Friday 31 January 2020

Almost 400 ambulances waited outside Kettering hospital for more than one hour last month

Almost 400 ambulances waited outside Kettering hospital for more than one hour last month Kettering General Hospital says it is bringing in new measures to try and admit patients more quickly but 'it is not an easy problem to solve'. Almost 400 ambulances were kept waiting for more than an hour last month (December) to drop off their patients at Kettering General Hospital. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Rise in demand to blame for East Midlands ambulances experiencing long delays for serious incidents

Rise in demand to blame for East Midlands ambulances experiencing long delays for serious incidents East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) blamed a rise in demand after having the biggest percentage of long delays for serious incidents in the country. From the start of 2018 to September 2019, 12.8 per cent of calls deemed 'category two' emergencies in the East Midlands took more than an hour to get to, according to a Freedom of Information request by BBC News. Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Mental health placements to St Andrew's Healthcare suspended

Mental health placements to St Andrew's Healthcare suspended Placements for some Welsh mental health patients at a specialist care provider in England have been suspended.

St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton looks after patients for Welsh health boards but the Welsh Government said it was "under enhanced monitoring".

The charity said it was "confident" it could resolve any concerns quickly. It comes as the family of a patient from Carmarthenshire said they had sought legal advice over concerns about her care. BBC News

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Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop wellness products condemned by NHS chief

Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop wellness products condemned by NHS chief Simon Stevens says people are wasting money and taking risks because of misleading claims. Gwyneth Paltrow’s range of wellness products has been criticised by the head of NHS England who warns that one of the recommended procedures poses a considerable health risk.

At an event in Oxford, Sir Simon Stevens said people were wasting their money or taking risks with their health by falling for the lure of “too good to be true” wellness products and cures and singled out the actor’s brand Goop for specific criticism. He said: “Myths and misinformation have been put on steroids by the availability of misleading claims online.” The Guardian

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Detailed guide: Coronavirus: latest information and advice

Detailed guide: Coronavirus: latest information and advice Information for the public on the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms. Gov.UK - Public Health England

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Late diagnosis of lung cancer hitting survival rate, study says

Late diagnosis of lung cancer hitting survival rate, study says As many as 56% of people in some parts of England are only diagnosed when they visit A&E. People with lung cancer are dying after being diagnosed late in A&E because their GP missed signs of the disease despite often repeated visits, experts have revealed.

As many as 56% of people in some parts of England who get lung cancer are only diagnosed when they visit A&E, according to a report by the UK Lung Cancer Coalition. The Guardian

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West Suffolk Hospital staff 'feared raising concerns', says CQC

West Suffolk Hospital staff 'feared raising concerns', says CQC Staff at a hospital accused of conducting a "witch-hunt" to identify a whistleblower felt a lack of "freedom to speak up", a report has said.

The husband of Susan Warby, who died at West Suffolk Hospital in 2018, received an anonymous letter about her care.

Bosses asked doctors for fingerprints and handwriting samples to discover the author. The trust has since apologised.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the leadership "did not demonstrate an open and empowering culture". BBC News

Artificial intelligence-created medicine to be used on humans for first time

Artificial intelligence-created medicine to be used on humans for first time A drug molecule "invented" by artificial intelligence (AI) will be used in human trials in a world first for machine learning in medicine.

It was created by British start-up Exscientia and Japanese pharmaceutical firm Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. The drug will be used to treat patients who have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Typically, drug development takes about five years to get to trial, but the AI drug took just 12 months. BBC News - Technology

NHS England will 'significantly rework' draft PCN plans, officials confirm

NHS England will 'significantly rework' draft PCN plans, officials confirm NHS England is drawing up ‘a significantly reworked set of service specifications’ for primary care networks (PCNs), officials have confirmed, just weeks after controversial draft plans left the future of networks in doubt.GP Online

How-to guide: non face-to-face clinics

How-to guide: non face-to-face clinics UCL Partners - This guide, developed in collaboration with NHS clinicians, managers and patients, provides a comprehensive guide to setting up non-face-to-face clinics (also known as virtual clinics). These can help reduce unnecessary outpatient visits, saving time and money for patients and the health service. The NHS aims to avoid up to a third of the number of face-to-face outpatient visits over five years, removing the need for up to 30 million outpatient appointments each year. The guide is free to use, delivered through both text and videos and includes how to develop a project plan and business case. King's Fund - Health Management And Policy Alert

What people want from the next ten years of the NHS

What people want from the next ten years of the NHS When the NHS Long Term Plan was published in January 2019 Healthwatch England was asked to engage people across the country about how people wanted the priorities to be implemented locally. NHS Networks

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