Thursday 25 July 2019

Patients are finding it harder and harder to see their preferred GP – does it matter?

Patients are finding it harder and harder to see their preferred GP – does it matter? With fewer people able to see their preferred GP according to a recent survey, Charlotte Paddison explores what impact seeing the same doctor can have on a patient’s health – and what it might mean for the NHS. Nuffield Trust

Emergency admissions to hospital from care homes: how often and what for?

Emergency admissions to hospital from care homes: how often and what for? Reducing emergency admissions from care homes has the potential to reduce pressure on hospitals. This is a significant national policy focus, as demonstrated by a strong commitment to improve support in care homes in the NHS Long Term Plan.

But to achieve change, we need to understand and monitor the quality of health care provided to residents, both to gauge the impact of national programmes and to help pinpoint areas of improvement. The Health Foundation

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Guidance: Health matters: whole systems approach to obesity

Guidance: Health matters: whole systems approach to obesity A professional resource for local authorities and their local systems partners on taking a whole systems approach to addressing obesity. Public Health England

Carers Action Plan 2018-2020: one-year on progress review

Carers Action Plan 2018-2020: one-year on progress review This report highlights the progress that has been made in increasing support for carers. The cross-government action plan was published in June 2018. It sets out the government’s commitment to supporting carers through 64 actions across five priorities. Department of Health and Social Care

    Patients encouraged to manage their appointments with NHS e-referral service

    Patients encouraged to manage their appointments with NHS e-referral service More referrals are being made electronically with the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). Using e-RS means practices have the chance to save time by helping patients manage their referral online. NHS Digital

    Health secretary announces £20m NHS young people careers funding - National Health Executive

    Health secretary announces £20m NHS young people careers funding The health and social care secretary has announced £20m funding to support 10,000 young people from all backgrounds to get a career in the NHS. This will be matched by £7m from the Prince’s Trust. National Health Executive

    Parents 'missing out on new baby health visits'

    Parents 'missing out on new baby health visits' About one in four new parents in England is not seeing a health visitor when their baby turns one, increasing the risk of mental health problems going unnoticed, the NSPCC says.

    The government has promised five home visits for every family - from pregnancy until the age of two.

    But cuts to local authority budgets and fewer health visitors were having an impact, the charity said. BBC News

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    Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust: Fake doctor medicated 164 patients

    Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Trust: Fake doctor medicated 164 patients A bogus psychiatrist prescribed medication to 164 patients at one mental health trust, the BBC has found.

    Zholia Alemi, jailed in 2018 for fraud, worked around the UK and for the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT), despite being unqualified.

    Norfolk and Suffolk mental health campaigners said it was "shocking" and called for a full external audit.

    NSFT said it carried out checks before appointing Alemi and had terminated her contract as a result of concerns. BBC News

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    CCGs 'concerned' core funding not enough to fund £1.50 for PCNs development

    CCGs 'concerned' core funding not enough to fund £1.50 for PCNs development CCGs fear they will not have sufficient resources to provide the £1.50 per head for primary care networks (PCNs), the CCG representative body has warned.

    NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHSCC) told Pulse that some of its members 'are concerned’ their existing allocations do not go 'far enough' to deliver the £1.50 per patient as mandated in the new five-year GP contract.

    ‘It’s 70 years since Windrush and we’re still fighting for top jobs’: the programme backing BME nurses

    ‘It’s 70 years since Windrush and we’re still fighting for top jobs’: the programme backing BME nurses NHS staff from BME backgrounds are more likely to face discrimination and bullying, and less likely to land senior roles

    Six months ago Aisha Okafor (not her real name), in her 30s, was ready to quit her job as a nurse and leave the NHS.

    “I got to the point where I thought [nursing] wasn’t for me anymore, where I forgot what I was doing here – which was to care and look after the service users. I was starting to lose that motivation,” she says.

    If you have more diversity, you're more likely to have inclusive patient care. The Guardian

    ‘I don’t think Erica would still be alive without a specialist learning disability doctor’

    ‘I don’t think Erica would still be alive without a specialist learning disability doctor’ | Saba Salman The UK’s first physician for those with complex needs could help save lives and reduce health inequalities

    The first doctor specialising in profound and multiple learning disabilities in the UK is set to be recruited later this year. Hull clinical commissioning group (CCG) took the decision to employ a specialist PMLD doctor to support adults with complex needs after the condition of a patient, Erica Carlin, improved dramatically following the care she had received for serious digestive and bowel problems from a palliative care doctor trained in learning disabilities. The Guardian

    GPs are misdiagnosing patients because appointments are too short 

    GPs are misdiagnosing patients because appointments are too short GPs say they are misdiagnosing patients because appointment slots are too short.

    A survey of family doctors found more than one in three said they had failed to properly diagnose cases because they did not have enough time to fully assess them.

    Typically, the time slot to see a patient is around 10 minutes. The Daily Telegraph

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    Expansion of 'GP by Skype' service risks worsening GP crisis

    Expansion of 'GP by Skype' service risks worsening GP crisis Plans to replace traditional GP appointments with virtual online doctors could 'fatally undermine' care for elderly patients, experts have warned.

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock has pledged to roll out a controversial scheme across the NHS – but there are fears it could 'cream off' young patients and increase the 'digital divide' in healthcare. The Daily Mail

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    Hospitals accused of 'gaming the system' by moving A&E patients to new day care units

    Hospitals accused of 'gaming the system' by moving A&E patients to new day care units Hospitals may be trying to 'game the system' to make A&E waiting times look shorter by moving patients to different departments, an investigation has found.

    The NHS has for years repeatedly failed to meet its own standard of treating or discharging nine out of 10 A&E patients within four hours.

    Health bosses recently confirmed that the target is being scrapped because many hospitals are unable to meet it. The Daily Mail

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