Shakeup for GP surgeries next month: find out which new network your practice joins

Shakeup for GP surgeries next month: find out which new network your practice joins GP surgeries across Northamptonshire will launch new networks next month in the biggest shake-up of primary care services in 15 years.

Sixteen new networks across Northamptonshire will launch from July 1 with some surgeries joining alliances with practices from neighbouring towns.

The new primary care networks – which are part of the NHS 10-year plan – will each have a pharmacist and a new position of social prescriber. These will be professionals who will link up patients with services from the voluntary sector that may boost their health or mental wellbeing, such as walking groups or social clubs. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Collaboration in the NHS is a good thing but there's a risk of it becoming cosiness

Collaboration in the NHS is a good thing but there's a risk of it becoming cosiness Our Director of Strategy Helen Buckingham responds to the Health Select Committee’s "NHS Long-Term Plan: legislative proposals" report. Nuffield Trust

Do you work for a racist organisation?

Do you work for a racist organisation? This blog is the first in a three-part series that reflects on our experience of diversity and inclusion at The King's Fund.

Overspill beds in use for routine care

Overspill beds in use for routine care Thousands of beds designated for expected high demand are having to be used for routine care, a BMA investigation of hospitals in England has revealed.

Pressure on NHS trusts has meant that many hospitals are having to resort to using their escalation beds – which are supposed to be reserved for emergencies and periods of high demand such as wintertime, on a daily basis.

Data was released following a series of Freedom of Information requests by the BMA which asked acute trusts in England how many core and escalation beds they had open and occupied from 3 March this year onwards.

See also:

• NHS hospital patients are routinely being treated in emergency beds The Daily Mail
• NHS pressures sees emergency  beds used all year round, BMA warns The Daily Telegraph
• NHS hospitals using temporary 'escalation beds' all year round The Guardian
• NHS hospitals forced to use emergency beds all year round to cope with demand, BMA warns The Independent
• NHS forced to use emergency beds to cope with rising demand – BMA ITV News

Holidaymakers urged to put MMR checks top of any travel plans

Holidaymakers urged to put MMR checks top of any travel plans PHE and travel industry call on holidaymakers and other travellers to check their MMR vaccinations are up-to-date, as measles outbreaks continue across Europe. Public Health England

Carers’ breaks: guidance for commissioners and providers

Carers’ breaks: guidance for commissioners and providers New guidance from SCIE and Carers UK sets out how social care and health commissioners and providers can extend and improve regular breaks for carers and the family and friends they support.

The guidance includes almost 30 practice examples of how organisations are using a wide range of resources and services to support carers to have a break: from hotels offering free stays, to GP prescriptions for breaks.

Residents in care homes 'missing out on dental care'

Residents in care homes 'missing out on dental care' The teeth of people living in care homes in England are being left to rot, dentists say.

The warning comes after the Care Quality Commission found that residents did not always have access to dentists and were not getting the support they needed to look after their teeth.

Its inspectors visited 100 homes caring for elderly and disabled people.

It comes as the British Dental Association highlighted a number of distressing cases of decay and neglect. BBC News

See also:

• Dentists call for dental revolution in care homes British Dental Association
• CQC calls for improvements to oral health in care homes Care Quality Commission
• Smiling matters: oral health care in care homes Care Quality Commission

Family brand terminal illness assessments 'degrading'

Family brand terminal illness assessments 'degrading' Susan Hill was 63 when she became terminally ill with motor neurone disease.

But when she claimed for personal independence payments (PIP), to pay her carers, she was forced to carry out "bizarre" physical tests, such as standing on one leg, as part of her benefit assessment.

Mrs Hill, of Bargoed, has since died and her family have called for an end to what they called "degrading" examinations.

"You have to prove to this person that you are terminally ill. It's not right," said her daughter Laura.

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was looking into how it can improve its processes. BBC News

See also:

• Family of MND patient: End assessments for terminally ill BBC News

‘Alarming rise’ in reports of care home abuse in England

‘Alarming rise’ in reports of care home abuse in England Exclusive More than 67,500 allegations of mistreatment received by CQC last year as watchdog launches inquiry into how mistreatment by staff went unaddressed at Whorlton Hall hospital.

There has been a dramatic increase in reports of abuse at care homes in England, official figures reveal, as the sector’s watchdog investigates why warnings from whistleblowers and its own inspectors went unheeded.

In 2014 there were 37,060 reported allegations of abuse received by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), compared with 67,590 in 2018 – an increase of 82 per cent. The total number of allegations for the four-year period was 251,679. The Independent

NHS to open first ever gambling clinic for children

NHS to open first ever gambling clinic for children Some 55,000 children classed as having an addiction, with online gaming sites blamed

The first NHS gambling clinic for children is opening amid growing concern that the rise of online gaming sites and targeted adverts is fuelling a problem among young people.

There are 55,000 children classed as having a gambling problem in Britain, according to the Gambling Commission, which also found that 450,000 are gambling regularly – more than those who have taken drugs, drunk alcohol or smoked. The Guardian

Why is life expectancy faltering?

Why is life expectancy faltering? For the first time in 100 years, Britons are dying earlier. The UK now has the worst health trends in western Europe – and doctors and experts believe that the impact of austerity is a major factor

In a few days, a team of researchers, statisticians and geographers will gather at University College London to tackle an issue of increasing concern for doctors and health experts. They will investigate why many UK citizens are now living shorter, less healthy lives compared with the recent past.

The emergence of faltering life expectancy in Britain has caused particular alarm because it reverses a trend that has continued, almost unbroken, for close to 100 years. Over this period, lives have lengthened continuously, blessing more and more British people with the gift of old age. The Guardian

Nye Bevan relative was 'let down by NHS' before dying of lung cancer

Nye Bevan relative was 'let down by NHS' before dying of lung cancer A relative of Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS, died after doctors failed to tell him he had lung cancer for 15 months, an inquest heard.

Roderick Bevan, who died aged 66 in May 2018 after NHS doctors diagnosed his condition, would have survived but for the failure of two sets of doctors..

A coroner ruled that the errors amounted to “neglect”. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS founder's relative died after 'neglect' by hospital trusts The Guardian

NHS boss admits hospitals now need MORE beds

NHS boss admits hospitals now need MORE beds The boss of the NHS has admitted the health service went over the top with bed closures and needs to start opening them again.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, suggested at a conference that the policy had had disastrous results.

He said the remaining beds are now 'overly pressurised' and more should be made available to ease hospitals' workloads.

There were around 130,000 hospital beds available in March last year, compared to 144,000 in 2010. The Daily Mail

Flu outbreak battering Australia is on its way to the UK, experts fear

Flu outbreak battering Australia is on its way to the UK, experts fear Shock figures show 93,000 have already caught influenza this year in the nation - seven times more than the entirety of 2018, according to figures from the Australian government. The Daily Mail