Northamptonshire councillors to dig deep into county budget but admit it looks ‘better than previous years’

Northamptonshire councillors to dig deep into county budget but admit it looks ‘better than previous years’ A committee tasked with scrutinising the county council’s budget has said that it appears to be ‘more robust’ than in recent years – but that they would still be digging deep into it.

Last week saw Northamptonshire County Council unveil its draft budget for the 2020/21 financial year. It includes £23 million of cuts to department services – the bulk of which is in adult social services – and proposes a council tax increase of 3.99 per cent inclusive of a social care precept. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Case study: Tackling mental health in general practice

Case study: Tackling mental health in general practice People experiencing low-level mental distress, such as bereavement or anxiety, make up a significant proportion of patients seen in general practice. Often there is little a GP can do beyond medication to support people with mental health needs, especially if they do not meet the threshold for referral to secondary care mental health services. Primary Care Commissioning

Plugging the leaks in the UK care home industry: strategies for solving the financial crisis in the residential and nursing home sector

Plugging the leaks in the UK care home industry: strategies for solving the financial crisis in the residential and nursing home sector This report identifies where each pound that goes into the care home industry ends up by using a forensic study of the accounts of over 830 adult care home companies, including the 26 largest providers. If finds significant levels of leakage of money from front-line care, including to profit, rental bills and debt repayments. The companies examined have a combined income of £10.4bn, representing 68 per cent of the total estimated market value for independent providers in 2017. Centre for Health and the Public Interest

General election 2019: Labour vows to outspend Tories on the NHS

General election 2019: Labour vows to outspend Tories on the NHS Labour is promising to spend more on the NHS in England than the Tories if it wins the general election.

The NHS budget would rise to £155bn by 2023-24 - £6bn more than the government promised the front-line budget would reach by that stage when it set out its five-year plan last year.

Labour said the money would cut waiting times and boost mental health services.

But the Tories said Labour's plan for a shorter working week would eat into the funding due to the need for more staff. BBC News

See also:

• Labour pledges a step-change in NHS funding after almost a decade of austerity The Health Foundation
• The King's Fund responds to Labour’s pledge to boost health care funding The King's Fund
• Labour’s pledge to spend more on NHS a ‘significant extra investment’ NHS Confederation
• Nigel Edwards responds to Labour's 'NHS Rescue Plan' Nuffield Trust
• General practice is a 'big ticket' issue for General Election – but GPs and patients will want swift action from new government, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• General election 2019: Tory plan to attract more NHS staff from abroad BBC News
• Battle for the NHS: Jeremy Corbyn promises another £26BILLION for the NHS funded by 'tax on the rich' - as Tories point out Labour's four-day working week would make running health service impossible The Daily Mail
• How will Labour put an extra £26bn into the NHS by 2024?  The Guardian
• Labour vows to outspend Tories with £26bn ‘rescue’ plan for NHS The Guardian
• Labour pledges £26bn NHS rescue plan amid warnings of ‘year round crisis’ The Independent
• Are Labour’s plans for NHS spending all they seem? The Independent
• Could a post-Brexit trade deal with the US cost the NHS £500 million a week? ITV News

Project Nightingale: Google accesses trove of US patient data

Project Nightingale: Google accesses trove of US patient data Google has gained access to a huge trove of US patient data - without the need to notify those patients - thanks to a deal with a major health firm.

The scheme, dubbed Project Nightingale, was agreed with Ascension, which hopes to develop artificial intelligence tools for doctors.

Google can access health records, names and addresses without telling patients, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.

Google said it was "standard practice". BBC News

I'm one of many NHS doctors to experience racism from patients - but it's not as simple as just refusing treatment

I'm one of many NHS doctors to experience racism from patients - but it's not as simple as just refusing treatment As I listened to the harrowing interview of a senior surgeon working in the NHS, questioning his sense of self-worth on national telly and reconsidering his position in the NHS after pouring his “blood, sweat and tears” into the system for decades, I felt tears trickle down my cheeks. I felt his pain deep in the pit of my gut. This is still happening. Racism in the NHS is continuing to hurt and drive away some of our best. It has to stop. iNews

Frank Dobson obituary

Frank Dobson obituary Former Labour health secretary and candidate in the London mayoral election of 2000

The former health secretary Frank Dobson, who has died aged 79, devoted his lifetime in politics to giving practical effect to the socialist principles he had always held and from which he never deviated. He described himself as a member of the “sane left” within the Labour party and took immense pride in having secured extra funding for the National Health Service during his time in charge of an institution he regarded as truly emblematic of a caring society. The Guardian

HIV rates rise FIVE-FOLD in a decade among menopausal women

HIV rates rise FIVE-FOLD in a decade among menopausal women HIV rates are rising among middle-aged women in England because of unprotected sex, according to researchers.

A study found the number of women aged between 45 and 56 who needed HIV treatment is five times higher than it was a decade ago.

Women in this age bracket may be going through, or have already been through, the menopause, which means they're unlikely to get pregnant.

They're still vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, however, and experts suggest recklessness when it comes to contraception may be partly to blame. The Daily Mail

See also:

• PRIME (Positive Transitions Through the Menopause) Study: a protocol for a mixed-methods study investigating the impact of the menopause on the health and well-being of women living with HIV in England (open access) BMJ Open
• PRIME Study, Menopause in Women Living with HIV in the UK HIV Outcomes
• Older women with HIV up five-fold in ten years Metro