Some Northamptonshire children who need specialist mental health help left waiting more than a year

Some Northamptonshire children who need specialist mental health help left waiting more than a year Some children in Northamptonshire who need specialist help after suffering trauma are having to wait for more than a year for treatment. A senior manager at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) conceded some waits are “too long”.

Children with “moderate to severe” mental health problems are sometimes having to wait “around eight to nine months” to see a specialist, Sharon Robson, NHFT’s assistant director for children’s services, said. Northants Live

Kettering: Knife crime charity's bid to save lives

Kettering: Knife crime charity's bid to save lives A charity trying to eradicate knife crime has held its first training session designed to help stop "critical bleeds" after stabbings.

Off the Streets was set up in August 2021 to tackle knife violence following the fatal stabbing of teenager Dylan Holliday in Wellingborough.

The community group has co-ordinated the installation of life-saving equipment and education sessions. BBC Northampton

Blue plaque on maternity home funded by shoe boss

Blue plaque on maternity home funded by shoe boss A blue plaque has been unveiled at a maternity home which a shoe manufacturer helped fund almost 90 years ago.

William Barratt gave £20,000 to build the Barratt Maternity Home in Northampton in 1936. BBC Northampton

Waiting list grew by 1 million in a year, despite elective care recovery plan

Waiting list grew by 1 million in a year, despite elective care recovery plan Commenting on the one year anniversary of the publication of NHS England’s elective care recovery plan, senior policy fellow Tim Gardner said:

'There were 7.2 million people waiting for routine hospital treatment at last count, up from 6 million a year ago. Behind these numbers are patients left in pain, and people enduring unnecessary suffering. The public and government must be under no illusion: there is still a significant mountain to climb before waiting lists are back to a more acceptable level.' The Health Foundation

Does it matter that people are opting out of the NHS into private treatment?

Does it matter that people are opting out of the NHS into private treatment? Debates about privatisation in the NHS have been around for decades – is it good or bad, is it happening now, will it happen in the future? Over time the content of the debate shifts and changes, even if the word privatisation stays the same.  The King's Fund

Progress in improving mental health services in England

Progress in improving mental health services in England This report focuses on the implementation of NHS commitments to improving mental health services.

Since 2016, the NHS has taken some important first steps towards closing the historical and acknowledged gap between mental and physical health services. DHSC and NHSE made a series of clear commitments and plans to expand and improve mental health services, but they have not defined what achieving full parity of esteem for mental health services would entail.

Consequently, it is unclear how far the current commitments take the NHS towards its end goal, and what else is needed to achieve it. While funding and the workforce for mental health services have increased and more people have been treated, many people still cannot access services or have lengthy waits for treatment. Staff shortages continue and data that would demonstrate the results of service developments are limited. National Audit Office

See also:

• Millions with mental health needs not seeking NHS help, watchdog says The Guardian

Patient Safety Commissioner: 100 days report

Patient Safety Commissioner: 100 days report Dr Henrietta Hughes, England’s Patient Safety Commissioner, has released a report of her first 100 days in the role. The report outlines how Dr Hughes has heard from patients, families, healthcare professionals and senior leaders on what needs to change to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices. In it, she calls for a cultural change throughout the health system and sets out her plans for the future. Office of the Patient Safety Commissioner

Nobody’s listening: what families say about prison healthcare

Nobody’s listening: what families say about prison healthcare According to this report, involving families more proactively in prisoners’ health care would reduce deaths in custody, relieve pressure on the NHS and the criminal justice system, and cut crime. It makes a series of recommendations to improve the way that health care providers and prisons can involve families more proactively. They include: diverting more appropriately risk-assessed people with mental health problems to community treatment and secure treatment settings; training for staff to ensure that they understand how to involve family members; and a single point of contact at every prison to champion the role of families in the health care process. Pact

Clinical academics in the NHS inquiry

Clinical academics in the NHS inquiry Clinical academics are qualified doctors who combine working as a specialist doctor with research and/or teaching responsibilities. The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee have concluded an inquiry into clinical academics in the NHS. This letter to Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, sets out their findings as well as their conclusions and recommendations. The overarching conclusion is that, rather than an additional pressure on the resources of the NHS, engagement with research can help to mitigate workforce challenges and improve patient outcomes. However, they also conclude that the clinical research environment in the NHS is on a precipice and without action these benefits could be lost. House of Lords Science and Technology Committee

Hundreds of thousands more patients to benefit from major NHS surgical capacity boost

Hundreds of thousands more patients to benefit from major NHS surgical capacity boost Hundreds of thousands more patients will benefit from NHS treatment by next year thanks to dozens of new surgical spaces, the NHS announced today.

As part of the biggest and most ambitious catch-up plan in NHS history, an estimated 780,000 additional surgeries and outpatient appointments will be provided at 37 new surgical hubs, 10 expanded existing hubs and 81 new theatres dedicated to elective care. NHS England

The best start for life: a progress report on delivering the vision

The best start for life: a progress report on delivering the vision This report sets out the progress that the government has made in implementing The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days since its publication in March 2021, following the Early Years Healthy Development Review. Department of Health and Social Care

NHS to use test that prevents babies going deaf

NHS to use test that prevents babies going deaf A rapid test that can help preserve the hearing of newborn babies is set to be used by NHS hospitals.

For some babies, commonly used antibiotics can become toxic. The drugs damage sensory cells inside the ear leading to permanent hearing loss.

The test - which analyses babies' DNA - can quickly spot those who are vulnerable.

It means they can be given a different type of antibiotic and avoid having a lifetime of damaged hearing. BBC News

 

See also:

• NICE recommends genetic test to prevent newborn babies going deaf National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
• Rapid Point-of-Care Genotyping to Avoid Aminoglycoside-Induced Ototoxicity in Neonatal Intensive Care (open access) JAMA Pediatrics

Mum traumatised by Nottingham maternity failings gives birth to girl

Mum traumatised by Nottingham maternity failings gives birth to girl A woman whose son died after failings in a crisis-hit maternity unit has given birth to a girl.

Kim Errington, 39, gave birth to her daughter Elfi almost two years after she lost her son Teddy, when he was a day old.

An inquest heard there were "undoubted failings" by the healthcare professionals involved in Teddy's care.

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust said it had "learned lessons and implemented changes" as a result. BBC News

Indoor air quality should be monitored in public places, says Chris Whitty

Indoor air quality should be monitored in public places, says Chris Whitty England’s chief medical officer and colleagues call for push to understand health impacts of indoor pollutants

Offices, schools, supermarkets and hospitals should be monitored for indoor air pollutants, according to England’s chief medical officer, amid concerns that dirty air in buildings may contribute to nearly as many deaths as outdoor air pollution.

Prof Chris Whitty said monitoring indoor air quality should become standard practice in public spaces and called for urgent investment to help establish records of pollutants that accumulate in homes, offices and public buildings. The Guardian

Revealed: only 10 of Boris Johnson’s promised 40 new hospital projects have planning permission

Revealed: only 10 of Boris Johnson’s promised 40 new hospital projects have planning permission Only a quarter of the 40 hospital construction projects that were at the heart of Boris Johnson’s 2019 general election manifesto have secured full planning permission, the Observer can reveal, amid angry claims from NHS figures that there is no chance the schemes will be delivered on time.

Ministers have repeatedly claimed that the hospitals will be delivered by 2030, despite concerns from health chiefs and economists that “woefully insufficient” funding and rising costs will scupper the plan and put NHS capacity at risk.

Department of Health spent a record £626 MILLION of taxpayer cash on management consultants

Department of Health spent a record £626 MILLION of taxpayer cash on management consultants The Department of Health spent a record £626million on external management consultants last year, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The department’s latest accounts show NHS bosses continuing to splash the cash on the advisers, despite academic evidence suggesting they make matters less efficient over time.

Including NHS England and NHS Providers, the department’s £626 million bill for management consultants in 2021/22 was up £123 million from the previous year. The Daily Mail

Calling kids 'overweight' is fat-shaming, experts say

Calling kids 'overweight' is fat-shaming, experts say Labelling children as 'overweight' is fat shaming and can do more harm than good, a study suggests.

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) causes children anxiety and embarrassment at weigh-ins and often leads to teasing, researchers found.

Instead of helping children to lose weight, it has the potential cause eating disorders and unhealthy dieting behaviours that are 'far more dangerous than the weight itself'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Weighing up the future: a meta-ethnography of household perceptions of the National Child Measurement Programme in England (open access) Critical Public Health