Award nomination for Northampton mental health nurse's podcast about life in a psychiatric hospital

Award nomination for Northampton mental health nurse's podcast about life in a psychiatric hospital A Northampton mental health nurse's podcast aimed at demystifying what life is like at a psychiatric hospital has been nominated for a national award.

On the Ward, hosted by John-Barry Waldron from St Andrew's Hospital, is on the shortlist for 'student innovation in practice' at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2020. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The risks of NHS reorganisation: lessons from history

The risks of NHS reorganisation: lessons from history With it reported that ministers might be considering a ‘power grab’ for the NHS, Nigel Edwards looks at lessons from the past that the government would do well to heed. Nuffield Trust

What can we learn from the updated GP contract?

What can we learn from the updated GP contract? Good news rarely makes the headlines. So, after the furore caused by draft service specifications for primary care networks (PCNs) and the rejection of the revised GP contract by GP leaders last month , the sudden outbreak of peace between the BMA and NHS England went relatively unnoticed. Here are four reasons why this is a significant moment. The King's Fund

New pharmacy referral service to help patients avoid hospital readmission

New pharmacy referral service to help patients avoid hospital readmission Patients who have recently been discharged from hospital will get greater support from local pharmacy teams to manage their medicines. Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Rapid spread raises fears of global pandemic

Coronavirus: Rapid spread raises fears of global pandemic Fears are growing that the coronavirus outbreak could reach pandemic scale as more cases emerge around the world.

Most infections are in China but other nations like South Korea, Italy and Iran are battling the virus, which causes respiratory disease Covid-19.

A pandemic is when an infectious disease spreads easily from person to person in many parts of the world.

About 77,000 people in China, where the virus emerged last year, have been infected and nearly 2,600 have died. BBC News

See also:

•  Coronavirus (COVID-19): latest information and advice Department of Health and Social Care
• NHS update on new cases of coronavirus confirmed today NHS England
• Coronavirus: how will the NHS cope? Nuffield Trust
• Coronavirus: Four new UK cases among ship evacuees BBC News
• Coronavirus: Venice Carnival closes as Italy imposes lockdown BBC News
• Coronavirus: South Korea declares highest alert as infections surge BBC News
• Coronavirus: North Korea quarantines foreigners BBC News
• Coronavirus: More to leave quarantine as cruise Britons isolate BBC News
• Coronavirus: 'Narrowing window' to contain outbreak, WHO says BBC News
• World is on the brink of a coronavirus pandemic, warn virologists, as four more cases emerge in Britain The Daily Telegraph
• Coronavirus: Scientists ‘pass first hurdle’ towards creating vaccine The Independent
• Europe death toll rises as outbreak nears pandemic ‘tipping point’, UK reports new cases and infection spreads in Middle East The Independent
• Coronavirus: Evacuees released from two-week quarantine in Milton Keynes Sky News

Painkillers 'mask, not kill' long-term pain

Painkillers 'mask, not kill' long-term pain Excessive use of painkillers is on the rise. Now the NHS in Sunderland, which has one of the highest prescribing rates, is running a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of long-term use.

Jazmine Allen, 23, who already has a 10-year history of using prescription painkillers, is taking part in the 'Painkillers Don't Exist' campaign - which aims to raise awareness that the medications can simply be masking the pain rather than "killing" it - and encouraging patients to seek support from their GPs. BBC News

Fall in school nurses prompts fears that children’s lives are ‘at risk’

Fall in school nurses prompts fears that children’s lives are ‘at risk’ The number of nurses in schools has fallen in recent years, prompting fears that pupils’ lives are being put “at risk”.

Teaching assistants are being asked to carry out medical interventions, such as injections, without adequate training or support, the GMB union, which represents school staff, has said. The Independent

See also:

• 'Lives at risk' as 11% of school nurses lost in just four years GMB Union

Tory cuts to councils making local patients’ groups ‘unviable’, health secretary warned

Tory cuts to councils making local patients’ groups ‘unviable’, health secretary warned Cuts to council budgets are making watchdog organisations for local patients “unviable”, the health secretary has been warned.

In a letter seen by The Independent, Sir Robert Francis QC, chair of Healthwatch England, said that funding to dozens of its branches, which are statutory bodies set up to champion patient interests locally, has been cut by 37 per cent since 2013.

Sir Robert, who chaired the public inquiry into the Stafford Hospital care scandal, told Matt Hancock that the cuts risked “stifling” the voices of patients across the country.

Hospital ‘bed blocking’ numbers hit highest level since 2017

Hospital ‘bed blocking’ numbers hit highest level since 2017 The number of patients stuck in hospitals because they could not be transferred is at its highest quarterly level since 2017, reversing years of progress amid ongoing crises in health and care services.

“Delayed transfers of care” – often known as “bed blocking” – rose in the mid-2010s as austerity hit council-run adult-care services, meaning hospitals were unable to discharge patients into the community.

The number of “delayed days” in the NHS increased from an average of 114,000 a month in 2012 to more than 200,000 in October 2016, before extra funding and higher council taxes brought the numbers back down. The Guardian

Nurses to carry out surgery under NHS plans to slash waiting times

Nurses to carry out surgery under NHS plans to slash waiting times Nurses will be trained to perform surgery under new NHS measures to cut waiting times.

Nursing staff will be urged to undertake a two year course to become “surgical care practitioners” as part of the drive to slash waiting times but critics have warned it will worsen the nursing shortage. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Nurses will be trained to perform surgery under radical plan to slash NHS waiting times The Daily Mail

Two MILLION more people could become diabetic by 2025

Two MILLION more people could become diabetic by 2025 A national obesity crisis could see another two million people become diabetic in the next five years.

The number of people with 'pre-diabetes' – those on the brink of type 2 diabetes and who must take urgent action – has leapt from an average of 1.3million to almost two million in only a year.

Already a sixth of the entire NHS hospitals budget is spent treating those with diabetes, which affects an estimated record four million people in Britain, costing taxpayers £14billion a year. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Two million in UK at risk of type 2 diabetes as obesity crisis grows The Guardian
• Record two million people at risk of type 2 diabetes amid ‘growing obesity crisis’ The Independent

Oxfordshire plans to become the first 'smoke-free' county in England

Oxfordshire plans to become the first 'smoke-free' county in England Oxfordshire is planning to become the first 'smoke-free' county in England as local health chiefs want to kick the habit by 2025.

Government officials hope to slash the number of people smoking in the UK to just five per cent of the population by 2030.

But Ansaf Azhar, the county council's director of public health, wants Oxfordshire to achieve the target in just five years' time. The Daily Mail