The 12 GP practices in Northamptonshire with the best NHS patient ratings in 2023

The 12 GP practices in Northamptonshire with the best NHS patient ratings in 2023 NHS patients in Northamptonshire have reported mixed satisfaction ratings for local doctor’s surgeries in the area, according to the latest GP Patient Survey.

Produced by Ipsos on behalf of NHS England, the 2023 GP Patient Survey asked people across the country what they think about their local GP practice. It surveyed 2.7 million people between January and April 2023 and had a response rate of 29 percent. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Progress with the New Hospital Programme

Progress with the New Hospital Programme The government’s New Hospital Programme (NHP) has experienced delays and is expected to deliver 32 of the intended target of 40 new hospitals by 2030, according to a new National Audit Office report.

See also:

• NHS Providers responds to NAO verdict on government’s New Hospital Programme NHS Providers
• Response to NAO report on the New Hospitals Programme Nuffield Trust
• Government to miss 40 new hospitals target - watchdog BBC News
• The seven hospitals declared 'structurally unsound' after being made with 'aero bar' concrete The Daily Mail
• Government on track to break Boris Johnson’s ‘40 new hospitals’ promise The Guardian
• Government set to fail target of 40 new promised hospitals by 2030, watchdog says The Independent
• Promise of 40 'new' hospitals by 2030 set to be broken, report says ITV News
• Only 32 of 40 new hospitals promised by Boris Johnson to be built by 2030 - and some may be too small, audit suggests Sky News

NHS at 75: A Reality Check and New Priorities

NHS at 75: A Reality Check and New Priorities The NHS’ long anticipated workforce plan is finally here, but it won’t be enough to reverse the health spiral of decline. This pamphlet outlines ways of trying to fix some of the NHS’ problems, by proposing much more devolution of decision-making on services, both regionally and locally, and with a bigger focus on population health and prevention of ill health. The Social Market Foundation

State of maternity services 2023

State of maternity services 2023 According to this report, if the number of NHS midwives in England had risen at the same pace as the overall health service workforce since the last general election, there would be no midwife shortage. It highlights the lack of investment in maternity services and the impact of staffing shortages on women. It also describes how more complex needs, including rising levels of obesity in pregnancy and increases in the number of older women having babies, are increasing demands on maternity services. Royal College of Midwives

The birth charter for women with involvement from children’s social care

The birth charter for women with involvement from children’s social care This charter sets out how services and systems in England should support all women involved with children’s social care from conception to their child’s second birthday - the period known as the '1001 critical days'. It outlines 14 principles to help protect women’s rights to safe, fair and compassionate care, and calls for a national health and social care pathway for pregnant women and mothers of infants who are subject to pre-birth or parenting assessment, or child protection proceedings. Birth Companions

NHS consultant strikes: BMA announces two more walkouts

NHS consultant strikes: BMA announces two more walkouts NHS consultants in England have announced two more days of strikes over a long-running pay dispute.

They were already due to strike on Thursday and Friday - and now they will also walk out on 24 and 25 August, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.

The fresh dates were in response to a "derisory" 6% pay rise, said the BMA, a trade union for doctors.

The government said the rise, announced last week, was fair and called the new strike dates disappointing. BBC News

See also: 

• BMA consultants announce further strike dates BMA
• Increase in charges on migrant health workers in pay settlement "shameful" BMA
• Senior doctors announce two extra strike days next month following 'insulting' 6% pay rise The Daily Mail
• Paying doctors more won't remedy the NHS's chronic problems The Daily Telegraph
• BMA consultants announce two new August strikes in response to 'derisory' pay offer The Daily Telegraph
• How much do NHS consultants earn? Senior doctors to strike in August Evening Standard
• NHS consultants in England to stage two further strikes in August The Guardian
• NHS consultants’ strike could cause even ‘more delays’ than doctors’ action The Guardian
• NHS cannot afford to finance pay rises from existing budgets, hospitals say The Guardian
• Why are junior doctors striking – and when will it end? The Independent
• NHS strikes could continue through election year if pay does not keep pace with inflation, Rishi Sunak warned iNews

Genetic testing could bring in ‘new age’ of diagnostics in NHS

Genetic testing could bring in ‘new age’ of diagnostics in NHS A DNA test that looks at genetics as a risk factor in developing heart disease could usher in a “new age” of diagnostics in the NHS, an expert has said.

GENinCode was founded in 2018 and develops genomic tests and algorithms that help clinicians diagnose patients more quickly and precisely. The Independent

I was not prepared for what we came across when treating gaming disorders

I was not prepared for what we came across when treating gaming disorders - Henrietta Bowden-Jones The National Centre for Gaming Disorders, the first NHS clinic designated to treat gaming disorder, saw its first patient in early 2020 but I had been aware of the need for this type of treatment for several years prior to its opening.

The clinic was part of the much-lauded 2019 NHS long-term plan, which has only recently further expanded its network of gambling treatment clinics to a total of 15, reaching its planned national coverage a year ahead of plan. The Guardian

See also: 

• Clinic director 'was not prepared' for level of gaming disorders Evening Standard

New dementia drugs: patients to pay privately or face NHS postcode lottery

New dementia drugs: patients to pay privately or face NHS postcode lottery Groundbreaking new dementia drugs are likely to be the preserve of the rich while NHS patients will be subject to a “massive postcode lottery” when they become available for the first time in the UK, according to the co-chair of the government’s national mission to tackle the condition.

Amid multiple scientific and pharmaceutical breakthroughs – the latest of which, donanemab, is to have its full clinical trial results published at a conference in the Netherlands on Monday – more research funding and the establishment of a dedicated government taskforce, it should be a promising time for tackling the disease that affects more than 850,000 people in Britain. The Guardian

See also:

• New drug claims to slow mental decline caused by Alzheimer's The Daily Mail

New mothers who died with herpes should have been treated sooner, says coroner

New mothers who died with herpes should have been treated sooner, says coroner A coroner has criticised an NHS trust over the deaths of two new mothers with herpes and said they should have been treated earlier for their symptoms.

Kimberley Sampson, 29, and Samantha Mulcahy, 32, died in 2018 after having caesarean sections six weeks apart by the same surgeon at hospitals in Kent. The Guardian

See also:

• East Kent NHS criticised over new mother herpes deaths BBC News

ADHD timebomb fear as diagnoses rocket in the UK among adults and boys over the past two decades

ADHD timebomb fear as diagnoses rocket in the UK among adults and boys over the past two decades Britain has seen a significant rise in diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the most cases in boys aged ten to 16, a study shows.

Symptoms, such as restlessness, concentration problems and impulsive behaviour, start in childhood but are now increasingly recognised to persist into adulthood.

Research reveals both diagnoses and prescriptions for ADHD medication have risen significantly over the past two decades. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses and prescriptions in UK primary care, 2000–2018: population-based cohort study (open access) BJPsych Open
• UK children waiting 16 months on average for ADHD and autism screening The Guardian

NHS bill for botched cosmetic surgery now stands at £6 million

NHS bill for botched cosmetic surgery now stands at £6 million Taxpayers last year spent a record £1.7million on fixing Brits botched by cosmetic surgery carried out abroad, analysis suggests.

Some shocking cases of Brits who 'should never have gone under the knife' cost a whopping £100,000 to treat, experts claim. 

Cheap flights to Turkey have made it one of the top destinations for Brits desperate for the body of their dreams. On top of that, clinics dotted across the country offer cut-price surgery and enticing holiday packages. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Ops offered in Turkey but BANNED or barely done in the UK because they are so risky The Daily Mail