Age UK might have to close centres in Northamptonshire if funding is axed

Age UK might have to close centres in Northamptonshire if funding is axed Age UK Northamptonshire has said they might have to close some of their day centres if their funding is not renewed by Northamptonshire County Council.

Age UK runs seven day centres across the county for more than 300 individual elderly people every week - 63 per cent of those people have an informal carer at home. Northamptonshire Telegraph

New domestic abuse strategy to help tackle violence in Northamptonshire

New domestic abuse strategy to help tackle violence in Northamptonshire A new domestic abuse strategy has been developed to help tackle violence in communities across Northamptonshire.

The strategy brings together and builds on the work being done by agencies and voluntary groups to deal with domestic abuse and sexual violence. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

World Mental Health Day: These Northamptonshire services can be used without seeing a doctor first

World Mental Health Day: These Northamptonshire services can be used without seeing a doctor first

In recognition of World Mental Health Day, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is sharing information about their services which can be accessed by the person in need. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Delivering general practice with too few GPs

Delivering general practice with too few GPs With an increasing number of GPs leaving clinical practice or working part time, and many practices unable to fill vacant GP posts, this briefing presents some ideas on how general practice can continue to be provided as the shortage of GPs becomes chronic. Nuffield Trust

RCP publishes guide to integrated care and the NHS Long Term Plan

RCP publishes guide to integrated care and the NHS Long Term Plan The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has published a guide for physicians on what they need to know about implementing the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) to deliver more integrated care.

Integrating care is something physicians have been grappling with for decades. By integrated care we mean seamless, coordinated and locally designed care that puts patients at the centre of service organisation. It considers their needs in a holistic way, and develops high-quality services that meet those needs in settings accessible and convenient for patients.

NHS taskforce to drive improvements in young people’s hospital mental health, learning disability and autism care

NHS taskforce to drive improvements in young people’s hospital mental health, learning disability and autism care NHS chief Simon Stevens has announced that a new taskforce will be set up to improve current specialist children and young people’s inpatient mental health, autism and learning disability services in England. NHS England

Health visiting in England: a vision for the future

Health visiting in England: a vision for the future This report was developed in response to the government’s request for stakeholder engagement to inform their plans to refresh the health visiting model for England and the Healthy Child Programme, and taking into account the drop in numbers of health visitors over the past four years. It sets out a new model of health visiting and has a particular focus on fifteen areas where health visiting can have a high impact on health outcomes. Institute of Health Visiting

Employers must embed mental wellbeing in a supportive culture

Employers must embed mental wellbeing in a supportive culture Employers must do more to protect the mental health of staff, the British Medical Association (BMA) has demanded. It is calling for staff wellbeing to be embedded into the organisational culture, for an end to stigma around mental health problems and for spaces where staff may rest and socialise. OnMedica

See also:

• Mental health and wellbeing in the medical profession British Medical Association

England sees 'worst summer on record' for A&E waits

England sees 'worst summer on record' for A&E waits This summer was the worst for A&E waiting times in England since the four-hour target was introduced.

Analysis by BBC Newsnight and the Nuffield Trust found an average of 86% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged from A&E within four hours in the six months to September.

This is the worst performance in that period since the 95% target was brought in in 2004. BBC News

See also:

• NHS combined performance summary NHS England
• Combined Performance Summary: August–September 2019 Nuffield Trust
• Nuffield Trust response to today's NHS performance figures Nuffield Trust
• Is it becoming winter all year round for the NHS? Nuffield Trust
• NHS crisis: Waiting list for routine ops hits record high at 4.41 million The Daily Mail

'Unacceptable' delays in diagnosing secondary breast cancer

'Unacceptable' delays in diagnosing secondary breast cancer One in four patients with secondary breast cancer had to visit their GP three or more times before they got a diagnosis, a survey suggests.

A breast cancer charity said there should be more awareness that the disease can spread to other parts of the body.

GPs said they were doing their best for patients but symptoms could be difficult to spot. BBC News

See also:

• GPs are highly trained to spot cancer – but need more diagnostics and time with their patients, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners 
• Thousands with incurable breast cancer 'have at least three GP visits before being diagnosed' The Daily Mail
• Quarter of women with incurable breast cancer sees GP at least three times before diagnosis The Daily Telegraph
• Thousands of women suffering 'avoidable' delays with diagnosis of incurable breast cancer, study finds The Independent

The grief over my daughter's suicide never ends, but I can help other junior doctors

The grief over my daughter's suicide never ends, but I can help other junior doctors As a doctor myself I know how isolating this job can be, which is why I am raising awareness of mental wellbeing at my trust

I first heard of my daughter Lauren’s disappearance in the early hours of the morning on 1 March 2017. Her car was found abandoned near a beach in Devon after she had been reported missing from her job in the A&E department of a NHS trust.

I remember suddenly feeling old, helpless and awfully afraid. Lauren was 26 and in her third year as a junior doctor in the south-west of England; I am a senior hospital doctor, approaching retirement and working in the midlands. It took only days to come to the inescapable but shocking conclusion that Lauren had taken her own life. Something I thought was unthinkable and only happened to other people had happened to me. The Guardian

NHS doctor may leave UK over refusal of permission to remain for mother

NHS doctor may leave UK over refusal of permission to remain for mother Top child psychiatrist appeals to Johnson over Home Office’s ‘almost callous’ decision

A leading children’s psychiatrist plans to quit the NHS and move to Australia because of the Home Office’s “almost callous” refusal to let his mother stay in Britain.

Dr Nishchint Warikoo, the lead psychiatrist for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Hampshire, said he and his family were being “forced to leave” the UK in order to stay together. The Guardian

Britain's obesity crisis costs every taxpayer £400 a year, and cuts life expectancy by almost three years

Britain's obesity crisis costs every taxpayer £400 a year, and cuts life expectancy by almost three years Britain's obesity crisis is costing every taxpayer more than £400 a year - and taking an average of three lives off our lives, international research shows.

Experts said the study of 52 countries by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was a “alarm call” about the scale of the damage caused by bulging waistlines. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• The Heavy Burden of Obesity: The Economics of Prevention Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

A third of England's 10 and 11 year olds are overweight, reveals shocking new figures

A third of England's 10 and 11 year olds are overweight, reveals shocking new figures England's 10 and 11 year olds are fatter than ever before, according to NHS figures that have today laid bare the nation's obesity crisis.

A third of children in Year Six are overweight, and almost a quarter – around 150,000 youngsters – are deemed obese or severely obese.

Children in poor areas such as Wolverhampton are four times more likely to be obese than those residing in Richmond or other affluent places, the data showed. The Daily Mail

See also:

• National Child Measurement Programme - England, 2016-17 NHS Digital
• Severe obesity among children aged 10 to 11 at record high The Guardian