Cancer risk in men to rise

Cancer risk in men to rise:
Cancer Research UK has predicted that men's risk of cancer will increase in the next 15 years.The charity said that because people were living longer, the danger of men developing cancer would rise from 44 in 100 to 50 in 100, or a one in two chance of getting the disease.Researchers from the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine at Queen Mary, University of London, and Cancer Research UK made the predicti... Healthcare Today

Paperless NHS by 2015

Paperless NHS by 2015: The NHS Commissioning Board has clarified the position on a pledge for the organisation to move towards being paperless by 2015. In October, the NHS CB national director of patients and information, Tim Kelsey, told the Healthcare Efficiency Through Technology Expo that the government’s mandate to the NHS CB would include a commitment to a paperless NHS by 2015. However, guidance issued by the organisation has ... Healthcare Today

Patient care at risk as GPs are asked to cut services

Patient care at risk as GPs are asked to cut services: While ministers say costs are being reduced via 'efficiency savings', GPs are being asked to cut services to patients
GPs are being asked to reduce or axe activities including childhood immunisation campaigns, out-of-hours care and minor surgery in emerging evidence that £20bn of NHS "efficiency savings" are leading to cuts in patient care.

NHS service providers' financial positions are weak – at best

NHS service providers' financial positions are weak – at best: Ramsay Health Care, Virgin Care, Harmoni, The Practice, Circle and Care UK cannot be treated as going concerns without the financial support of their parent companies
Analysis of the accounts of a number of NHS service providers reveals some disturbing trends.
It is estimated that 37 private healthcare companies bid for almost 400 NHS service contracts worth £262m earlier in the year. The Guardian's analysis looked at six of the biggest companies with a particular emphasis on patient care: Ramsay Health Care, Virgin Care, Harmoni, The Practice, Circle and Care UK.
Without exception, these six customer-facing operating companies admitted they could not be treated as going concerns without the financial support of their parent companies.

Hospice care 'threatened by NHS reforms'

Hospice care 'threatened by NHS reforms': Hospices should be allowed to get on with caring for dying patients with kindness and compassion but face being obstructed by a new layer of burdensome regulation, it was warned today. The Daily Telegraph

GPs have skin cancer 'blackspot'

GPs have skin cancer 'blackspot': GPs are failing to spot serious skin cancer cases, leading to dozens of medical negligence claims where it has spread to other organs, the Medical Protection Society is warning. The Daily Telegraph

Clinical commissioning groups – what do we know so far?

Clinical commissioning groups – what do we know so far?: In the past few days, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have come several steps closer to taking control of £65 billion of NHS spending. The NHS Commissioning Board published the results of the first wave of the CCG authorisation process last week, and today released more details about how it intends to support the development of the new approach to commissioning. The results of the authorisation process so far tell us important things about how CCGs are developing.

The abandoned illness?

The abandoned illness?: 100 years after the term ‘schizophrenia’ was coined, things are beginning to change, says Victoria Bleazard. The Schizophrenia Commission’s report ‘The Abandoned Illness’ and the National Audit of Schizophrenia have been published over recent weeks. The reality of living with the condition has been exposed – some of which makes for very uncomfortable reading. The Health Foundation

Determining arrangements for supporting research in primary and community care

Determining arrangements for supporting research in primary and community care: A discussion paper, Determining arrangements for supporting research in primary and community care, has been published.

Winter bug cases '83% up on 2011'

Winter bug cases '83% up on 2011': Latest figures show that cases of the winter vomiting bug norovirus have risen, experts say. BBC News

NHS 'blueprint' reveals GP commissioning and quality premium targets

NHS 'blueprint' reveals GP commissioning and quality premium targets: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will be judged on 48 targets including death rates, a blueprint for the NHS reveals, and face four key targets to earn controversial quality premium payments worth up to £30,000 per practice. GP Online

Memorandum on leprosy: 2012 report

Memorandum on leprosy: 2012 report: This report has been published to provide information to both clinicians and consultants in communicable disease control involved in notifying and managing a case of leprosy. The memorandum draws on the best available evidence together with the specialist knowledge of the Panel of Leprosy Opinion. Leprosy is an uncommon disease in England and Wales, yet it remains an important disease globally with 250,000 cases diagnosed annually. Its importance lies in the need for early diagnosis and expert treatment and support, both for those with active disease and for those who are physically, psychologically, or socially affected by it. Health Protection Agency

Making integrated out of hospital care a reality

Making integrated out of hospital care a reality: This report presents a set of principles to act as foundations for delivering integrated out-of-hospital care. NHS Confederation

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2013/14

Everyone counts: planning for patients 2013/14: This planning guidance aims to help local clinicians deliver more
responsive health services, focused on improving outcomes for patients, addressing local priorities and meeting the rights people have under the NHS Constitution. It outlines the incentives and levers that will be used to improve services from April 2013, the first year of the new NHS where improvement is driven by clinical commissioners.

• Guidance
• Clinical datasets
• CCG outcomes indicator set 2013/14: at a glance
• CCG outcomes indicator set 2013/14: factsheet
• NHS Commissioning Board - news

21st century welfare: seventy years since the Beveridge Report

21st century welfare: seventy years since the Beveridge Report: This report examines the giant evils as conceived by Beveridge, places them in the context of today’s society and explores how they are experienced. It examines public attitudes towards the NHS and the funding of care and support in future.

• Report
• Ipsos MORI - publications

New NHS planning guidance puts patient first

New NHS planning guidance puts patient first: Many newspapers are reporting new planning guidance for the NHS released by the NHS Commissioning Board, which it says will "drive a revolution for patients…giving them greater control of their health."

Hospitals specialising in community healthcare are key to future of the NHS

Hospitals specialising in community healthcare are key to future of the NHS: Prevention and rehabilitation need to be more widespread if the NHS is to cope with the costs of ageing, say healthcare leaders

NHS trusts are enmeshed in private provision – as buyers and suppliers

NHS trusts are enmeshed in private provision – as buyers and suppliers:

FOI requests reveal NHS hospitals spending millions buying beds in private hospitals or profiting from patients who pay
NHS hospitals deal with private firms to buy and sell patient care and treatment services worth more than £500m, creating a marketplace for commercial healthcare companies in the English health service, an analysis by the Guardian reveals.

Surgeons' ranking system 'could lead to cherry picking patients'

Surgeons' ranking system 'could lead to cherry picking patients': Surgeons could be discouraged from treating "difficult" patients because of new tables that rank them according to how many people die in their operating theatres, it has been warned. The Daily Telegraph

Judge overrules mother over cancer treatment for seven-year-old Neon Roberts

Judge overrules mother over cancer treatment for seven-year-old Neon Roberts:
A seven-year-old cancer sufferer is due to have life-saving surgery today after a High Court judge intervened to order the operation against his mother’s wishes. The Independent

New detailed analysis about NHS staff pay in England released for first time today

New detailed analysis about NHS staff pay in England released for first time today: December 18, 2012: Average basic pay among NHS staff rose slightly in 2012 but by a smaller amount than in 2011, according to experimental data published for the first time today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

Hospitals to reveal performance data

Hospitals to reveal performance data: Hospitals will be required to publish survival rates for operations by the surgeon who carries them out under plans to help patients to choose more effectively where they have their care. The Independent

See also:

• Surgeons' death rates to be published following ten operations The Daily Telegraph

Why oh, why oh, wi-fi

Why oh, why oh, wi-fi: Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has made a technology revolution in the NHS one of his top priorities - but how well equipped is NHS infrastructure to deliver it? E-health Insider

New guide on sickness absence - musculoskeletal disorders

New guide on sickness absence - musculoskeletal disorders: NHS Employers has published a new guide to support line managers that are managing staff with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Developing and updating local formularies

Developing and updating local formularies: This guidance provides advice and guides good practice for those
involved in handling, prescribing, commissioning and decision-making about medicines. It has been designed to help organisations develop and update local formularies that reflect local needs, reduce variation in prescribing, and allow rapid uptake of innovative medicines and treatments, in accordance with statutory requirements.

• Guidance
• NICE - news

Redbook to go digital

Redbook to go digital: The Redbook, a record of children's development and health, is the subject of a project by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in order to create an online version of the data.Dr David Low, Chair of the RCPCH Informatics for Quality Committee, said: "Having it (the Redbook) online with the right information and advice should encourage parents to use it in a much more interactive way and put in mo... Healthcare Today

NHS to drop poverty as yardstick for local funding

NHS to drop poverty as yardstick for local funding: NHS commissioning board will discontinue funding system using a formula involving age, poverty and regional variations
The new independent quango at the heart of the coalition's health reforms has said it will stop using income to determine health spending levels around in the country next year as part of a set of reforms designed to promote "patient choice" in the NHS.

Hospital consultants could lose £40,000 in pay shake-up

Hospital consultants could lose £40,000 in pay shake-up: Senior hospital consultants' pay packages should undergo a radical shakeup, according to a report commissioned by ministers. The Daily Telegraph

EU directive had led to 'rigid doctors' shift patterns'

EU directive had led to 'rigid doctors' shift patterns': The junior doctors' contract is "not suitable" for today's NHS, while the European Working Time Directive has led to "rigid shift patterns" that do not benefit medics or patients, according to a report. The Daily Telegraph

Bowel Cancer: Postoperative deaths fall for fourth consecutive year, says national audit

Bowel Cancer: Postoperative deaths fall for fourth consecutive year, says national audit: December 17, 2012: Call to "break taboo that locks symptoms behind bathroom door" as emergency admissions continue to cause concern NHS Information Centre

MP raises concerns over services at Kettering hospital in Commons debate

MP raises concerns over services at Kettering hospital in Commons debate: MP for Corby and East Northants Andy Sawford raised concerns over the future of services at Kettering General Hospital during a Commons debate on Wednesday, December 12. Evening Telegraph

Hospital celebrates above average A & E care results

Hospital celebrates above average A & E care results: Kettering General Hospital is celebrating after achieving above average scores in a survey on the care it provides in accident and emergency. Evening Telegraph

‘Bump book’ to help pregnant mums keep healthy

‘Bump book’ to help pregnant mums keep healthy:
Start4Life, the sister brand to Change4Life, has today launched a free booklet for all pregnant mums to help them keep healthy throughout pregnancy and beyond.

NHS 'should operate seven days a week'

NHS 'should operate seven days a week': Hospitals and GPs' surgeries could soon be expected to provide more routine services at the weekend under proposals to accelerate the spread of seven-day working across the National Health Service. The Independent

See also:

• Learn from Tesco to work seven days a week, doctors told The Daily Telegraph
• Hospitals to offer more weekend operations under NHS plans The Guardian
• NHS weekend provision considered BBC News

Football 'lessons' for healthcare

Football 'lessons' for healthcare: Medicine has a lot to learn from football about developing new approaches, says researchers in the British Medical Journal. BBC News

Services must evolve and revolve around the changing needs of patients; community services are the key, says Rob Webster

Services must evolve and revolve around the changing needs of patients; community services are the key, says Rob Webster: The 21st century NHS faces the biggest challenges of a generation. So why are we still using 20th century approaches to healthcare that ignore patients’ assets and 21st  century technology? Many reasons – financial flows; disjointed IT; and professional hierarchies. But perhaps the biggest barrier is in our culture – one that we must overcome, … Continue reading » NHS Voices

A future state of mind: facing up to the dementia challenge

A future state of mind: facing up to the dementia challenge: This report draws on in-depth interviews with people with Alzheimer's and their carers and a wealth of research to identify the barriers to early diagnosis, from a patient and professional perspective. New policies are proposed to better incentivise the health system to
diagnose dementia earlier.

• Report
• SMF - publications

NHS lone worker services framework agreement

NHS lone worker services framework agreement: This letter provides information in relation to concerns which have arisen regarding early terminations of NHS lone worker services framework agreements.

• Letter
• NHS Employers - news

Liverpool Care Pathway: watchdogs must be informed about 'inappropriate' use

Liverpool Care Pathway: watchdogs must be informed about 'inappropriate' use: Health watchdogs must be informed when doctors or loved-ones think the Liverpool Care Pathway has been used "inappropriately", the Care Quality Commission has stated. The Daily Telegraph

Hospital closes wards to visitors to stop spread of winter vomiting bug

Hospital closes wards to visitors to stop spread of winter vomiting bug:
A hospital has closed its doors to visitors in a bid to stem the growing number of people infected with the winter vomiting bug. The Independent

Steps set out for greater patient involvement and more choice

Steps set out for greater patient involvement and more choice: The Government’s response to its consultation on proposals for greater patient involvement and more choice has been published today.
For the first time, people who use mental health services will get more choice about where and how they get their condition treated by the NHS.

'Monday blues' hit appointments

'Monday blues' hit appointments: Researchers identify the "Monday blues" as one of the reasons why patients miss medical appointments. BBC News

Cheap vitamin D 'would boost health'

Cheap vitamin D 'would boost health': Increasing access to cheap vitamin D supplements would improve the health of at-risk groups including children, experts say. BBC News

Liberating the NHS: no decision about me without me - Government response

Liberating the NHS: no decision about me without me - Government response: This publication outlines the government's response to a consultation on proposals for greater patient involvement and choice. It outlines
how patients will have a choice in provider when they are first referred to see a specialist in secondary care. It also outlines broader plans to increase patient involvement and patient choice.

• Government response
• 2012-13 choice framework
• 2013-14 choice framework
• Equality analysis
• Impact assessment
• Any Qualified Provider map
• Department of Health - news 

Exclusive: Interactive map of the new NHS commissioning system

Exclusive: Interactive map of the new NHS commissioning system: HSJ has launched the first comprehensive interactive map of the reformed NHS commissioning system, showing critical details about the new organisations, including their leaders, performance, budgets and size (no password required).

Are clinical commissioning groups ready to go?

Are clinical commissioning groups ready to go?: With less than four months before CCGs take over from primary care trusts, just eight out of 211 have now been fully authorised. The focus will be on failings unless the system improves
The authorisation of the first clinical commissioning groups provides a window onto the state of readiness of the new NHS structures.

Demand £500m back for Tamiflu, urge MPs

Demand £500m back for Tamiflu, urge MPs: Ministers should demand that the pharmaceutical firm Roche returns £500 million to the NHS if it is found to have sat on trials data showing the flu drug Tamiflu to be ineffective, say MPs. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• MPs call for investigation into £500m spent on Tamiflu drug The Guardian

Obesity killing three times as many as malnutrition

Obesity killing three times as many as malnutrition: Obesity is now killing triple the number of people who die from malnutrition as it claims more than three million lives a year worldwide, according to a landmark study. The Daily Telegraph

Up to 750,000 people could be hit by norovirus bug as UK faces biggest outbreak yet

Up to 750,000 people could be hit by norovirus bug as UK faces biggest outbreak yet:
More than 750,000 people could be affected by an outbreak of norovirus in the UK, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has claimed. The Independent

Progress in making NHS efficiency savings

Progress in making NHS efficiency savings: The NHS made a substantial amount of efficiency savings in 2011-12. These will need to be sustained and built on if savings targets are to be met. National Audit Office

See also:

• More than half of NHS trusts rationing treatments The Daily Telegraph
• NHS: spending watchdog questions claims of £5.8bn savings The Guardian
• NHS Confederation and NHS Employers comment on National Audit Office report Progress in making NHS efficiency savings 
• NHS will struggle to make long-term savings, NAO warns GP Online
• NHS facing 'tough savings challenge' BBC News
• The King's Fund responds to the National Audit Office’s report on progress in making NHS efficiency savings
• NHS savings ''may be unsustainable''  Public Service

Do personal health budgets improve quality of life for patients?

Do personal health budgets improve quality of life for patients?: The personal health budgets evaluation, published recently by the Department of Health, contains encouraging news for those who believe that giving patients greater choice, flexibility and control can improve their quality of life. The scheme offers personal budgets to people with long-term conditions to cover non-medical support services such as therapy and nursing services, home care, day care and meal services, complementary therapies, mobility assistance, leisure services and equipment.

National Audit of Schizophrenia report published

National Audit of Schizophrenia report published: A NICE guideline on the treatment and management of schizophrenia in adults (NICE CG82) was published in 2009. The aim of this audit, the first of its kind, was to examine how far this guideline is being implemented and to stimulate improvements in the care and treatment of adults in the community with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
 
One of the aims of the audit was to measure practice in the prescribing of antipsychotic medications. Some of they key findings highlighted regarding pharmacological treatments were as follows: 

• Only 62% of service users reported that the information about their medication was in a form they could properly understand.
• While clinical staff reported that they thought they had involved service users in the choice of medication in 62% of cases, only 41% of service users felt their views were taken into account.
• Appropriate treatment guidelines are being followed for the majority of service users. ...

Royal College of Psychiatrists

Medicines management and QIPP in community services

Medicines management and QIPP in community services:
The document has examples of reducing length of stay or avoiding admission, reducing prescribing costs and working differently with the resources available to make efficiency savings.

Third end primary school overweight

Third end primary school overweight: One in three children in the final year of primary school in England is overweight or obese, figures show. BBC News

Many cleft palate cases 'missed'

Many cleft palate cases 'missed': Surgeons say many babies born in the UK with a cleft palate are being diagnosed late, causing unnecessary distress. BBC News

NHS must work together to pull struggling trusts back from financial cliff edge

NHS must work together to pull struggling trusts back from financial cliff edge: Regulators, commissioners and the Department of Health will need to do more to prevent NHS trusts sliding towards a financial cliff edge, the NHS Confederation has said.

A narrative for person-centred, coordinated (‘integrated’) care

A narrative for person-centred, coordinated (‘integrated’) care: The NHS Commissioning Board has commissioned National Voices, the national coalition of health and social care charities and its members, to develop a narrative for integrated care from the perspective of the patient and service user. This work is also in partnership with the Local Government Association, supported by the Department of Health and Monitor.  The aim of the narrative is to help ensure a shared understanding of what good person-centred, co-ordinated or integrated care looks like for an individual, using language that everyone can identify with. Comments on the narrative are invited until the 28th February 2013.

• Narrative
• Consultation response
• NHS Commissioning Board - news

Learning development and personal effectiveness resources

Learning development and personal effectiveness resources: These resources are designed to support doctors and dentists in all aspects of their work and work-life balance. The self review tools and e-modules have been developed in collaboration with clinicians of all career stages. They seek to address some of the challenges associated with everyday clinical and professional practice such as relationships with colleagues, stressors and conflict in the workplace.

• Resources and further information

Do we need a telehealth tsar?

Do we need a telehealth tsar?: Telehealth pilots show promising results but technology will not deliver benefits if care pathways are poorly designed
Among the numerous challenges facing the NHS in England, caring for more than 15 million patients with chronic conditions is arguably the biggest and accounts for 70% of its budget. Telehealth can offer better long-term care at lower cost, but despite its attractions and ministerial backing, implementation remains patchy.

Mental health patients to be given new rights

Mental health patients to be given new rights: Patients to be allowed to choose consultants, a move that will give them parity with those with physical health problems
Patients with mental health problems are to be given new rights over which consultant psychiatrist they see under new plans to end institutional bias against them in the NHS.
The move, to be announced on Thursday by the Department of Health, will allow people with conditions such as depression to choose which specialist they go to for treatment from 2014.

Imperial Tobacco, one of the world's biggest cigarette firms, loses display battle

Imperial Tobacco, one of the world's biggest cigarette firms, loses display battle:
One of the world's biggest tobacco firms lost a Supreme Court fight today against a planned cigarette display ban. Healthcare Today

HPA update on seasonal norovirus activity

HPA update on seasonal norovirus activity: Figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that in the two weeks ending December 2 there has been a 28 per cent reduction in the number of confirmed lab reports of norovirus.

Speak out about rape and sexual assault

Speak out about rape and sexual assault: Serenity, Northamptonshire's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), is launching a campaign aimed at 18-30 year old victims of rape and sexual assault to encourage them to come forward and talk about...  Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Northampton medical firm owed £230,000 by NHS

Northampton medical firm owed £230,000 by NHS: A Northampton medical supplies firm risks being unable to pay its staff because of a £230,000 debt owed by the NHS. Northampton Chronilce and Echo

England to be ‘among best in Europe at tackling cancer’ pledges Jeremy Hunt

England to be ‘among best in Europe at tackling cancer’ pledges Jeremy Hunt: The second annual report on ‘Improving outcomes: a strategy for cancer‘, published today, shows cancer survival rates are improving.
Get a flavour of the findings in this infographic.
Speaking today at the Britain against Cancer Conference, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt emphasised the need to reduce variation across England, so all areas reach the excellent standards of the best.
He pledged to make England among the best in Europe at tackling the top 5 killers: cancer, stroke, and heart, respiratory and liver disease.

Is miscarriage care insensitive?

Is miscarriage care insensitive?: 'I could hear women having their babies while I was losing mine' BBC News

NHS trust helped on £45m deficit

NHS trust helped on £45m deficit: Experts are to be called in by an NHS watchdog to a hospital trust deemed unable to clear a £45m budget deficit. BBC News

The cost of our ageing society

The cost of our ageing society: This report, sponsored by Milliman, highlights the projected financial impact of the cost of the world’s ageing population. It particularly examines spending on healthcare, which in the UK is
projected to see the largest rise of all elements of age-related spending; rising from an annual cost of 6.8% to 9.1% of GDP between 2016/17 and 2061/62. This total rise of 2.3% of GDP is equivalent to a rise of around £36bn in today’s money. It calls on governments across the world to consider linking eligibility ages of state pension to life expectancy and do more to ensure that the labour market is accessible to older people. It also urges governments to consider how to create better conditions for health care innovation and development.

• Report
• ILC - publications

Clinical Commissioning Groups start to take budgets

Clinical Commissioning Groups start to take budgets: This week the NHS Commissioning Board has given authorisation for 34 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to assume the management of health service budgets for their areas.Sir David Nicholson, the NHS Commissioning Board’s Chief Executive, said: "The creation of CCGs is a great opportunity for the NHS that will have real benefits for patients. In future, the vast majority of decisions about how we use the publ... Healthcare Today

How C.diff travels the world

How C.diff travels the world: Researchers in the United States say they have identified two strains of the superbug Clostridium difficile that can spread rapidly.Once they become resistant to antibiotics, the C. difficile strains quickly infected hospitals around the world.The study carried out a forensic analysis of the bacterium's genetic code, and were able to show how it had travelled.Once the bac... Healthcare Today

Winterbourne View failures lead to care system review

Winterbourne View failures lead to care system review: “Fine and ban care home abuse bosses,” the Daily Mirror demands, while the Daily Mail says that “there must be a complete culture change in treatment” for care centres.

Both headlines are in response to a Department of Health report into staff mistreatment and abuse of patients at the private Winterbourne View Hospital. These events first came to light in May 2011.

The engine behind GP-led commissioning? The private sector | Colin Leys

The engine behind GP-led commissioning? The private sector | Colin Leys: GPs taking on the commissioning role of primary care trusts will be more accountable to private shareholders than the public
The authorisation of the "first wave" of 34 GP-led clinical commissioning groups to replace primary care trusts in April is a good moment to take stock. What kind of health service are CCGs – which are the centrepiece of the controversial Health and Social Care Act 2012 – going to give us?

Bowel cancer test delayed by IT glitch

Bowel cancer test delayed by IT glitch: IT problems have led to a two-year delay in rolling out a bowel cancer test that could save thousands of lives, the Department of Health has admitted. The Daily Telegraph

Keep yourself protected from Norovirus this winter

Keep yourself protected from Norovirus this winter: Vomiting and diarrhoea are symptoms of the ‘winter vomiting bug' Norovirus, a group of viruses that are the most common cause of stomach bugs in England and Wales, affecting all... NHFT

Government publishes final report on Winterbourne View Hospital

Government publishes final report on Winterbourne View Hospital:
The government has today published its final report into the events at Winterbourne View Hospital and has set out a programme of action to transform services so that vulnerable people no longer live inappropriately in hospitals and are cared for in line with best practice.

New bowel-cancer screening pilot

New bowel-cancer screening pilot: Pilots of a new bowel cancer screening programme which could save 3,000 lives a year are to begin, England's Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to announce. BBC News

Plans to move care from hospitals

Plans to move care from hospitals: The government plans a "dramatic reduction" in the number of people with learning disabilities in hospitals in England in the wake of the Winterbourne View abuse scandal.

See also: VIDEO: Plans to move care from hospitals:

BBC News

VIDEO: DNA mapping for cancer patients

VIDEO: DNA mapping for cancer patients: Up to 100,000 patients with cancer and rare diseases in England are to have their entire genetic code sequenced. BBC News

Getting it right for dementia patients

Getting it right for dementia patients: How colour-coded bays, soft floors and extra training is helping BBC News

All systems go: testing the new licensing system for providers of NHS-funded care

All systems go: testing the new licensing system for providers of NHS-funded care: From April 2013, a new licensing system for most providers of NHS-funded services is expected to be established. The NHS Confederation partnered with Deloitte to stage a simulation event to test the licence in a set of fictitious scenarios. NHS Confederation

Standards of care for people living with HIV 2013

Standards of care for people living with HIV 2013: This set of quality standards has been produced in conjunction with care providers, professional associations, commissioners, and people living with HIV. They cover 12 key themes, prioritised as being the most important issues for the care of people with HIV. Derived from the best available evidence, the standards focus on aspects of care that have particular relevance for delivering equitable high-quality services that secure the best possible outcomes for people with HIV.

• Quality standards
• Press release
• BHIVA - publications

Diabetes increases heart attack risk by 48%

Diabetes increases heart attack risk by 48%: “People with diabetes 48% more likely to suffer heart attack, researchers find”, says The Guardian. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports that people with diabetes are “65% more likely to have heart failure than the rest of the population”.

Both stories are based on the most recent report of the National Diabetes Audit, which presents data from England and Wales on the complications that arise due to diabetes.

Winterbourne View scandal prompts 'fitness' tests for hospital owners

Winterbourne View scandal prompts 'fitness' tests for hospital owners: Corporate owners of private units for NHS-funded patients with learning disabilities to face closer scrutiny after abuse revealed
The corporate owners of private hospitals dealing with NHS-funded patients are to be subject to tests to check if they are "fit and proper" persons to be involved with healthcare.

Can innovation really be the raison d'etre of every NHS employee as David Nicholson hopes?

Can innovation really be the raison d'etre of every NHS employee as David Nicholson hopes?: The chief executive of the NHS wants to make innovation the core business of the health service, but there is still a long way to go.
This time last year, the Department of Health launched the Innovation, Health and Wealth initiative, which was to drive the NHS into the bright sunny uplands of perpetual innovation.

Nurses 'too busy to care for patients'

Nurses 'too busy to care for patients': Nurses are too busy to care for patients, the head of a nursing union has claimed after an MP accused hospital staff of treating her husband "like a battery hen" before he died. The Daily Telegraph

Monitor seeks long-term solution for troubled foundation trust

Monitor seeks long-term solution for troubled foundation trust: Experts are being called in to recommend a long-term solution for the financial viability of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Although the Trust has been in significant breach of its terms of authorisation on financial grounds since October 2010, there is no evidence its financial problems have affected the quality of clinical care. Monitor

Unused drugs cost NHS across Northamptonshire £4.6m

Unused drugs cost NHS across Northamptonshire £4.6m: WASTED medicines could be costing the county NHS more than £4.6 million a year.Northampton Chronicle and Echo

How must we change care systems to meet the needs of the future patient?

How must we change care systems to meet the needs of the future patient?: We deliberately kicked off our Time to Think Differently debate by focusing on the future patient. What could be more important than patient needs and preferences to the discussion about the future of health and social care? We are delighted by the quality and number of contributions to the debate and grateful to everyone for helping to shape our thinking.

GP contract proposals outlined

GP contract proposals outlined: Proposed changes to the GP contract have been outlined by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The proposed changes will see GPs rewarded for earlier diagnosis and better care of dementia patients and putting a sharper focus on improving the lives of patients with long term conditions.

Funding 'cut' for cancer networks

Funding 'cut' for cancer networks: Clinical networks of doctors and nurses which oversee the care of cancer, heart and stroke patients have had their budgets and staff cut, figures show. BBC News

MPs call for drugs policy rethink

MPs call for drugs policy rethink: A committee of MPs urges ministers to closely consider a system of decriminalising drugs adopted in Portugal, saying the UK must rethink large parts of its drugs policy. BBC News

DNA mapping for cancer patients

DNA mapping for cancer patients: Up to 100,000 patients with cancer and rare diseases in England are to have their entire genetic code sequenced. BBC News

UK reaction to GMS contract changes for England

UK reaction to GMS contract changes for England: GP leaders are warning that practices could close if government proposals to change the GMS contract in 2013/14 are imposed. GP Online

GMC launches confidential helpline for doctors to raise concerns about patient safety

GMC launches confidential helpline for doctors to raise concerns about patient safety: For the first time doctors who are worried about patient safety will be able to contact the General Medical Council (GMC) through a new confidential helpline.

Care for older people: projected expenditure to 2022 on social care and continuing health care for England’s older population

Care for older people: projected expenditure to 2022 on social care and continuing health care for England’s older population: This analysis by the London School of Economics, commissioned by the Nuffield Trust,  projects expenditure on social care and health care for older people in England from 2010 to 2022.

• Analysis
• Press release
• Project page
• The Nuffield Trust - publications

Cancer cases rise, but more people survive

Cancer cases rise, but more people survive: New cancer statistics for the UK have hit the headlines, with most papers reporting that fewer people are dying from the disease, despite a rise in the numbers being diagnosed.

These 2008-2010 figures were produced by the Office for National Statistic (ONS) and show:

• the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year (incidence) was nearly 320,000
• the number of people dying from cancer each year (mortality rates) was about 156,000

The report found that Wales had the highest rate of cancer for men and Scotland had the highest cancer rates for women.

People with diabetes at much higher risk of suffering heart failure than the general population, national audit shows

People with diabetes at much higher risk of suffering heart failure than the general population, national audit shows: Data also shows 330 per cent greater risk of some complications than general population Death rate among people with Type 1 diabetes 135 per cent high... NHS Information Centre

Winterbourne View scandal prompts new care guidelines

Winterbourne View scandal prompts new care guidelines: Report warns that care sector risks slipping back into institutional culture typified by Victorian asylum system
Ministers will on Monday order a programme of action intended to remove up to 1,500 people with learning disabilities and autism from private hospitals such as the Winterbourne View unit where a regime of abuse and humiliation was exposed.

NHS spending has been cut, Tories forced to admit

NHS spending has been cut, Tories forced to admit:
David Cameron's general election pledge not to cut spending on the NHS has been broken, the Conservative Party conceded for the first time yesterday, as new figures revealed the health service is on the brink of a winter crisis. The Independent

Challenges still to be met in reducing occupational exposures to bloodborne viruses

Challenges still to be met in reducing occupational exposures to bloodborne viruses: There were 541 reports of needle stick injuries that exposed healthcare workers to patients carrying bloodborne viruses in 2011, twice as many as a decade ago (2002) when 271 exposures were reported. The figures are published today in the Health Protection Agency’s fourth Eye of the Needle report, which includes occupational exposures to bloodborne viruses in healthcare workers reported by hospitals through the HPA’s enhanced surveillance system. These reports are only a fraction of needle stick injuries that would have occurred.