Kettering General Hospital celebrates 125th birthday

Kettering General Hospital celebrates 125th birthday When Kettering General Hospital first opened its doors in 1897 it had just 22 beds and an annual budget of just over £1,000.

Fast forward exactly 125 years and it is spending millions of pounds providing care for hundreds of thousands of patients each year – on the same Rothwell Road site.

They celebrated the special anniversary on Sunday (October 30), having been created when the people of the town decided they needed a general hospital at a meeting in 1891. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Austerity 2.0: why it’s critical for our health that the government learns the lessons of Austerity 1.0

Austerity 2.0: why it’s critical for our health that the government learns the lessons of Austerity 1.0 On 17 November, the government will announce its Autumn Statement. Everything we know so far suggests it’s going to make grim listening for public services and all of us who use them. Spending Reviews and fiscal events present governments with choices and those choices have consequences. As someone who saw the impact of Austerity 1.0 on health and care at first hand, I think there are important lessons from that period that the new Chancellor must heed, as we head into Austerity 2.0. The King's Fund

Sexual orientation and gender identity in the medical profession

Sexual orientation and gender identity in the medical profession Our work looks at the experiences of LGBTQ+ doctors and medical students in education, training and the workplace and on how to ensure an inclusive profession.

Doctors come from a broad cross section of backgrounds, experiences, sexual orientations and gender identities. Discrimination, whether from patients or from colleagues, has a detrimental impact on doctors’ lives. BMA

See also:

• Many LGBTQ+ doctors still do not feel comfortable being open at work about their sexual orientation or gender identity BMA
• Elusive inclusivity BMA
• Most LGBTQ+ doctors feel they have to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity at work GPonline

State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2022

State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2022 New cases of mouth cancer in the United Kingdom have risen to a record high, according to the findings of a new report.

Figures collected by the Oral Health Foundation show that 8,864 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease last year.  This has increased by 34% compared to 10 years ago and has more than doubled (103%) within the last generation.

See also:

• Mouth cancer causes grow as cases skyrocket in UK The Independent

Improving experience of care: a shared commitment for those working in health and care systems

Improving experience of care: a shared commitment for those working in health and care systems This guide, developed by the National Quality Board, builds on the previous 'Improving experiences of care' document, providing an updated view of improving experience of care for those working in health and care systems and partnerships, including within NHS providers. NHS England

Creating spaces for community and patient wellbeing

Creating spaces for community and patient wellbeing NHSPS wants to enable more patients and communities to have the opportunity to use NHS spaces to create health in ways that work for them. This report, commissioned from the Health Creation Alliance, sheds light on what matters most to ten different communities when accessing and using repurposed NHS community spaces. The communities that participated are some of those disproportionately affected by health inequalities across the UK. NHS Property Services

Oliver McGowan: NHS autism training mandatory after teen's death

Oliver McGowan: NHS autism training mandatory after teen's death Mandatory training for treating people with autism and learning disabilities is being rolled out for NHS health and care staff after a patient died.

It comes after Oliver McGowan, 18, from Bristol, died following an epileptic seizure.

At the time, in November 2016, he had mild autism and was given a drug he was allergic to despite repeated warnings from his parents.

His mother Paula lobbied for mandatory training to potentially "save lives".

The training is for all NHS staff who work with the public. BBC News

Benefit cuts for disabled people in hospital called unfair

Benefit cuts for disabled people in hospital called unfair Thousands of disabled people have had their benefits paused during extended hospital stays under a rule charities say penalises the most vulnerable.

It comes after a court case was withdrawn which had been set to challenge the lawfulness of the so-called hospitalisation rule.

One affected family lost more than £5,000 in benefit payments while their disabled son was in hospital. BBC News

NHS pay rise already capped at 2% for next year

NHS pay rise already capped at 2% for next year A pay rise for public sector workers has reportedly already been capped at just 2%.

The most experienced frontline nurses would see their pay fall by a further £2,634 on top of the £9,658 since 2008. 

According to The Times, Treasury briefings reveal that all public sector pay increases would be limited to 2% “across the board” for the 2023/24 financial year to “balance the books”. Nursing Notes

Health spending will not be cut but NHS expected to ‘find efficiencies’

Health spending will not be cut but NHS expected to ‘find efficiencies’ Rishi Sunak’s cabinet hears variation of service across NHS will be ‘particular area of focus’

Health spending will not be cut in the autumn statement, the Guardian understands, but cabinet ministers have been told there would be a programme of reform for underperforming trusts.

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor and a former health secretary, has warned against complacency and said the government expects the NHS and Department of Health and Social Care to find new efficiencies. The Guardian

See also:

• 'It's safe with me' Rishi Sunak pledges to protect the NHS from cuts The Daily Express
• NHS to carry out military-style drill to prepare for winter strikes The Daily Mail
• NHS budget to rise despite spending cuts - but Rishi Sunak demands reform in return The Daily Telegraph
• NHS plans stress-test ahead of possible strikes and winter pressure Evening Standard
• Are NHS workers about to strike? Vote Yes for the NHS explained Evening Standard
• ‘It feels very unsafe’: the NHS staff bracing for winter as cuts loom The Guardian

Thousands NHS patients who are unaware they have cancer facing deadly delays due to record backlog

Thousands NHS patients who are unaware they have cancer facing deadly delays due to record backlog More than 25,000 patients on NHS waiting lists are likely to have cancer despite being referred to hospital for a different condition, a worrying study suggests.

GPs will have had no suspicion of the disease and it will only be discovered when patients finally have scans or start treatment for something else.

It means delays tackling the record NHS backlog of 7million people could prove deadly as cancer is easier to treat when caught early. The Daily Mail

Pancreatic cancer 'could be spotted THREE YEARS earlier'

Pancreatic cancer 'could be spotted THREE YEARS earlier' Pancreatic cancer could be diagnosed up to three years earlier if people were regularly weighed and had their blood sugar checked, according to experts. The Daily Mail

See also:

• BMI and HbA1c are metabolic markers for pancreatic cancer: Matched case-control study using a UK primary care database (open access) PLOS One