Woman, 92, dies after Northampton General Hospital loses dentures

Woman, 92, dies after Northampton General Hospital loses dentures A 92-year-old woman died in hospital following weeks of weight loss after staff lost her false teeth.

Northampton General Hospital's board heard how the hospital failed to replace the dentures, which were lost during her admission.

The woman, who had dementia, also suffered from dehydration before her death in January.

Director of nursing Sheran Oke told the board meeting the "very sad" incident was being investigated. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Woman, 92, died at NGH following weeks of weight loss after false teeth lost by NHS Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Interim NHS People Plan

Interim NHS People Plan This interim report, developed collaboratively with national leaders and partners, sets a vision for how people working in the NHS will be supported to deliver that care and identifies the actions that NHS England will take to help them. NHS Improvement 

See also:

• NHS People Plan is welcome but will need investment NHS Employers
• “More staff not enough – NHS must also be best place to work” says new NHS people plan NHS England
• The King’s Fund responds to the interim NHS People Plan The King's Fund
• NHS staff quitting due to burnout and bullying, report says The Guardian
• Exclusive: Dido Harding: Boards should take culture as seriously as finance Health Service Journal

Sexual health

Sexual health This report finds that despite top line figures for sexual health appearing positive they hide a number of seriously concerning underlying trends and inequalities as poor sexual health outcomes fall disproportionately on certain groups. An enduring theme throughout the Health and Social Care Committee's inquiry was geographical variation in access to the highest standard of sexual health services, worsened by the impact of greatly reduced funding and increased fragmentation of services. The report concludes that sexual health must be sufficiently funded on a national level to deliver high quality sexual health services and information. House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee 

See also:

• People urged to practise safer sex after rise in STIs in England Public Health England
• Official Statistics: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): annual data tables Public Health England
• Syphilis: Public Health England action plan Public Health England
• Sex diseases on the rise in England BBC News
• Gonorrhoea cases reach a 40 YEAR high in England The Daily Mail

Whorlton Hall abuse: Care watchdog launches investigations

Whorlton Hall abuse: Care watchdog launches investigations The health watchdog is launching a review into how it handled a 2015 report raising concerns about Whorlton Hall hospital.

Former Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector Barry Stanley-Wilkinson said he wrote the report four years before BBC Panorama revealed the alleged abuse of patients.

The CQC said there would also be a review of its regulation of the County Durham hospital between 2015 and 2019. BBC News

Nearly 10,000 beds lost from half of England’s local authorities

Nearly 10,000 beds lost from half of England’s local authorities Nearly 10,000 care home beds for the elderly have been lost in five years across half of England’s local authorities, figures show.

In total, 9,772 care home beds have been lost in England in the 75 local authority areas that have struggled to keep up with provision since 2014, the analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) data shows. OnMedica

Plan to hire thousands of foreign nurses for NHS is axed

Plan to hire thousands of foreign nurses for NHS is axed Target was politically difficult for a government committed to reducing net migration

A controversial target of hiring 5,000 foreign nurses a year for at least 15 years has been cut from a flagship plan to deal with the NHS’s staffing crisis, the Observer understands.

The move will frustrate health chiefs, who are desperate for a clear strategy to reduce NHS staffing pressures, which are expected to worsen. The Guardian

See also:

• NHS turns to Mumsnet to fill nurse vacancies BBC News
• NHS turns to Mumsnet to find nurses The Daily Mail
• NHS bosses to recruit Mumsnet users in a bid to help fill nursing vacancies The Daily Telegraph

Matt Hancock pledges to lift immigration limits on NHS medics

Matt Hancock pledges to lift immigration limits on NHS medics Centrist Tory candidate advocates free movement of foreign doctors and nurses

The UK should allow complete freedom of movement for medics from around the world, the Tory leadership hopeful Matt Hancock will pledge on Monday.

The health secretary, who is one of main contenders from the party’s centre-left in the 13-strong race to be the next prime minister, will promise to lift all immigration restrictions for qualified doctors and nurses of any nationality who have secured a job in the NHS. The Guardian

Austerity to blame for 130,000 ‘preventable’ UK deaths – report

Austerity to blame for 130,000 ‘preventable’ UK deaths – report Two decades of public health improvements have stalled, says IPPR thinktank

More than 130,000 deaths in the UK since 2012 could have been prevented if improvements in public health policy had not stalled as a direct result of austerity cuts, according to a hard-hitting analysis to be published this week.

The study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank finds that, after two decades in which preventable diseases were reduced as a result of spending on better education and prevention, there has been a seven-year “perfect storm” in which state provision has been pared back because of budget cuts, while harmful behaviours among people of all ages have increased. The Guardian

See also:

• Ending the blame game: The case for a new approach to public health and prevention IPPR

Most doctors never read patient feedback, report finds

Most doctors never read patient feedback, report finds Patient feedback about the performance of doctors is ignored by the vast majority of the profession, a report has found.

Research revealed that only one in five doctors read comments directly concerning them. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Online patient feedback: a cross-sectional survey of the attitudes and experiences of United Kingdom health care professionals (open access) Journal of Health Services Research and Policy

Obesity has become 'the new smoking' and will fuel weight-related cancers, head of NHS warns

Obesity has become 'the new smoking' and will fuel weight-related cancers, head of NHS warns Obesity has become “the new smoking” and is set to fuel double the number of weight-related cancers within two decades, the head of the NHS today warns.

Simon Stevens raised fears that the UK is apeing the United States, as medics warned that today’s deadly lifestyles could set back decades of medical advances.

The NHS forecasts show that by 2035, the health service is set to be treating more than 40,000 cases of cancer linked to excess weight - a rise from around 22,800 in 2015. The Daily Telegraph

One person in 10 is mistaken about the identity of their father, reveals NHS chief

One person in 10 is mistaken about the identity of their father, reveals NHS chief One person in 10 is mistaken about the identity of their father, genetic tests for hereditary illnesses are revealing, according to an NHS chief.

The era of genomic medicine is allowing doctors to screen rising numbers for preventative action against diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.

About 220,000 such tests are carried out by the NHS in England and Scotland each year. The Daily Telegraph

Postcode lottery for UK heart failure patients: Hospitals are not meeting care standards

Postcode lottery for UK heart failure patients: Hospitals are not meeting care standards Heart failure patients across the UK face a 'postcode lottery' in the NHS care they receive, according to a report.

Researchers uncovered a 'worrying wide variation' and 'lack of consistency' in the level of care received across the home nations.

The British Heart Foundation described the differences as being 'stark' - the worst-performing regions were not named.

Health watchdog NICE updated its guidelines for the treatment of chronic heart failure nine months ago. The Daily Mail