesses more extreme.

Dr Jon Goldin, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said "vulnerable" people were finding peer groups online.

Instagram says it does not allow content encouraging or promoting eating disorders and removes it when aware. BBC News

Genetic testing ‘will save NHS time & money’ - Hancock

Genetic testing ‘will save NHS time & money’ - Hancock Genetic testing will save the NHS time and money in the long-term by encouraging people to work with clinicians in taking better care of themselves, Matt Hancock has claimed, although they will need help and support to make sense of their genetic data. The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) agreed with the health and social care secretary that the information will need to be handled sensitively and ethically, and it warned that an increase in testing of "unimportant or dubious value" will lead to confusion and distress, and to an increasing number of people visiting their GP worried about their results. OnMedica

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Disabled woman dies after having all her teeth removed in operation 'without consent'

Disabled woman dies after having all her teeth removed in operation 'without consent' The mother of a disabled woman who died after having all of her teeth removed by a dentist at an NHS trust claims she did not consent to the operation.

Rachel Johnston, 49, collapsed shortly after being discharged from Kidderminster Hospital following the treatment in October 2018 and was readmitted but died three weeks later. The Independent

NHS removes cervical screening contract from Capita

NHS removes cervical screening contract from Capita Outsourced service’s blunders led to nearly 50,000 women not receiving vital information

NHS chiefs are bringing the cervical screening service back in-house after expressing dissatisfaction at the way it has been performing.

The chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, told the Commons public accounts committee that the changes would come into force from June. The Guardian

UK retirees in EU say NHS plans under no-deal Brexit are 'sick'

UK retirees in EU say NHS plans under no-deal Brexit are 'sick' Government offer to cover NHS costs for up to one year are insulting, says expat group

The government has been described as sick and uncaring by an organisation representing more than 10,000 British nationals in Europe over NHS healthcare plans for pensioners in a no-deal Brexit scenario.

British nationals who have retired to EU countries have reacted with fury to what they describe as an insulting and offensive offer by the government to cover healthcare costs for up to one year if they had applied for or are undergoing treatment before exit day. The Guardian

Dementia rates falling thanks to smoking reductions, report finds

Dementia rates falling thanks to smoking reductions, report finds The risk of developing dementia is falling, thanks to lifestyle improvements such as reductions in smoking, new research has found.

Researchers have said that while the overall number of cases is rising due to the population living longer, an individual’s chances of having the disease is going down.

A review of five studies including nearly 60,000 people across Europe and the US found that rates are declining by up to 15 per cent every 10 years. The Daily Telegraph

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Travellers are being refused GP appointments after surgeries insist patients have a fixed address

Travellers are being refused GP appointments after surgeries insist patients have a fixed address Travellers are being refused GP care due to them not having a fixed address or proof of ID, a charity has warned.

The Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT) charity conducted a 'mystery shopper' experiment where prospective patients contacted 50 GP surgeries, telling them they were of Traveller origin.

Twenty-four of the clinics refused or were unable to register the patients, of which 17 claimed they required ID and/or 12 said they could not sign them up without a fixed address.

This is despite NHS guidance stating patients do not require ID, an address or immigration status. The Daily Mail

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