Northampton mental health hospital responds to data revealing 58 allegations of assault made against staff

Northampton mental health hospital responds to data revealing 58 allegations of assault made against staff A mental health hospital in Northampton has responded to data revealing that 86 safeguarding concerns were reported to West Northamptonshire Council in the space of a year.

A Freedom of Information Request was submitted to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) regarding safeguarding at St Andrew’s Healthcare, situated on Billing Road. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Putting patients first: championing good practice in combatting digital health inequalities

Putting patients first: championing good practice in combatting digital health inequalities This report focuses on digital health inequalities and the impact that digital exclusion is having on health in the UK. It highlights different reasons for disparities in a person’s ability to access and use digital health technology and provides insights into the severity of the UK’s digital inequalities. The report also looks at four case studies demonstrating unique ways to combat digital health inequalities and improve access, and use of digital health technology for patients. Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health

Millions suffer poor care due to overstretched NHS and social care staff

Millions suffer poor care due to overstretched NHS and social care staff New polling from Engage Britain shows that one in four adults say they, or an immediate family member, have received poor NHS care due to workforce problems.

The People’s Panel brought together 100 people to consider the health and care challenges being faced by the British public.

The Panel was then tasked with prioritising the issues raised. It found workforce issues to be the most pressing problem facing the country.

It also stressed the need to improve how patients are treated, along with more support for mental health issues and healthcare prevention rather than cure.

See also:

• NHS patients ‘feel stressed’ over treatment waiting times, with GP and hospital delays the commonest causes iNews

The impact of dementia on women: how women are disproportionately affected across their lives and what needs to change.

The impact of dementia on women: how women are disproportionately affected across their lives and what needs to change Dementia became the leading cause of death for UK women in 2011. Two in three people with dementia (65 per cent) are women, and longer life expectancy alone does not explain this disparity. Women are also more likely to care for a loved one with dementia – making up around two thirds of unpaid carers. Yet across medical research, data from women is too often missing. And in the lab, female dementia researchers are less likely to move into senior roles than men. 

This report calls for action to tackle dementia’s disproportionate impact on women and to ensure women can make a full contribution to research, both as participants and as researchers. Alzheimer's Research UK

Levelling up dementia diagnosis: Tackling variations in diagnosis rates in England

Levelling up dementia diagnosis: Tackling variations in diagnosis rates in England Future Health has published research which shows that over 300,000 people living with dementia in England

The report finds:

• A postcode lottery for dementia diagnosis, with large variations across England, including between neighbouring healthcare authorities
• The pandemic has seen a reduction in the proportion of patients receiving a diagnosis, with the number falling below 60% – missing the Government target of two thirds
• £3billion could be saved with better diagnosis rates of dementia, as report calls for pandemic recovery investment and an urgent public health campaign to encourage people to visit their GPs if they have concerns

See also:

• 325,000 are living with undiagnosed dementia as report bemoans postcode lottery The Daily Mail

A picture of health? Bridging the gap between physical and mental healthcare in adult mental health inpatient settings

A picture of health? Bridging the gap between physical and mental healthcare in adult mental health inpatient settings This report reviews the quality of physical healthcare provided to adults in mental health inpatient settings. Based on data from patients aged 18+ admitted to a mental health inpatient setting for more than one week from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019, the report found that a detailed physical health assessment was not undertaken appropriately for 28 out of 126 (22.2 per cent) patients, and physical health conditions were not included in the initial clerking for 29 out of 150 (19.3 per cent) patients. As such, it suggests that a physical healthcare plan should be developed when patients are admitted to a mental health inpatient setting. National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD)

Policy paper: Addendum to the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024

Policy paper: Addendum to the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024 This document sets out changes to the commitments in Tackling antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024: the UK’s 5-year national action plan, in its third year of delivery.

The changes reflect lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and progress that has already been made. Department of Health and Social Care

Monkeypox: Four more cases detected in England

Monkeypox: Four more cases detected in England Four more people in England have been diagnosed with monkeypox.

The UK Health Security Agency says the risk to the public remains very low, although it appears the individuals caught it in the UK.

Monkeypox is usually associated with travel to West Africa. BBC News

See also:

• Monkeypox cases confirmed in England – latest updates UK Health Security Agency
• Monkeypox - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland World Health Organization
• UK monkeypox alert as health chiefs detect another FOUR monkeypox cases The Daily Mail
• Mystery over spread of monkeypox as four more people infected The Daily Telegraph
• Monkeypox: What we know about rare virus as four more cases confirmed in England The Independent
• More cases of monkeypox detected in UK as scientists investigate links The Independent
• Monkeypox: How do you catch it, what are the symptoms, and how easily does it spread? Sky News

Anti-abortion groups target women with misleading ads

Anti-abortion groups target women with misleading ads When Hana found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted to have an abortion - but her search for a clinic on Google led her to an anti-abortion centre, set on talking her out of her decision. BBC News

Google sued for using the NHS data of 1.6 million Britons 'without their knowledge or consent'

Google sued for using the NHS data of 1.6 million Britons 'without their knowledge or consent' The Royal Free NHS Trust in London, which gave Google the patient data, was previously told the move was illegal following an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office. Sky News

We need a definitive exit from our Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s the roadmap

We need a definitive exit from our Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s the roadmap Nasal or oral coronavirus vaccines, more and better drugs, and a variant-proof vaccine could catalyze a clear way out.

As the virus accelerates its evolution, the humans capitulate. For two and a half years, Covid-19 has been outrunning our response, getting more and more transmissible, reaching a level of infectiousness that few pathogens have ever attained. Instead of taking a stance of getting ahead of the virus, and outsmarting it, people have succumbed. The Guardian

See also:

• Covid mask rule partially eased for EU air travel BBC News
• Sniffer dogs ‘can accurately detect airport passengers infected with Covid-19’ The Independent
• Scent dogs in detection of COVID-19: triple-blinded randomised trial and operational real-life screening in airport setting (open access) BMJ Global Health

Overseas-trained NHS doctors more likely to be struck off without lawyer at disciplinary

Overseas-trained NHS doctors more likely to be struck off without lawyer at disciplinary Nearly 40% of doctors who trained abroad do not have legal representation, compared with 25% of doctors who qualified in UK.

The findings have raised fresh questions about whether the General Medical Council (GMC) displays “systemic racial bias” in its treatment of foreign-born medics accused of wrongdoing. The Guardian

See also:

• Doctors who graduated overseas face harsher sanctions when unrepresented at medical tribunals Medical Protection Society

Magnetic marker liquid could be used to show if breast cancer has spread

Magnetic marker liquid could be used to show if breast cancer has spread Nice endorses Magtrace to use with probe, which work in similar way to metal detector

Women with invasive breast cancer could be injected with a magnetic marker liquid to tell doctors if their disease has spread, according to a recommendation by the government’s health advisers.

The substance, called Magtrace, has been shown to locate the presence of sentinel lymph nodes, which show if the cancer has progressed beyond the breast. The Guardian

See also:

• Draft NICE guidance recommends innovative technology used to establish whether breast cancer has spread NICE
• Breast cancer 'metal detector' recommended to NHS BBC News
• Breast cancer 'metal detector' could be used in the NHS The Independent

Patients made 4.7million trips to A&E because they couldn't get advice or treatment from their GP

Patients made 4.7million trips to A&E because they couldn't get advice or treatment from their GP Up to 4.7 million visits to hospital accident and emergency units in the past year may have been due to people being unable to see their GP, an official study suggests.

Research by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found almost one in five A&E patients surveyed had resorted to emergency departments because they couldn’t get advice or treatment elsewhere.

Of those, the research found, around one third (35 per cent) said there were no appointments available and 30 per cent said they were not able to get through to or access the service. The Daily Mail

IVF postcode lottery as Covid causes huge delays to NHS-funded cycles

IVF postcode lottery as Covid causes huge delays to NHS-funded cycles NHS-funded fertility treatment was still crawling behind pre-Covid levels 15 months after the virus hit, analysis suggests. 

On the other hand, private clinics — which can charge up to £5,000 for one cycle of IVF — bounced back rapidly.

Fertility treatments were suspended in April 2020, three weeks after Boris Johnson ordered the UK's first lockdown. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Impact of COVID-19 on fertility treatment 2020 Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority 
• ‘People were extremely stressed and anxious’: IVF treatment through NHS plummets by 7% in pandemic The Independent