Northampton General Hospital gets a national award for the way it supports the armed forces’ community

Northampton General Hospital gets a national award for the way it supports the armed forces’ community Northampton General Hospital has achieved a national recognition award for the way it supports service and ex-service personnel.

It has achieved the Silver Award from the Government’s Defence Employer Recognition Scheme – for the way it supports the armed forces community. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Sexual harassment in healthcare must stop – new GMC standards for doctors make clear

Sexual harassment in healthcare must stop – new GMC standards for doctors make clear Zero tolerance of sexual harassment, including clear definitions of what constitutes it and an expectation that doctors who see such behaviour will act, will be included for the first time in new professional standards issued by the General Medical Council.

The regulator has today published an update of Good medical practice, which details the principles, values and standards expected of doctors working in the UK. It is the first major update to the guidance in ten years.

See also:

• Good medical practice 2024 General Medical Council
• Workplace sexual-harassment clampdown for doctors BBC News
• Doctors face ban for sexual remarks to colleagues under GMC's new conduct code The Daily Telegraph
• New guidance for NHS staff to tackle toxic workplace cultures Evening Standard
• Doctors must show zero tolerance of sexual harassment, says UK medical council The Guardian
• New NHS guidelines include sexual harassment and whistleblowing standards The Independent
• GMC to require ‘kindness’ as part of significant guidance update Pulse
• Doctors will be 'supported to speak out' under new medical guidelines Sky News

REACH-OUT: Caring for the healthcare workforce post Covid-19: a longitudinal mixed-methods study of post-Covid-19 outcomes in healthcare workers from diverse ethnicities: 2nd report August 2023

REACH-OUT: Caring for the healthcare workforce post Covid-19: a longitudinal mixed-methods study of post-Covid-19 outcomes in healthcare workers from diverse ethnicities: 2nd report August 2023 REACH-OUT is a long-term study that examines the lasting impacts of Covid-19 on healthcare workers (HCWS) from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the UK. By interviewing the same cohort of people over several years, the study aims to estimate the prevalence of long COVID on healthcare workers, and understand its impact on their health, their work, and their life more generally. Every six months, an update report will be released to highlight progress and identify any emerging learning for the healthcare system. This latest report – the 2nd update – includes an exploration of global research about long COVID and outlines some implications for health and care policy. NHS Race & Health Observatory

Ambulance services and integrated care systems: lessons for effective collaboration

Ambulance services and integrated care systems: lessons for effective collaboration This report aims to examine the key themes and principles that should underpin effective and practical collaboration between ambulance services and integrated care boards. It sets out the findings of research involving a range of NHS leaders from both integrated care boards (ICBs) and ambulance services, and makes recommendations to the array of partners, national and local, that can affect change. NHS Confederation

All GP surgeries in England to have digital phone lines by March 2024

All GP surgeries in England to have digital phone lines by March 2024 Patients at all general practices across England will soon benefit from new digital phone lines designed to make booking GP appointments easier.

Backed by a £240 million investment, more than 1,000 practices have signed up to make the switch from analogue systems - which can leave patients on hold and struggling to book an appointment - to modern, easy-to-use digital telephones designed to make sure people can receive the care they need when they need it. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Digital phonelines are a positive step but we’re in dire need of more GPs, says College Chair Royal College of General Practitioners

Lucy Letby: NHS managers must be held to account, whistleblower doctor says

Lucy Letby: NHS managers must be held to account, whistleblower doctor says Hospital managers should be regulated in a similar way to doctors and nurses, the senior doctor who first raised concerns about Lucy Letby has said.

Dr Stephen Brearey was the lead consultant on the neonatal unit where serial killer Letby worked and raised the alarm in October 2015.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was "no apparent accountability" for what NHS managers do in trusts.

Letby was handed a whole life sentence on Monday at Manchester Crown Court. BBC News

See also:

• Alison Kelly: Former nursing manager at Letby hospital suspended BBC News
• What the babies' parents told Lucy Letby as she was sentenced BBC News
• Lucy Letby: How could the NHS stop a future killer within? BBC News
• Questions about NHS role in Letby murders not answered, says solicitor representing victim families Channel 4 News
• Lucy Letby: NHS Trust management in charge should face criminal charges, says former MP Channel 4 News
• Full judicial inquiry into horror Lucy Letby killings moves step closer Evening Standard
• Lucy Letby inquiry could be upgraded to compel witnesses, No 10 indicates The Guardian
• Statutory inquiry into Lucy Letby ‘on the table’, government minister admits The Independent

MRI scan could screen men for prostate cancer

MRI scan could screen men for prostate cancer A 10-minute MRI scan could be used to screen men for prostate cancer, according to a new study.

The scans proved far more accurate at diagnosing cancer than blood tests, which look for high levels of a protein called PSA.

MRI picked up some serious cancers that would have been missed by PSA alone.

At present there is no national screening programme because PSA is considered too unreliable, although men over 50 can request a PSA test. BBC News 

See also:

• Prevalence of MRI lesions in men responding to a GP-led invitation for a prostate health check: a prospective cohort study (open access) BMJ Oncology
• Quick MRI scans could pick up twice as many serious prostate cancer cases as existing tests, research finds The Daily Mail
• Prostate cancer: Deaths could be 'significantly reduced' by using MRI scans instead of PSA tests, study suggests Sky News

Breakthrough test could predict deadly diseases in people with diabetes

Breakthrough test could predict deadly diseases in people with diabetes A blood test may be able to predict diabetic people's risk of heart and kidney disease, according to a new study.

Researchers have found high levels of four biomarkers, which are biological signposts, are strongly predictive for the development of heart and kidney issues for people with type 2 diabetes.

A study has found that people who took a drug called canagliflozin had lower levels of the four biomarkers compared to those who took a placebo. The Independent

See also:

• Cardiorenal Biomarkers, Canagliflozin, and Outcomes in Diabetic Kidney Disease: The CREDENCE Trial (abstract) Circulation

Private firm linked to No 10 adviser handed NHS waiting lists contract

Private firm linked to No 10 adviser handed NHS waiting lists contract Rishi Sunak is facing questions over a possible conflict of interest after it emerged that a private healthcare firm handed a government contract to reduce regional NHS waiting lists is linked to a No 10 policy adviser.

Bill Morgan, a founding partner of the PR and lobbying firm Evoke Incisive Health (EIH), joined Downing Street as a health policy adviser last November to help drive through NHS efficiencies. The Guardian

Ambulance services face staffing emergency as the number of workers quitting their job rises by more than half in recent years

Ambulance services face staffing emergency as the number of workers quitting their job rises by more than half in recent years Ambulance services face a staffing emergency with the number quitting their job rising by over half in recent years, figures show.

Some 6,968 ambulance workers in England and Wales left their role in 2022/23, which is up 51.2 per cent from 4,609 in 2019/20.

The findings, from freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats, also reveal these services currently have at least 2,954 vacancies. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Lib Dems demand ambulance staff boost before winter pressures The Independent

How a trip to the optician could detect signs of Parkinson's up to SEVEN years earlier

How a trip to the optician could detect signs of Parkinson's up to SEVEN years earlier A high street eye scan could detect signs of Parkinson's up to seven years before a diagnosis, research suggests.

High-resolution images of the retina are now a routine part of eye care — in particular, a type of 3D scan known as 'optical coherence tomography' (OCT) which is widely used in high-street opticians. 

Now, experts believe this scan could detect 'markers' that indicate Parkinson's years before symptoms occur. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Features Associated With Incident and Prevalent Parkinson Disease (open access) Neurology
• Parkinson's disease could be detected early with AI scans, scientists say BBC News
• 3D eye scans at opticians could identify those at risk of Parkinson’s, study finds The Guardian
• AI-powered eye scan could help detect Parkinson's disease – study The Independent