Rushden specialist 51-bed short-term care centre facing closure as West Northants Council look to drop facility A 51-bed Rushden care home that provides short stay re-ablement and respite could close after a funding row between the county’s unitary councils.
After the break-up of Northamptonshire County Council (NCC), two care home facilities in the north of the county were taken on by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC). Northamptonshire Telegraph
Twitter quietly drops policy preventing sharing of COVID-19 misinformation Twitter has quietly dropped its policy preventing the sharing of false or misleading information about COVID-19.
Under the policy, tweets containing misleading information about the disease could be given a label including corrective information about the claim. Sky News
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Will it ever be possible to look out, not up? Learning from past reviews of local and national NHS relationships The upcoming review into integrated care systems will not in any way be the first time that the relationship between national organisations and local NHS trusts and commissioners has been assessed. Helen Buckingham considers the lessons that need to be learned from the past, and suggests some important questions that the review may want to think about. Nuffield Trust
Increase in number of people in contact with NHS mental health services in England The number of people in contact with1 NHS mental health services in England (including those referred and those seen) has increased by 16.2% in the last year. NHS Digital
Human rights of mental health patients violated amid crisis in care, regulator warns The human rights of vulnerable mental health patients are being violated because of the crisis in care, a regulator has warned.
Rob Behrens, the health service ombudsman for England, said urgent action was needed over repeated “tragedies” in NHS mental health services.
His warning comes as the latest NHS figures show there were 9,839 incidents of abuse against mental health patients from April 2021 to March this year – a higher figure than in any other sector. The Independent
NHS creates £1.3bn pot for Covid compensation claims The NHS has set aside £1.3 billion to cope with compensation claims arising from the pandemic this year with claims for treatment delays, cancellations and misdiagnosis expected.
An annual report from NHS Resolution, which deals with patient disputes, shows that the health service anticipates it will need to pay out more than a billion pounds this financial year to settle claims arising from poor service during Covid. The Daily Telegraph
Revealed: The GP surgeries in Northampton with the best, and worst, ratings for appointment waiting times Patients at some doctor’s surgeries in Northampton have to wait far longer for appointments than at others, NHS figures show. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
We need innovation, improvement and implementation more than ever – but how? Despair comes easily in health and social care these days. From the daily headlines about crowded hospitals and growing ambulance delays to the underlying investment gap in workforce and infrastructure. Services are struggling to keep up with current demand, never mind get on a sustainable path to meet future expectations.
It’s time for some (cautious) optimism, however. Millions of people still receive great, timely care every day, thanks to the huge efforts made by staff across the UK. It's easy to miss this achievement among all the difficulties we face. And making progress on innovation and improvement is now more important than ever, not just to enhance the services we have today but also to create the services we need tomorrow. The Health Foundation
They died suddenly - then the anti-vax trolling started "Seven days, 18 hours, 39 minutes ago my beloved... died suddenly of cardiac arrest". When Victoria Brownworth logged onto Twitter to post these words about her partner of 23 years, she didn't know that two of them in particular would provoke a storm of online harassment.
Because, as Victoria waited at her home in Philadelphia on Sunday night for her wife's ashes to be delivered, a video titled Died Suddenly was about to drop.
In an hour and eight minutes of dramatic music and out-of-context news reports, the film tells a fictitious story of a dangerous vaccine killing off swathes of young people - all part of an imagined plot to depopulate the earth. BBC News
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Ministers consider staff body cameras to tackle NHS mental health abuse scandals Ministers are considering the use of body cameras within mental health units as part of the government’s response to NHS abuse scandals, The Independent has learned.
Senior sources with knowledge of the conversation between the Department for Health and Social Care and the NHS have raised concerns about the plans. There are fears that using the technology in mental health units could have implications for human rights and patient confidentiality.
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Northamptonshire Health Trust runners-up at prestigious awards Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) finished as runners up in the Trust of the Year category at the prestigious Health Service Journal Awards 2022.
Chief Executive of the Trust, Angela Hillery, said being shortlisted for Trust of the Year was testament to the dedication of “brilliant colleagues” who have all played their part in helping the Trust to become a leading provider of outstanding compassionate care. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
NHS figures reveal more than 200 ‘bed blockers’ a day kept waiting to be discharged from Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital More than 200 'bed blockers' were waiting to be discharged from Northamptonshire’s two main NHS hospitals every day on average last month, new figures show.
NHS England figures identified more than 15 percent of the 1,400 beds at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital which could be ready for new patients — but nearly a third of those ready to be discharged must stay in because of pressure on the social care system outside. Northamptonshire Telegraph
NHS ‘needs thousands more staff to meet cost of living crisis demands’ NHS therapy services won’t be able to manage increased demand driven by the cost of a living crisis as they are already thousands of therapists short, The Independent has been told.
NHS counselling services in England are not meeting therapy access targets due to a shortfall of 2,000 workers, according to sources.
March with Midwives back on streets of Northampton warning of ‘state of emergency’ in maternity services Midwives, parents and campaigners were out in force in Northampton town centre on Sunday (November 20) declaring a “state of emergency” in maternity services.
The ‘March with Midwives’ was one of a series of events nationwide aimed at raising awareness of staff shortages and lack of funding in the sector.
Organisers said the first March, last November, carried the message that ‘enough is enough.’ But one said: “Nothing has really changed in 12 months, in fact it’s probably got worse.” Northamptonshire Telegraph
Northamptonshire’s NHS spend on agency staff predicted to hit almost £50m this year Spending on agency staff across the county’s three NHS trusts to fill vacant posts is hugely over budget, with the figure projected to hit just under £50m.
Just five months into the financial year the county’s integrated care board (ICB) has reported the NHS trusts that run the county’s two general hospitals and the mental health and community services have spent £20.7m on agency staff and predicts that amount will have reached £49m by next March. NN Journal
EMAS pledges new ambulances and more call handlers to cope with winter period, plus Northamptonshire specific projects The ambulance provider for Northamptonshire is pledging new ambulances and more call handlers to help cope with the pressures of the busy winter period.
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) says the winter months are traditionally one of the busiest times of year for the NHS due to increases in flu cases and cold weather-related illnesses such as trips and falls. Northamptonshire Telegraph
