There are 59 people in Northants wishing for one thing this Christmas

There are 59 people in Northants wishing for one thing this Christmas For 59 Northamptonshire people and their families, there will be only one thing on their Christmas wishlist this year as they wait for an organ transplant.

NHS Blood and Transplant is urging families in Northamptonshire to talk about their decision on organ donation when they get together over the festive season, so their loved ones know what they want when they die. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Five hits, five misses: public and population health and the main party manifestos

Five hits, five misses: public and population health and the main party manifestos Reading manifestos is a double-edged pleasure for a policy wonk, hoping to find evidence of ‘their stuff’ while fearing its absence. The lot of a public health policy wonk is a particularly trying one because we need to look more widely, beyond the NHS (and sometimes social care) sections, to get a sense of how policies might have an impact on the population’s health. The King's Fund

‘Hospital mergers increase death and harm’? Not so fast…

‘Hospital mergers increase death and harm’? Not so fast… In February 2019 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a working paper on the impact of hospital competition on rates of patient harm in the English NHS. The Health Foundation examined the central conclusion of the CMA paper – that the research provides ‘further empirical evidence that competition ultimately benefits patients’ – finding that this cannot be substantiated from the analysis. This working paper outlines how more rigorous well-designed research is needed to measure the impact of competition on the quality of care. Health Foundation

Stopping the staff we need? Migration choices in the 2019 general election

Stopping the staff we need? Migration choices in the 2019 general election This briefing looks back at how migrants and migration policy have shaped the care workforce across the UK in recent decades, drawing on new figures obtained from the Office for National Statistics. It assesses the risks different parties’ policies pose and how these could be addressed to ensure that we do not stop the staff we need. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• One in four NHS hospital staff were born outside the UK, analysis reveals The Daily Mail
• Both Labour and Tory migration plans 'would worsen NHS staffing' The Guardian
• NHS staff crisis 'would worsen' under both Tory and Labour governments Metro

State of the nation’s health in 2018 shown in new report

State of the nation’s health in 2018 shown in new report The latest figures for the Health Survey for England have been released by NHS Digital, monitoring trends in the nation’s health and featuring new data on gambling, asthma and longstanding conditions.

Opportunities to embed sexual and reproductive healthcare services into new models of care: a practical guide for commissioners and service providers

Opportunities to embed sexual and reproductive healthcare services into new models of care: a practical guide for commissioners and service providers More than 50 strategies and operational plans were reviewed for this report, with results showing that few areas have explicitly recognised the opportunity to embed sexual and reproductive health care services in their plans. Other areas of sexual and reproductive health such as psychosexual services and menopause were not present in the majority of plans. Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare

Lack of social care has led to 2.5 million lost bed days in the NHS between the last Election and this one

Lack of social care has led to 2.5 million lost bed days in the NHS between the last Election and this one Over the same period these ‘social care delayed discharges’ have cost the NHS a total of £587 million, or £27,000 each and every hour

During the 917 days between the last General Election on 8th June 2017 and the upcoming Election on 12th December 2019, new Age UK analysis finds that lost bed days in the NHS due to a lack of social care will have topped the 2.5 million mark.

The cost to the NHS of our national failure to reform and refinance social care over this period is £587 million overall, equivalent to £640,000 every day, or £27,000 every hour, the Charity says.

See also:

• 2.5million NHS bed days have been lost since the last election The Daily Mail
• One in eight care homes closes amid growing crisis in social care The Daily Telegraph

Air pollution in worst hit areas as deadly as smoking over 150 cigarettes each year

Air pollution in worst hit areas as deadly as smoking over 150 cigarettes each year People living in areas of the country that are worst affected by air pollution have an increased risk of death that is on average the equivalent to smoking over 150 cigarettes a year, the British Heart Foundation has warned.

The new analysis of data comes as we urge the next government to urgently adopt into law tougher World Health Organisation (WHO) air pollution limits.

The UK currently subscribes to EU limits on levels of fine particulate matter called PM2.5, which are not as stringent as those set by the WHO. This fine particulate matter is the most dangerous kind of air pollution, with the smallest particles finding their way into the circulatory system when inhaled.

See also:

• Breathing London air is 'like smoking 160 cigarettes a year' The Daily Mail
• City air pollution is equivalent of smoking 150 cigarettes a year The Daily Telegraph
• Breathing London air same as smoking 150 cigarettes a year, experts warn The Independent

Mentally ill 'spend months on hidden waiting list'

Mentally ill 'spend months on hidden waiting list' Patients with mental health problems are being left in limbo on "hidden" waiting lists by England's NHS talking therapy service, the BBC can reveal.

The service - called Improving Access to Psychological Therapies - provides therapy, such as counselling, to adults with conditions like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

It starts seeing nine in 10 patients within the target time of six weeks.

But that masks the fact many then face long waits for regular treatment.

Half of patients waited over 28 days, and one in six longer than 90 days, between their first and second sessions in the past year. BBC News

Seizures of illegal diazepam tablets double in a year

Seizures of illegal diazepam tablets double in a year The number of illegal diazepam tablets seized entering the UK has more than doubled in a year, figures obtained by the Victoria Derbyshire programme show.

Some 1.3 million were intercepted in the postal system by the UK's Border Force in 2018, up from 545,000 in 2017.

Doctors warn the authenticity of diazepam bought online cannot be trusted. It is illegal to possess without a prescription. BBC News

General election 2019: How many 'new' NHS hospitals are Conservatives building?

General election 2019: How many 'new' NHS hospitals are Conservatives building? The Conservatives have repeatedly pledged to build 40 new NHS hospitals.

The party's manifesto says they are proud "to have begun work on building 40 new hospitals across the country".

"We will build and fund" them, it adds, "over the next 10 years."

The pledge has been questioned throughout the election campaign. Is it certain that all 40 will be built? Will they be creating new beds and additional capacity or just replacing existing facilities? BBC News

Two patients die after hospitals ignore key safety warning

Two patients die after hospitals ignore key safety warning Two patients have died as a result of NHS hospitals failing to heed warnings about the use of super-absorbent gel granules, which patients mistakenly eat thinking they are sweets or salt packets.

A national patient safety alert has been issued by NHS bosses to all hospitals, ambulance trusts and care homes instructing them to stop using the granules unless in exceptional circumstances. The Independent

See also:

• Risk of death and severe harm from ingesting superabsorbent polymer gel granules (2019) NHS Improvement

Leaked NHS document reveals government plan to use cheaper staff to fill nurse vacancies

Leaked NHS document reveals government plan to use cheaper staff to fill nurse vacancies A leaked NHS document reveals that plans to grow the number of nurses rely on using 10,000 cheaper and less qualified staff.

Even then, the health service will still be more than 20,000 nurses short of what is needed in five years’ time, according to the file seen by the Health Service Journal and The Independent, for the as yet unpublished NHS People Plan.

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Law firm reports 180 new concerns about poor care

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Law firm reports 180 new concerns about poor care Lawyers acting for families affected by poor care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust say they have received almost 200 new enquiries since The Independent highlighted the findings of a leaked report last month.

More than 800 cases are now under investigation by midwife Donna Ockenden who herself issued an appeal last week for any families with concerns about their care at the Shropshire trust to come forward. The Independent

See also:

• Shrewsbury maternity scandal: NHS used report to create ‘false narrative’ on maternity services The Independent
• Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Hospital boss urges staff to be ‘mindful’ of harmed families and to find ‘common cause’ The Independent

Mental health: young people in crisis waiting hours for A&E help

Mental health: young people in crisis waiting hours for A&E help Thousands of young people undergoing a mental health crisis, including those who are potentially suicidal, are having to wait more than four hours for A&E care, NHS figures show.

Almost a fifth of the under-18s who seek A&E help in England for psychiatric problems such as depression and self-harm are not seen within the supposed maximum of four hours. The Guardian

Scientists develop a 'monthly' birth control that slowly releases doses

Scientists develop a 'monthly' birth control that slowly releases doses Women may finally get to delete their daily birth control alarms in exchange for once-a-month contraception, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new pill that slowly releases a contraceptive drug over the course of 29 days in tests using pigs.

This is accomplished in part through the innovative design of a capsule that slowly unfolds inside the stomach. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Once-a-month oral contraceptive pill in tests BBC News

NHS-backed online 'doctor bank' could save hospitals millions

NHS-backed online 'doctor bank' could save hospitals millions An online 'doctor bank' could save the NHS millions of pounds by plugging hospital staff shortages at the last minute.

The scheme hopes to create a catalogue of locum doctors, who are essentially freelancers, to fill shifts at major hospitals across the entire country.

Currently, hospitals trying to plug last-minute gaps in their rotas have to fork out up to £4,000 per shift by paying expensive agencies for staff at short notice.

But the Locum's Nest Digital Collaborative Bank claims it can dramatically cut costs for cash-strapped health boards. The Daily Mail