Kettering General Hospital shortlisted twice for national patient safety award

Kettering General Hospital shortlisted twice for national patient safety award Kettering General Hospital has had two of its internal initiatives shortlisted for a national award for the way it works to make patient safety, and kindness and respect between staff, a top priority.

The hospital is in the finals of the HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2022 in the changing culture category for a shared learning initiative called Yokoten and one to promote kindness, goodwill and civility, called Compassionism. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Workload issues affecting GP trainees’ plans for their future careers

Workload issues affecting GP trainees’ plans for their future careers For the fifth time since 2016, The King’s Fund has surveyed GP trainees on their plans for their own careers and on the future of general practice more generally. Each time we ask questions about trainees’ intended future working patterns, one year, five years and ten years after completing their qualifications. This year’s survey of GP trainees shows excessive workload and intensity is having a significant impact on how trainees plan to work in future.

Health and care workforce in Europe: time to act

Health and care workforce in Europe: time to act All countries of the WHO European Region currently face severe challenges related to the health and care workforce (‎HCWF)‎. This report focuses on identifying effective policy and planning responses to these HCWF challenges across the Region. The report presents an overview of the HCWF situation in the Region (‎focusing on medical doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, for whom data are available)‎and identifies relevant policy options, their expected benefits and potential facilitators or barriers to successful implementation. Examples of sound evidence-informed practices in countries are also provided. World Health Organization. European Region

Barriers and opportunities: improving access to mental health support for refugees and people seeking asylum

Barriers and opportunities: improving access to mental health support for refugees and people seeking asylum This report explores access to and experience of mental health support for refugees and people seeking asylum in England. It finds a need for a person-centred, trauma-informed approach where the specific needs of the individual are considered and most appropriate mental health support is offered. It also details an opportunity to improve communication with refugees and people seeking asylum in the provision of mental health support including longer appointment times to overcome language barriers, preference for face-to-face appointments, written and translated communication and consistent access to professional interpreters. British Red Cross

Many English maternity units not meeting safety standards

Many English maternity units not meeting safety standards More than half of maternity units in England fail consistently to meet safety standards, BBC analysis of official statistics shows.

Health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rates 7% of units as posing a high risk of avoidable harm. A further 48% require improvement.

The figures are slightly worse than a few years ago, despite several attempts to transform maternity care.

The regulator says the pace of improvement has been disappointing. BBC News

Covid: Oxford oncologist in plea to government over Evusheld

Covid: Oxford oncologist in plea to government over Evusheld A leading academic is calling on new Health Secretary Therese Coffey to reconsider rolling out a Covid drug for people with weakened immune systems.

Last month the government decided it would not supply Evusheld in the UK.

But Dr Lennard Lee, an academic medical oncologist from Oxford University who is backed by more than 120 leading scientists and clinicians, said a rethink was needed. BBC News

See also:

• Covid-19 pandemic is over in the US - Joe Biden BBC News
• Why even mild Covid is now being linked to long-term heart trouble The Daily Mail
• UK could face ‘twindemic’ if winter flu surge combines with new Covid wave The Independent
• Covid and poor access to NHS care ‘may be driving irregular heartbeat deaths’ ITV News
• EU health regulator says COVID pandemic not over Reuters

What does the NHS need before winter?

What does the NHS need before winter? The new health secretary, Therese Coffey, says her plan for the NHS in England will have an "ABCD" focus – ambulances, backlogs, (social) care, and doctors and dentists.

She's due to outline more details of her proposals as parliamentary business returns. Sky News

Millions of children regularly suffer poor mental health, survey claims

Millions of children regularly suffer poor mental health, survey claims Millions of teens are struggling to cope with their mental health and social pressures, it has been claimed.

A poll of 1,000 teenagers found 31 per cent had struggled with their mental health, feeling that way for an average of more than two years.

And 56 per cent regularly felt anxious, with social media and the increased cost-of-living blamed. The Independent

Britons of black and south Asian origin with dementia die younger, study finds

Britons of black and south Asian origin with dementia die younger, study finds Britons of black and south Asian origin with dementia die younger and sooner after being diagnosed than white people, research has found.

South Asian people die 2.97 years younger and black people 2.66 years younger than their white counterparts, according to a study by academics from University College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The Guardian

See also:

• Incidence, age at diagnosis and survival with dementia across ethnic groups in England: A longitudinal study using electronic health records (open access) Alzheimer's and Dementia

Up to 16million patients could lose their GP in next decade

Up to 16million patients could lose their GP in next decade Sixteen million Britons could be left without a GP within a decade without 'huge investment', doctors argued today.

Doctors' Association UK (DAUK) warned physicians would 'either quit the NHS, the profession or the country unless the new Health Secretary stops the rot'.

Writing in a letter to Therese Coffey, the group added the postcode lottery seen in dentistry 'could soon be replicated across general practice'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• ‘This job is making us ill’: GPs from DAUK call for reform Doctors' Association UK
• One in four people could be left without a GP within a decade, doctors claim The Daily Telegraph
• There is no end point to the work of a GP – it is an almost impossible job to do well | Zara Aziz The Guardian
• Two-thirds of trainee GPs in England plan to work part-time, study finds The Guardian

That's a big problem! Eight out of ten Britons will be overweight or OBESE by 2060, report warns

That's a big problem! Eight out of ten Britons will be overweight or OBESE by 2060, report warns More than eight in ten Britons will be overweight or obese by 2060 – costing the economy £142 billion a year, a report warns.

Experts say the ‘eye-watering’ figures show the UK is in the grip of an ‘obesity emergency’ that threatens to bankrupt the NHS and cut lives short.

They are calling for urgent action to combat the crisis, including policies aimed at improving the nation’s diet and getting people moving. Researchers from the World Obesity Federation and RTI International analysed data from 161 countries for the study. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Economic impacts of overweight and obesity: current and future estimates for 161 countries (open access) BMJ Global Health
• Anti-obesity strategy to be reviewed due to cost-of-living crisis BBC News
• Liz Truss could scrap anti-obesity strategy in drive to cut red tape The Guardian
• Truss plan to axe sugar tax runs into legal and parliamentary hitches The Guardian