Empathy and understanding in mental health

Empathy and understanding in mental health Emily, a senior peer support worker at Haven, explains the vital role peer support workers play in supporting people through mental health crisis. The King's Fund

Learning from invited reviews: 2019 full report

Learning from invited reviews: 2019 full report This report finds that where rare problems occur in surgical practice, poor team working between surgeons is often a major factor. Analysis of one hundred surgical reviews over ten years conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) identifies poor teamwork as an issue leading to problems in surgical practice in over three quarters (76 per cent) of the reviews. In more than two thirds (68 per cent) of the RCS reviews, timely recognition and resolution of concerns was an issue. Alongside the report, the RCS has developed an interactive web resource to help hospital teams improve the quality of discussions about surgical practice and the action that takes place in response to it.

Effects of market structure and patient choice on hospital quality for planned patients

Effects of market structure and patient choice on hospital quality for planned patients In 2006, patients were given the right to be offered a choice of at least four hospitals and this was later extended to the right to choose any qualified provider. The study used a quasi difference in differences strategy to investigate whether the relaxation of constraints on patient choice, led to larger changes in quality for hospitals with more rivals. Hospital quality is measured by whether a patient has an emergency hospital readmission within 28 days of discharge after their index treatment. Centre for Health Economics

Minister targets anti-vaccination websites

Minister targets anti-vaccination websites Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock wants new legislation to force social media companies to remove content promoting false information about vaccines.

He said the government is working with internet companies to identify misleading material on jabs, including Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR).

Artificial intelligence programmes could root out bad science.

MMR vaccine uptake rates are declining in many countries. BBC News

Good nurse leadership linked to safer outcomes

Good nurse leadership linked to safer outcomes Correct staffing levels and strong ward leadership is key to creating safer healthcare.

This is the conclusion from a major new review of ward staffing published this week by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). OnMedica

NHS crisis: 200,000 nurses have quit since Tories entered government

NHS crisis: 200,000 nurses have quit since Tories entered government More than 200,000 nurses have quit the NHS since the Conservatives entered government, with three-quarters of these prior to retirement age, new analysis shows.

Across the NHS voluntary resignations have risen 55 per cent since 2011 and 163,094 nurses left the NHS early, figures compiled by the Labour party show.

Labour said the analysis, which has been verified by the impartial House of Commons Library, shows “staggering” numbers quitting because of Tory austerity policies and their failure to address soaring retirements. The Independent

See also:

• NHS staffing crisis: More than 200,000 nurses have resigned since 2010 The Daily Mail
• Number of NHS staff leaving for a better work/life balance triples The Daily Telegraph
• NHS England losing staff in record numbers over long hours – study The Guardian
• More than 160,000 nurses have quit NHS since 2010/11, data shows ITV News

More than one in ten primary school boys is labelled with mental disorder

More than one in ten primary school boys is labelled with mental disorder More than one in ten boys at primary school are being labelled as suffering from a mental disorder, amid growing concerns about their classroom behaviour, research suggests.

The NHS report, which examines the factors which may increase the risk of mental illness, found young boys were twice as likely as girls the same age to suffer such problems. The Daily Telegraph

Ethical investments could help in fight against superbugs, says chief medical officer

Ethical investments could help in fight against superbugs, says chief medical officer Investors are being urged to put their money into companies that are developing new antibiotics and vaccines as a way of curbing the rise of superbugs.

Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England and a key figure in the global fight against superbugs, told a conference on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that ethical investment was one way of tackling the problem. The Daily Telegraph

What your GP receptionist really thinks of you: Doctor's assistant on the vile abuse she puts gets

What your GP receptionist really thinks of you: Doctor's assistant on the vile abuse she puts gets The average adult patient has to wait a month for a GP appointment, new research reveals. And this week one woman in Wales revealed she rang her surgery 250 times before getting through. No wonder many patients are furious and GPs’ receptionists often feel their wrath. But what is it like for them? Here, in an eye-opening weekly diary, one receptionist, Nicola Thomas*, 35, reveals the real reasons you are being kept on hold... The Daily Mail