Northamptonshire elderly and homeless charities lose funding worth more than £1.5m

Northamptonshire elderly and homeless charities lose funding worth more than £1.5m More than £1.5m is being taken away from a dozen Northamptonshire charities which provide vital services to the over-65s, the vulnerable and the homeless.

Established organisations such as the Autumn Centre in Corby, Marlow House in Desborough and the Dostiyo Asian Women’s and Girls Association in Northampton have all been told that the funding given to them by Northamptonshire County Council as part of its £1.6m social wellbeing contract will come to an end in March. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Rats found at Northampton General Hospital four times, FOI reveals

Rats found at Northampton General Hospital four times, FOI reveals Over five years pest control experts have been called to Northampton General Hospital 127 times - and four of those times were for incidents involving rats.

An freedom of information request submitted to Northampton General Hospital (NGH) has revealed that the hospital has faced 127 incidents of pests on their premises in the past five years. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The strange politics of social care funding reform

The strange politics of social care funding reform When the current Prime Minister first stood on the steps of Downing Street, he promised to fix social care once and for all. Only a few weeks later, these plans have been relegated to being published ‘in due course’. At a recent breakfast event we hosted here at The King’s Fund, the phrase ‘in due course’ was greeted with laughter in the room. For those of us interested in social care funding reform, we have been waiting since 2017 for ‘in due course’ to have its moment by way of a promised Green Paper. Many of us have waited for 20 years for meaningful reform and are still waiting.

Fastest drop in smoking rates in over a decade as Stoptober launches

Fastest drop in smoking rates in over a decade as Stoptober launches The latest data from a national smoking study indicates adult smoking rates fell 2.2% from January to July 2019 - equivalent to 200 fewer smokers every hour. Public Health England

Policy briefing: social care funding and mental health

Policy briefing: social care funding and mental health This briefing explores what a fair and sustainable funding settlement for social care needs to look like in order to deliver parity of esteem for mental health and sufficient funding to support people of working age as well as those in later life. It reviews the current funding and provision of mental health social work for people of working age in England. It finds that mental health social work has a vital role in helping people to live independently and to secure their rights and dignity. Centre for Mental Health

Health care's climate footprint: how the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and opportunities for action

Health care's climate footprint: how the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and opportunities for action According to this report, if the global health care sector were a country it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet. The report finds health care’s footprint is equivalent to 4.4 per cent of global net emissions and that fossil fuel combustion makes up well over half of health care’s global climate footprint. The report makes the case for a transformation of the health care sector that aligns it with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees celsius. Health Care Without Harm

Finding good care home 'impossible' in some areas

Finding good care home 'impossible' in some areas High concentrations of substandard care homes in some areas leave families with no choice but to accept an under-performing home for older and disabled relatives, an analysis suggests.

Over a third of beds were in settings rated as not good enough in a sixth of areas, the think tank IPPR found. BBC News

Boris Johnson confronted on east London hospital visit

Boris Johnson confronted on east London hospital visit The prime minister was visiting a children's ward at Whipps Cross Hospital when he was approached by a father.

The man, who is also a Labour activist, told Boris Johnson that the ward was understaffed and the NHS was being destroyed.

A spokesman for the prime minister later said Mr Johnson was visiting public services to see for himself the reality of the situation. BBC News

See also:

• Boris Johnson 'glad' about new father's NHS confrontation BBC News
• Boris Johnson is confronted by angry parent on hospital visit The Daily Mail
• The harsh reality of underfunding at my hospital? Swept away for Johnson visit The Guardian
• 'The NHS has been destroyed': Boris Johnson confronted by father of sick child The Guardian
• Boris Johnson Confronted By Angry Parent In Hospital For 'Destroying' NHS Huffington Post UK 
• Boris Johnson supporters launch barrage of abuse at father who confronted PM over sick child The Independent
• Boris Johnson confronted by angry father on hospital visit: ‘The NHS has been destroyed’ The Independent
• Angry father tells Boris Johnson: 'The NHS has been destroyed' Sky News

84% of care home beds in England owned by private firms

84% of care home beds in England owned by private firms For-profit companies own 381,524 of England’s care home beds, thinktank finds

More than eight out of 10 care home beds are provided by profit-driven companies, including more than 50,000 by large operators owned by private equity firms, research reveals.

Private companies now own and run 84% of beds in care homes in England used by older people, as local councils have almost totally withdrawn from a key area of social care they used to dominate. The Guardian

Rogue online pharmacies face bans for selling powerful painkillers without meeting patients

Rogue online pharmacies face bans for selling powerful painkillers without meeting patients Online pharmacies face losing their licences if they don't stop selling dangerous drugs without carrying out patient background checks, a regulator has warned.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) today said it was taking 'robust action' against rogue pharmacies liberally selling prescription drugs online.

Some have been accused of selling addictive drugs such as opioid painkillers like tramadol and morphine after only asking patients to fill out online questionnaires. The Daily Mail

A quarter of NHS beds 'could be taken up by diabetic patients by 2030'

A quarter of NHS beds 'could be taken up by diabetic patients by 2030' More than a quarter of NHS hospital beds could be taken up by diabetic patients by 2030, according to forecasts.

A report by Diabetes UK last year estimated that one in four inpatients would have type 1 or type 2 diabetes as well as their main illness.

But there are concerns the figure is too conservative as the number of people developing the condition because they're obese continues to rise. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Hospitals spend £5billion a year on diabetes amid epidemic of the illness fuelled by soaring obesity The Daily Mail
• NHS spends £3 billion in 'avoidable' treatments for diabetes each year The Daily Telegraph
• NHS spends around £3bn a year on 'avoidable' treatment for diabetes ITV News