Tuesday 17 September 2019

Kettering hospital's baby screening service given 22 recommendations for improvement

Kettering hospital's baby screening service given 22 recommendations for improvement Assessors have given Kettering General Hospital's antenatal and newborn screening department a list of key recommendations to help improve services.

Public Health England quality assurance inspectors assessed the Rothwell Road hospital for the first time in five years to check to standard of screening programmes that forewarn parents if there could be something wrong with their baby.

The hospital was found to be meeting targets but was told to improve in several areas. Northamptonshire Telegraph

New targets mustn’t distract from the fact that NHS performance this year has seen a sharp decline

New targets mustn’t distract from the fact that NHS performance this year has seen a sharp decline Responding to the latest NHS performance figures, Professor John Appleby, Chief Economist at the Nuffield Trust said:

"These figures confirm that this year has seen an alarming slump in NHS performance against important targets. This summer was no exception, showing little sign of reprieve for staff and patients, with 6% more people turning up at A&E in August compared to last year. Over the last 6 months there has been on average over 60,000 more people waiting more than 4 hours in A&E per month compared to last year."

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A&E attendances twice as high for people in the most deprived areas

A&E attendances twice as high for people in the most deprived areas There were more than twice as many attendances to Accident and Emergency departments in England for the 10% of the population living in the most deprived areas (3.1 million), compared with the least deprived 10% (1.5 million) in 2018-19, according to official figures released today.

NHS Digital’s Hospital Accident and Emergency Activity 2018/19, created in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, also shows that attendances for the 20% of the population living in the most deprived areas accounted for 27% of all A&E attendances (5.9 million attendances).

Patient safety and the importance of a just culture

Patient safety and the importance of a just culture The first annual World Patient Safety Day urges people to show their commitment to making healthcare safer. For over 130 years the MDU has helped doctors when things go wrong when treating patients. We have had the opportunity to see first-hand what works well in promoting safer patient care and what does not.

In our contribution to World Patient Safety Day we look at the fundamental importance of getting organisational culture right - moving the focus from blaming an individual to working out why that person, within the system, was not able to deliver the safest care possible. MDU

Nurse numbers rise 'eclipsed by jump in patients'

Nurse numbers rise 'eclipsed by jump in patients' The rise in hospital nurses in England has been dwarfed by a jump in patients, a study suggests.

The Royal College of Nursing research points to data showing the nurse workforce has increased by 4.6% in five years.

But hospital admissions have jumped by 12.3% - nearly three times the rate.

The union says this shows more needs to be done to ensure safe staffing, but the government says the rising NHS budget will ensure high-quality care. BBC News

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PCNs who achieve targets 'further' and 'faster' to receive extra funding

PCNs who achieve targets 'further' and 'faster' to receive extra funding NHS England has unveiled new financial incentives for primary care networks (PCNs) who meet certain targets ahead of others.

In a letter sent last week to stakeholders, NHS England revealed that networks who will complete the national service requirements 'further' and 'faster' will be offered additional funding. Pulse

Prostate drug may slow Parkinson's disease

Prostate drug may slow Parkinson's disease A drug used to treat enlarged prostates may be a powerful medicine against Parkinson's disease, according to an international team of scientists.

Terazosin helps ease benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by relaxing the muscles of the bladder and prostate.

But researchers believe it has another beneficial action, on brain cells damaged by Parkinson's.

They say the drug might slow Parkinson's progression - something that is not possible currently. BBC News

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NHS errors: Tools left in patients and amputation errors make list of blunders

NHS errors: Tools left in patients and amputation errors make list of blunders More than 600 patients have suffered due to serious NHS errors, including botched hysterectomies and surgeons operating on the wrong patient.

A total of 629 "never events" - meaning they are so serious they should never happen - occurred between April 2018 and July 2019 in NHS hospitals - the equivalent of nine patients every week. Sky News

Britons keep quiet about pain to avoid annoying others, survey claims

Britons keep quiet about pain to avoid annoying others, survey claims Millions of people in the UK do not speak up when they are in pain because they do not want to annoy others, a new poll claims.

A survey of 2,000 adults by Nurofen found participants experience two headaches a week on average, with one in five admitting this has led to emotional distress.

And one fifth have taken time off work due to back pain. The Independent

Mothers to be told they can harvest breast milk and store it in NHS hospital for first time

Mothers to be told they can harvest breast milk and store it in NHS hospital for first time Expectant mothers are being given breast milk harvesting packs and encouraged to store their milk in NHS hospital freezers for the first time.

The packs, which include a syringe to store the extracted colostrum - the first breast milk produced during pregnancy - are being provided by East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust. The Daily Telegraph