Northampton hospital scoops top prize at national awards for the quality of care they deliver to patients

Northampton hospital scoops top prize at national awards for the quality of care they deliver to patients Staff and doctors at Three Shires Hospital in Northampton have been recognised for the quality of care they deliver to patients. The prestigious ‘Private Hospital Group of the Year’ award is presented to an organisation whose hospitals show excellence in their delivery of care, commitment to the community and innovation in healthcare. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Tackling ableism in health care – the role of primary care

Tackling ableism in health care – the role of primary care Getting a GP appointment is often a challenge at the moment, but for many disabled people, access to their GP has long been a problem. In our recent project exploring disabled people’s experiences of involvement in health and care design, people told us about their experiences accessing health and care, as well as of involvement in service design. Some participants described the significant difference a GP could make: those who made someone feel listened to and validated, compared with GPs who dismissed concerns or spoke to a person’s personal assistants rather than directly to them. The King's Fund

The post-foundation training break (“F3”): evaluating its impact on postgraduate medical training

The post-foundation training break (“F3”): evaluating its impact on postgraduate medical training An increasing number of doctors are taking a training break between Foundation Year 2 (FY2) and the start of core/specialty training (C/ST). The research aimed to understand how this break is managed and perceived, and its impact on career progression, including any equality, diversity and inclusion issues. The GMC commissioned the University of Nottingham, with partial funding from the Association for the Study of Medical Education, to research the impact of post foundation training breaks (PFTBs), often known as ‘F3’. General Medical Council

NHS policies on patient's weight and access to hip replacement surgery are inappropriate, study finds

NHS policies on patient's weight and access to hip replacement surgery are inappropriate, study find Weight and body mass index (BMI) policies introduced by NHS commissioning groups in England are inappropriate and worsening health inequalities, according to a new study published in BMC Medicine today [13 June] that analysed nearly 490,000 hip surgeries. With one in ten people likely to need a joint replacement in their lifetime, many thousands of patients are directly affected by these policies. University of Bristol

See also:

• What effect have commissioners’ policies for body mass index had on hip replacement surgery?: an interrupted time series analysis from the National Joint Registry for England (open access) BMC Medicine

Research: Safe care at home review

Research: Safe care at home review Joint review led by the Home Office and DHSC into the protections and support for adults abused, or at risk of abuse, in their own home by people providing their care.

The review drew on the experience of people who receive care in their own homes, organisations representing carers, and statutory agencies including frontline professionals. Department of Health and Social Care

Retaining doctors in late stage career guidance

Retaining doctors in late stage career guidance We have launched this guidance, and a supporting infographic, to support the retention of doctors in late stage career in collaboration with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

The guidance provides ten recommendations for systems and employers to consider when supporting doctors in late career, working in secondary care settings, to stay and stay well in the NHS. The recommendations are aligned to the NHS people promise and include holding retirement conversations, supporting flexible working and health and wellbeing. NHS England

Number of patients receiving lifesaving NHS cancer checks has doubled in a decade

Number of patients receiving lifesaving NHS cancer checks has doubled in a decade Double the number of patients are receiving potentially lifesaving NHS cancer checks in England now than they were a decade ago, new analysis shows today.

As the NHS approaches its 75th milestone birthday, the latest figures show an astounding increase in demand for cancer services with 114,108 more people checked for cancer in the last month than in the same month a decade ago. NHS England

Calls for abortion law reform after mother jailed

Calls for abortion law reform after mother jailed Parliament should debate overhauling abortion rules after a woman was jailed, the chair of the Commons equalities committee has said.

Caroline Nokes MP told the BBC the 1861 law used to prosecute mother-of-three Carla Foster was "out of date".

The 44-year-old was convicted of inducing an abortion outside the legal limit using pills at home.

Campaigners urged reform after she received a sentence of 28 months, 14 of which will be spent in custody. BBC News

See also:

• Mother jailed for taking abortion pills after legal limit BBC News
• Demands for abortion law reform after mother jailed in England Evening Standard
• Call to overhaul ‘out of date’ UK abortion laws after woman jailed The Guardian
• Woman jailed for taking abortion pills after legal cut-off in 'tragic' case The Independent
• Demands to reform 'out-of-date' 1861 abortion law used to jail mother ITV News
• Woman jailed for taking abortion pills after legal limit during lockdown Sky News

Puberty blockers to be given only in clinical research

Puberty blockers to be given only in clinical research Puberty blockers will only be prescribed to children attending gender identity services as part of clinical research, NHS England has announced.

The move comes after an interim report into children's gender services said there were "gaps in evidence" around the drugs.

Blockers are used to "pause puberty" and work by supressing hormone release.

Dr Hilary Cass's report called for a transformation in the model of care for children with gender-related distress. BBC News

See also:

• Puberty blockers will only be prescribed to young people 'as part of clinical research' The Daily Mail
• NHS will not offer puberty blockers to children suffering from gender dysphoria The Daily Telegraph
• Puberty blockers will not be routinely offered to children at new gender clinics Evening Standard
• NHS to stop prescribing puberty blockers for trans youth Pink News

Half of NHS workers will spend their pay rise on energy debts or bills

Half of NHS workers will spend their pay rise on energy debts or bills More than half of NHS workers have already earmarked their below-inflation pay rise to cover energy debts or other essential bills.

In a survey of our readers, NursingNotes asked 2,377 NHS workers how they intended to spend their non-consolidated (lump sum) pay rise.

Around a third (37%) of respondents admitted the money was already earmarked for energy debts, and another quarter (23%) said it would be used to catch up on other essential bills such as rent, council tax, water or insurance. Nursing Notes

Three-day strike by doctors in England expected to have ‘enormous impact’

Three-day strike by doctors in England expected to have ‘enormous impact’ Almost all routine NHS care in England will be disrupted for three days this week when junior doctors strike in their latest attempt to force ministers to increase their pay.

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said the stoppage would have an enormous impact and lead to huge numbers of patients missing out on planned care. The Guardian 

See also:

• Routine NHS care facing ‘enormous’ disruption with hospitals to lose tens of thousands of doctors for 72 hours NHS England
• NHS cannot cope with continued junior doctor strikes, chiefs warn The Daily Telegraph
• NHS chief warns of 'enormous' disruption as junior doctors' announce strike The Independent
• NHS chief warns of 'enormous' disruption ahead of junior doctors' strike ITV News
• 'Enormous' disruption feared throughout the NHS as doctors in England plan multiple-day strike Sky News

Twenty-four UK doctors in five years censured over medical record breaches

Twenty-four UK doctors in five years censured over medical record breaches Two-dozen doctors have been disciplined by the UK medical regulator in the last five years after accessing and using information from patients’ treatment records without good reason.

The General Medical Council (GMC) said it had struck off two of the 24 doctors it had sanctioned after finding that they had undertaken “inappropriate use” of medical records. The Guardian

More than one in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby, survey shows

More than one in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby, survey shows More than one in 10 women struggle to bond with their baby, with the majority saying they are given no support from healthcare staff, a survey has found.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of women said they received no information or advice on bonding with their baby in the first few weeks after birth, despite guidance for doctors and nurses recommending that they assist with emotional attachment to encourage healthy child development. The Guardian

People seek hay fever advice once every three seconds, says NHS England

People seek hay fever advice once every three seconds, says NHS England People sought advice for hay fever symptoms once every three seconds on Sunday, health officials have said.

It comes as the Met Office said that the pollen count was expected to be “very high” in most of England and Wales on Tuesday.

Hay fever is usually at its worst between March and September when the pollen count is at its highest and the weather can be warm, windy and humid. Evening Standard

See also:

• Weekly visits to NHS website’s hay fever advice reach 122,000 as pollen levels rise NHS England
• Hay fever NHS UK
• Number of hay fever sufferers seeking NHS advice triples BBC News
• Mapped: Pollen in your area as hay fever sufferers warned of deadly surge The Independent
• More than 120000 visits to the NHS hay fever advice page recorded ITV News

No more Dr Google! Medical student creates an AI search tool 'more reliable health information'

No more Dr Google! Medical student creates an AI search tool 'more reliable health information' Millions of us already trust Dr Google, but now there's a new online doctor in town.

A British medical student has created an AI chatbot which claims to provide 'more reliable health information' than the search engine.

BTRU — pronounced Better You — trawls through pages from the likes of the World Health Organization to give users personalised answers, just like ChatGPT. The Daily Mail

See also:

• BTRU Better You

Light drinkers are less likely to suffer heart problems, study finds

Light drinkers are less likely to suffer heart problems, study finds Having the occasional drink lowers stress, which is linked to heart attack and stroke, research suggests.

Women who drink up to one alcoholic beverage a day and men who consume a maximum of two, had a lower risk of cardiovascular problems than those who drank more or were teetotal. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Reduced Stress-Related Neural Network Activity Mediates the Effect of Alcohol on Cardiovascular Risk (abstract) Journal of the American College of Cardiology