Winter crisis deepens despite drop in numbers attending A&E units

Winter crisis deepens despite drop in numbers attending A&E units New figures show a deepening winter crisis across the NHS with 52 Accident & Emergency departments ordering ambulances to be diverted to other hospitals.

The record high comes despite a significant drop in the number of patients arriving at casualty units, following repeated advice to stay away unless need is severe.

The figure is almost twice the 27 recorded in the same week last year.

And 45 per cent of NHS trusts in England declared a major alert last week as services came under pressure.

Sixty-eight trusts out of 152 raised the alarm at least once due to bed shortages and problems managing the flow of patients through A&E. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Bed-blocking: 'Managers ask how long patient will live' BBC News
• Fifty-two NHS hospitals sent patients elsewhere in busiest week yet The Guardian

POLL: Would you be willing to pay extra tax to prop up the NHS in Northamptonshire?

POLL: Would you be willing to pay extra tax to prop up the NHS in Northamptonshire? Health bosses in Northamptonshire need to save £230 million over the next five years to balance the books... but would you be willing to pay extra tax to prop up the NHS? Northampton Chronicle and Echo

‘We want justice for our babies’: Northampton woman’s campaign to see inquests for stillbirths

‘We want justice for our babies’: Northampton woman’s campaign to see inquests for stillbirths A Northampton mother who was forced to enter a four-year legal battle to reveal doctor’s negligence over her baby’s death is calling for a change in the law for other parents - and The Chronicle & Echo wants to help her cause. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

St Andrew's college for young people with mental needs rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted

St Andrew's college for young people with mental needs rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted A school for children and adolescents with mental health needs has earned its second 'outstanding' rating from Ofsted. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Crowd-sourcing the future of the NHS

Crowd-sourcing the future of the NHS As the NHS struggles to meet rising demand amid funding constraints and a growing sense of crisis in social care, it can be difficult to look beyond the immediate pressures and think ahead to the longer term future of health and social care in England.

Last year, in a bid to look beyond the here and now, we started a programme of work to generate new thinking on the future of the NHS – thinking unconstrained by today’s limitations and boundaries. We asked experts both inside and outside the Fund to set free their imaginations on a range of ‘What if…’ scenarios for the future of health and care.

Their essays challenged us to consider scenarios such as a carbon-neutral NHS, an NHS in a world in which antibiotics stopped working and a society in which obesity were eradicated, among others. The King's Fund

Supporting carers: mental health carers’ assessments in policy and practice

Supporting carers: mental health carers’ assessments in policy and practice This briefing outlines the challenges that mental health carers face in accessing carers’ assessments. It looks at the legal context and how the assessments work in practice. Centre for Mental Health

Designing a High-Performing Health Care System for Patients with Complex Needs

Designing a High-Performing Health Care System for Patients with Complex Needs The Commonwealth Fund International Experts Working Group on Patients with Complex Conditions offers recommendations on care for older adults living with frailty, advanced illness, or other complex conditions.

Fewer beds, higher patient demand - NHS pressure mounts

Fewer beds, higher patient demand - NHS pressure mounts With many hospitals close to full in these difficult winter weeks, there has been much debate about the resources available in the health service.

Patient demand is rising faster than the budget increases allocated to the NHS in England.

Yet the number of hospital bed numbers has fallen steadily in recent years. So what is going on?

The total number of overnight hospital beds in England fell from 144,455 at the start of the 2010/11 financial year to 129,458 in the middle of 2016 (the last recorded figures). The number of day beds over that period increased from 11,783 to 12,480.

Looking further back into history reveals a sharper rate of decline.

That current figure of overnight beds compares with almost 300,000 in 1987-88 according to figures from the Nuffield Trust. BBC News

Man evicted from hospital for blocking bed for two years

Man evicted from hospital for blocking bed for two years A hospital applied for a court order to remove a patient who had occupied a bed "unnecessarily" for more than two years.

The man, who cannot be named due to patient confidentiality, had refused to leave the James Paget University Hospital in Norfolk.

The hospital said he had been "fit for discharge" and had been offered appropriate accommodation.

It said the decision to go to court was a last resort and "not taken lightly".

The man, from Suffolk, had been at the hospital in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, since August 2014. BBC News

See also:

• Hospital 'takes court action to evict bed-blocker who refused to leave for two years' The Daily Telegraph

'Huge leap' in prostate cancer testing

'Huge leap' in prostate cancer testing The biggest leap in diagnosing prostate cancer "in decades" has been made using new scanning equipment, say doctors and campaigners.

Using advanced MRI nearly doubles the number of aggressive tumours that are caught.

And the trial on 576 men, published in the Lancet, showed more than a quarter could be spared invasive biopsies, which can lead to severe side-effects.

The NHS is already reviewing whether the scans can be introduced widely.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in British men, and yet testing for it is far from perfect. BBC News

Nearly 200 GP practices closed in 2016 alone, NHS data suggest

Nearly 200 GP practices closed in 2016 alone, NHS data suggest Data on GP practice populations released by NHS Digital this month list just 7,532 GP practices - down 181 from the total a year earlier in January 2016.

Part of the drop in GP practice numbers in the NHS Digital data is likely to be driven by mergers, which could mean that some of the practice locations no longer listed in official figures remain open, but under the wing of a larger group.

However, BMA leaders have warned that closures are at 'record levels' and the latest figures suggest that the trend is not slowing down as GPs wait for government pledges of investment through the GP Forward View to take effect. GP Online

Noisy hospitals can accelerate decline in dementia

Noisy hospitals can accelerate decline in dementia Busy noisy hospitals with changing staff can accelerate mental decline in patients with dementia, a study* published in JAMA Psychiatry has shown.

Patients can become acutely confused and disorientated in busy noisy environments such as hospitals, which can prompt delirium. Delirium, which affects a quarter of older patients, may have long-lasting consequences, including accelerating the dementia process, University College London and University of Cambridge researchers have shown. OnMedica

Nurse shifts left unfilled at nearly every hospital in England, figures show

Nurse shifts left unfilled at nearly every hospital in England, figures show Analysis of official data finds 96% of NHS hospital trusts had fewer nurses covering day shifts than they had planned

Almost every hospital in England has fewer nurses on duty than each believes are needed to guarantee safe patient care, research shows.

Analysis of official data by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) found that 96% of NHS hospital trusts in England had fewer nurses covering day shifts in October than they had planned and 85% did not have the desired number working at night. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Shortage of nurses in almost EVERY hospital in Britain The Daily Mail
• 96 per cent of hospitals have nurse shortages, official figures show The Daily Telegraph
• NHS Hospital wards left with 'dangerously low levels of nurses' The Independent

Hitting the right note: the orchestra helping stroke survivors recover – video

Hitting the right note: the orchestra helping stroke survivors recover – video Strokestra, a pioneering collaboration between the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Hull integrated community stroke service uses group music-making to drive recovery in stroke survivors. Patients try out instruments, listen to and play alongside world-class musicians. With funding from Hull Public Health, the pilot programme involved 50 patients and carers and ran from May to October 2015. This is their story. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Seeing stroke recovery through music reminded me why I love my job The Guardian

Sandwiches and salads off the menu as NHS battles cash crisis

Sandwiches and salads off the menu as NHS battles cash crisis Sandwiches and salads are off the menu at cash-strapped NHS hospitals as trusts attempt to put off paying bills until the new financial year.

Suppliers to hospitals have abandoned contracts after senior managers failed to persuade them to wait months for outstanding payments to be made.

Other NHS trusts are delaying payments in a desperate bid to reduce their deficit by the end of this financial year.

Last year the health service declared the worst deficit in its history - at £2.45bn - and the current winter crisis is fuelling extra spending on agency staff. The Daily Telegraph

KGH outlines plans to reduce car park traffic

KGH outlines plans to reduce car park traffic Car park queues have been the source of many a headache for those visiting Kettering General Hospital in recent years. Northamptonshire Telegraph

‘Waste’ in health care: separating good from bad

‘Waste’ in health care: separating good from bad Last week we hosted a conference jointly with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to launch their new report on wasteful spending on health. The OECD’s report suggests that around one fifth of spending on health makes no or minimal contribution to improved health outcomes. At a time when NHS funding is back in the headlines, the report’s findings repay careful study. The King's Fund

Sustainable development guidance for health and social care organisations

Sustainable development guidance for health and social care organisations The SDU have produced updated Sustainable Development Management Plan guidance with information tailored to be helpful to specific organisation types.

The new version has been brought up to date with the current NHS standard contract and provides more detailed guidance as to which areas are more or less appropriate for large providers, small providers and CCGs.

The guidance is intended to support organisations to understand the key elements that make up a Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP). It also provides some advice on how you can develop your organisation’s SDMP. Sustainable Development Unit

NHS staff shortages: Why so persistent?

NHS staff shortages: Why so persistent? NHS staff shortages seem an everyday fact of life - or at least a factor mentioned in several news stories each week. But why do these shortages persist and is there anything that can be done to get rid of them?

In this week's In Business on BBC Radio 4, I spoke to historians, economists, nurses, doctors and other healthcare staff to try to get to the bottom of these questions.

And to pose another one - does the NHS have the right mix of staff with the right mix of skills or could changing traditional roles rather than just boosting numbers help? BBC News

Vaccines for three deadly viruses fast-tracked

Vaccines for three deadly viruses fast-tracked Scientists have named three relatively little-known diseases they think could cause the next global health emergency.

A coalition of governments and charities has committed $460m to speed up vaccine development for Mers, Lassa fever and Nipah virus.

They are asking funders at the World Economic Forum Davos for another $500m.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) aims to have two new experimental vaccines ready for each disease within five years. BBC News

See also:

• Virus lottery: What could be next epidemic? BBC News
• Inside lab where Mers vaccine made BBC News

Financial ties between researchers and drug industry linked to positive trial results

Financial ties between researchers and drug industry linked to positive trial results Financial ties between researchers and the companies that make the drugs they are studying are independently associated with positive trial results, suggesting bias in the evidence base, concludes a study published by The BMJ. OnMedica

EU workers must be guaranteed right to remain in the UK, says BMA

EU workers must be guaranteed right to remain in the UK, says BMA The government must guarantee the rights of EU workers to remain in the UK permanently post Brexit to assure “the stability of the NHS and the future of medical research”, the BMA has warned.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Teresa May outlined some details of her Brexit strategy, which made it clear that there would be future restrictions on EU workers wanting to come to the UK and failed to provide assurance to EU nationals already here that they will be able to remain. OnMedica

A week after Theresa May's speech on mental health, a women's psychiatric ward is closing due to cuts

A week after Theresa May's speech on mental health, a women's psychiatric ward is closing due to cuts After declaring children and adolescent mental health services the 'single biggest area of weakness in NHS provision', Jeremy Hunt pledged an extra £250m a year. However, around half of CCGs in England will spend the extra money allocated for CAMHS on other services. The Independent

Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse but the rest of the world isn’t listening

Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse but the rest of the world isn’t listening In Iceland, teenage smoking, drinking and drug use have been radically cut in the past 20 years. Emma Young finds out how they did it, and why other countries won’t follow suit. The Independent

Home Office refuses to enforce privacy code on NHS staff using video

Home Office refuses to enforce privacy code on NHS staff using video Surveillance camera commissioner’s advice that trusts be required to comply with code to protect patients is rejected

The government has rejected a request by the surveillance camera watchdog to allow it to monitor the increasing and unregulated use of CCTV and body-worn video cameras in hospitals.

The body cameras, which record sound as well as images, are being increasingly deployed in hospitals in an effort to tackle abuse of frontline health service staff. Continue reading... The Guardian

Cancer could become untreatable because of superbugs

Cancer could become untreatable because of superbugs Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Government's chief medical officer, warned that the increasing prevalence of superbugs could soon make routine operations risky. The Daily Mail

BMA tell Theresa May they won't be scapegoats for NHS

BMA tell Theresa May they won't be scapegoats for NHS The intervention by the British Medical Association follows a warning by the Prime Minister that GPs were partly to blame for the pressure on A&E by closing their surgeries early. The Daily Mail

One in five new drugs could be rationed on the NHS

One in five new drugs could be rationed on the NHS One in five new medicines on the NHS could be rationed under new plans to save the health service money, meaning patients will have to join a queue to get treatment.

Cancer, diabetes and asthma patients are all likely to be hit by the plans, which will affect even drugs that have been ruled cost-effective by medics.

Currently people suffering from illness have the right to be treated with drugs that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) says are good value for money. But new affordability criteria will mean that drugs which cost the NHS more than £20 million in total each year could be subject to extra delays or restrictions. The Daily Telegraph

One in 16 people in Northamptonshire has type 2 diabetes, says NHS

One in 16 people in Northamptonshire has type 2 diabetes, says NHS One in 16 people across Northamptonshire has Type 2 diabetes, new figures have revealed. During the past 12 months, figures show that 1,547 people have been diagnosed – an increase of 4.4 per cent on last year. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Taking back control: Integrated Personal Commissioning

Taking back control: Integrated Personal Commissioning It’s easy to dismiss those who say people ’have had enough of experts’, particularly if you work for a think tank. But in health and care, we’ve long known that expertise is not the sole territory of the professional.

The Care Quality Commission now involves ‘experts by experience’ – people who have first-hand experience of health and/or social care services – in its inspections, in training inspectors and in the broader shaping of the organisation. Utilising the 'renewable energy' of patient expertise was one of the central pillars of the NHS five year forward view (Forward View), now more than two years old. The King's Fund

Why the NHS is performing miracles

Why the NHS is performing miraclesIt has been a remarkable few weeks for the health service hasn't it? The worst waiting times in A&E for over a decade. Patients left for hours on trolleys. Vital cancer operations being cancelled. Hospitals across the country declaring major alerts. A humanitarian crisis in the making, says the Red Cross.

But amid all this what we haven't heard is just how well the health service is coping. Given what it is facing, the NHS and, in particular, hospitals are performing miracles. BBC News

Addenbrooke's out of special measures thanks to staff 'dedication'

Addenbrooke's out of special measures thanks to staff 'dedication' The "dedication and skill" of hospital staff has helped one of the UK's largest NHS Trusts emerge from special measures, a report has revealed.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has enhanced the rating for Cambridge University Hospitals Trust from "inadequate" to "good".

It follows a visit by inspectors in September 2016. BBC News

PM ‘scapegoating’ GPs for endangering patients

PM ‘scapegoating’ GPs for endangering patients Doctors’ leaders have written to the Prime Minister in fury at her blaming general practice for the pressures on A&E while underplaying the extent of the NHS crisis, and claiming that the NHS is fully funded. The BMA told Theresa May this morning that her position appears to be a deliberate distraction from the reality of the NHS.

In his letter, BMA chair Dr Mark Porter urged her to address the system-wide crisis that has resulted from years of underfunding, rather than attempting to scapegoat GPs. He wrote: “I have been horrified to see the position which you have taken in responding to the current crisis in the NHS in England. In playing down what is happening in hospitals up and down the country – with beds at full capacity, daily breaches in A&E, and critical operations being cancelled – and in then seeking to lay the blame on general practice, your government appears to be seeking deliberately to distract from what is really happening in the NHS.” OnMedica

The NHS no longer has the resources to care for our sick population

The NHS no longer has the resources to care for our sick population The government is in denial - the chronic underfunding of the health service is bad for patients and staff

Hospitals and GP surgeries have always had a symbiotic relationship and the hospital crisis this winter has had a significant impact on the way that we are able to offer care to patients in the community.

In our practice, demand has not changed significantly as far as minor illnesses are concerned. We had an expectation of winter pressures and planned for more urgent appointments across all days of the week (including a Saturday shared rota with a hub of other local practices). But what we have seen is a significant rise in the complexity of cases – even when compared with a year ago. Continue reading... The Guardian

Mental health needs good deeds more than good speeches

Mental health needs good deeds more than good speeches The landscape is not changing quickly enough – it’s time resources followed the rhetoric

In less than 12 months, two prime ministers have chosen to start their year with major speeches about mental health, committing themselves and their governments to a transformation of the mental health landscape. But as so many of the statistics and personal stories bear witness; the landscape is not changing fast enough.

In her speech earlier this month, Theresa May talked about the critical importance of relationships and the role of government to “encourage and nurture” them. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS 111 helpline is harming children and causing deaths

NHS 111 helpline is harming children and causing deaths Preventable mistakes in treating children led to 12 deaths, 41 cases of severe harm and 658 cases of minor harm in England and Wales, a new report by Cardiff University found. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Patient Safety Incidents Involving Sick Children in Primary Care in England and Wales: A Mixed Methods Analysis (open access) PLOS Medicine
• Medical mistakes at GPs' surgeries and pharmacies 'led to 12 child deaths in nine years' The Independent

Financial watchdog warns UK facing £30 billion bill every decade to pay for NHS as population ages

Financial watchdog warns UK facing £30 billion bill every decade to pay for NHS as population ages Britain's ageing population will cost the UK £30 billion every decade in increased NHS, pensions and social care costs over the next 50 years and put pressure on the Chancellor's pledge to cut the deficit, a report has warned.

The Office for Budget Responsibility found that spending on healthcare and pensions will grow faster than the British economy by 2066 leaving the UK with a gap of £156 billion unless taxes are increased and spending cut to pay for it. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Fiscal sustainability report – January 2017 Office for Budget Responsibility
• NHS will need £88bn extra by 2067, says OBR forecast The Guardian

Couple fails in Court of Appeal challenge over change to assisted dying policy

Couple fails in Court of Appeal challenge over change to assisted dying policy Disability rights campaigners have failed in a bid to challenge the Director of Public Prosecution’s policy on assisted dying which they fear leaves vulnerable people “at risk from dodgy doctors”.

The Court of Appeal today told Nikki and Merv Kenward it was “futile” to allow them permission to appeal against an earlier High Court ruling that Alison Saunders’s updated advice does not breach the Suicide Act. The Daily Telegraph

Plea to donate your favourite book to Northampton General Hospital

Plea to donate your favourite book to Northampton General Hospital A campaign to create a library of town's favourite books was launched by Northampton General Hopspital this morning. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

County council to charge some adults in need of care £50 under new assessment proposals

County council to charge some adults in need of care £50 under new assessment proposals Adults in need of care who earn more than £23,250 per year in savings and capital investments will need to pay for their own care services, Northamptonshire County Council papers reveal. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Allied Health Professions into Action: Using Allied Health Professionals to transform health, care and wellbeing

A new online resource from allied health professionals ‘AHPs into Action’ is a product for leaders and decision makers, to inform and inspire the system about how AHPs can be best utilised to support future health, care and wellbeing service delivery. It offers examples of innovative AHP practice and a framework to develop a plan of delivery. ‘AHPs into Action’ defines how AHPs can support STPs implement the triple aim set out in the Five Year Forward View; driving improvements in health and wellbeing, restoring and maintaining financial balance and delivering core quality standards. NHS England

See also:

• A new online resource from allied health professionals NHS Employers

Eating disorders can strike in mid-life

Eating disorders can strike in mid-life Eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia, affect a small but substantial number of women in their 40s and 50s, UK research suggests.

The study, involving more than 5,000 women, found just over 3% reported having an eating disorder.

Some said they had experienced it since their teens, others developed it for the first time in their middle age. BBC News

GPs back stand against conversion therapy

GPs back stand against conversion therapy Doctors have added their support to a joint statement issued today which rejects the use of conversion therapy on people due to their sexual orientation or gender identity issues.

Major UK organisations have been working against conversion therapy for many years and published a Memorandum of Understanding against the practice in 2015 as well as updating the document to warn against conversion therapy in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation (including asexuality).

Several organisations including the RCGP, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, GLADD – The Association of LGBT Doctors and Dentists, NHS Scotland, the National Counselling Society, Stonewall, and The British Psychological Society have issued a new statement. OnMedica

Patients’ champion accuses ombudsman of poor service

Patients’ champion accuses ombudsman of poor service Some patients are receiving a poor service from the ombudsman in a complaints system that is overly complex, lacking in compassion and unresponsive, according to charity the Patients Association.

The Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), however, has rejected the accusations saying that it handles the vast majority of cases thoroughly and fairly, but said it always wanted to improve its service.

In a report* published today by the Patients Association, it said a significant number of patients and family members who submitted complaints to the PHSO felt that they received a poor quality service. OnMedica

See also:

• Follow-up report to the March 2015 Patients Association publication on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman The Patients Association

Frances Cappuccini: Hospital blamed for death of young mother just hours after having baby

Frances Cappuccini: Hospital blamed for death of young mother just hours after having baby The death of a young mother just hours after she gave birth to her second son was a result of “failures, inadequate diagnosis and treatment” at the hospital caring for her, a coroner has said.

Frances Cappuccini, 30, died at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury, Kent, shortly after giving birth to her son, Giacomo, by Caesarean section.

The school teacher suffered heavy bleeding and was anaesthetised, but went into cardiac arrest and died at 4.20pm on 9 October, 2012. The Independent

See also:

• Frances Cappuccini Caesarean death caused by hospital failures BBC News
• Hospital failures caused death of mother hours after caesarean birth, coroner rules The Daily Telegraph

NHS crisis: the one act of self-sacrifice that could rescue our health service

NHS crisis: the one act of self-sacrifice that could rescue our health service Major alerts, cancer operations cancelled, patients dying, yet Theresa May still won’t listen. But maybe there’s a tipping point that could force a response

From every previous NHS crisis, the tipping point should have come last week. Prime ministers crumple when people die – as they have in the Royal Worcester’s corridors. When opinion polls send concern about the NHS soaring above everything else at 61%, above immigration at 41% and Brexit at 36%, sirens should wail inside No 10. But no, not yet.

When the Royal College of Surgeons protests at cancer operations cancelled, is that a tipping point? When nearly half of all hospitals declare major alerts for lack of beds, that’s an emergency. There’s no winter flu, no Arctic weather, just pressure from underfunding, like an aneurysm about to burst. But the prime minister is not for turning, not yet. Continue reading... The Guardian

Private health insurance sales surge amid NHS crisis

Private health insurance sales surge amid NHS crisis Ongoing crisis in public healthcare and economic recovery may have triggered first rise in seven years, but impeding Brexit means future is uncertain

The number of people in Britain taking out private medical insurance has risen significantly for the first time since 2008, amid fears about the ongoing crisis gripping the NHS.

After falling steeply between 2008 and 2011 and then staying flat, demand for private medical insurance cover in Britain rose by 2.1% in 2015 with just over 4 million people insured. Continue reading... The Guardian

Sale of prescription drugs on eBay costing NHS thousands

Sale of prescription drugs on eBay costing NHS thousands The black market in prescription drugs is costing the NHS thousands of pounds - and one man was caught trying to flog an arthritis medication he no longer needed for £250 a box. The Daily Mail

NHS patients harmed as doctors prescribe WRONG meds

NHS patients harmed as doctors prescribe WRONG meds Philippa Gillespie from Haverfordwest and Robert Welch from Grimsby are just two of the victims of medication errors in NHS hospitals whose stories have emerged in the past 18 months alone. The Daily Mail

Show your passport and fuel bill to get NHS maternity care

Show your passport and fuel bill to get NHS maternity care Patients will be told to show a utility bill and passport before routine operations as part of a new crackdown on health tourism, with 20 British hospital trusts carrying out the ID checks. The Daily Mail

Half of women in labour experience 'red flag' maternity risks, report finds

Half of women in labour experience 'red flag' maternity risks, report finds Half of women in childbirth are being put in danger, with many saying they are made to feel like “cattle” in understaffed maternity wards, a major report warns.

New mothers said they had been left alone in labour, with long delays for pain relief, stitches and even to be washed after giving birth.

The study by the National Childbirth Trust and the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) found 50 per cent of new mothers had experienced “red flag” events during labour. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NCT launches new report on maternity services National Childbirth Trust
• Support Overdue: Women’s experiences of maternity services 2017 National Childbirth Trust
• Mothers-to-be 'treated like cattle' in hospitals The Daily Mail
• UK midwife shortage leaves women feeling like cattle, report finds The Guardian
• Midwife shortage makes women in labour feel like 'cattle', report warns The Independent

Don't blame the elderly: only one in five A&E patients are pensioners, says former Health Secretary

Don't blame the elderly: only one in five A&E patients are pensioners, says former Health Secretary Winter gridlock in NHS hospitals is not being caused by elderly patients, but by working-age people with “nowhere else to go”, a former Conservative health secretary has said.

Stephen Dorrell’s comments came as new figures revealed just one fifth of patients attending A&E last year were over 65.

He told the Telegraph the new data showed it was wrong to blame pensioners for the crisis.

Meanwhile Age UK said it was often the elderly who suffered worst in jam-packed emergency departments, where cases of older patients languishing on trolleys for more than 12 hours has tripled in the last two years. The Daily Telegraph

Husband died at Northampton General Hospital after delays in blood vessel surgery

Husband died at Northampton General Hospital after delays in blood vessel surgery A Northamptonshire woman wants to highlight the signs of her husband's fatal condition to stop others suffering the same fate. Bryan McKim, 65, underwent successful surgery on a swelling of the aorta in 2012, but was taken unwell again in February, 2013 after bringing up blood. Mr McKim was rushed to Kettering General Hospital on February 7, 2013 for diagnosis and but was referred immediately to vascular specialists at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) for urgent surgery. However, despite KGH's assessment, the operation never happened and Mr McKim died the following morning after a “catalogue of errors.” Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Majority support raising National Insurance to support struggling NHS

Majority support raising National Insurance to support struggling NHS Twice as many support raising National Insurance to boost NHS funding than oppose it. YouGov

See also:

• Majority support raising tax to support struggling NHS Northampton Chronicle and Echo

National guardian publishes her ‘first 100 days’ report

National guardian publishes her ‘first 100 days’ report Dr Henrietta Hughes, national guardian for speaking up freely and safely in the NHS has published a new report, which outlines the progress made since her appointment in October 2016.

Over the last 100 days, Dr Hughes has set up the national office and established a national network of Freedom to Speak Up guardians. NHS Employers

Transfer of care delays threaten to capsize the NHS

Transfer of care delays threaten to capsize the NHS Doctors face a struggle every day and everywhere in England: the fight to secure social care for patients well enough to leave hospital.

Even officially it worsens month by month, increasing harm to patients and financial strain on the NHS, at a time when it’s least needed.

The latest figures, aiming to size up the problem, broke records in October. Patients spent 200,000 days in beds they did not need that month, a rise of 25 per cent on the same month in 2015.

Known as ‘delayed transfers of care’, the NAO (National Audit Office) estimated that, in the case of older patients in England, the unnecessary days in hospital cost more than £800m last year.

As bad as it is, this official tally of costly and unnecessary hospital stays undercounts the problem ‘significantly’, the NAO admits in a study this year, by a factor of almost three. British Medical Association

Referral centres cause 'dangerous' NHS delays, BMA warns

Referral centres cause 'dangerous' NHS delays, BMA warns NHS patients face "dangerous" treatment delays due to a 10-fold increase in "crude, expensive" referral management centres, doctors have warned.

The centres, sometimes run by private firms, vet GP referrals and decide if patients should receive hospital care.

The British Medical Association (BMA) called them "inefficient" and a "block between the GP and patient treatment".

NHS Clinical Commissioners said "in many cases" the centres "provide a useful and effective role". BBC News

NHS patient caught selling his drugs in undercover film

NHS patient caught selling his drugs in undercover film A patient has been caught in an undercover BBC film illegally selling prescription drugs which cost the NHS £10,000 a year. BBC News

How the ‘humanitarian’ crisis in the NHS is paving the way for private healthcare

How the ‘humanitarian’ crisis in the NHS is paving the way for private healthcare It has been a calamitous winter inside the NHS. Last week, three people tragically died at Worcestershire Royal hospital with a women dying of a heart attack after waiting for 35 hours on a trolley. A similar picture has developed across the country with patients on trolleys due to lack of beds, many hospital trusts on red alert and ambulances missing targets for life-threatening emergencies. The British Red Cross declared a humanitarian crisis in the NHS. The Independent

Hospitals across UK cancelling 'urgent' cancer operations as NHS winter crisis worsens

Hospitals across UK cancelling 'urgent' cancer operations as NHS winter crisis worsens Hospitals across the UK are cancelling "urgent" cancer operations as the NHS winter crisis worsens.

Some patients have reportedly been told with just a day's notice that their surgery has been postponed, with a leading surgeon saying it was "extremely worrying" that hospitals had resorted to the decisions.

Cancer operations have previously held a protected status but the demand for beds and lack of social care capacity has encroached on that. The Independent

See also:

• Doctors warn over cancer op cancellations amid NHS "pressure" BBC News
• Cancer operations now being cancelled amid NHS crisis, surgeons' leader warns The Daily Telegraph
• 193,000 NHS patients a month waiting beyond target time for surgery The Guardian
• NHS in crisis as cancer operations cancelled due to lack of beds The Guardian

Number of NHS bureaucrats on MORE than PM's £150k salary doubles in three years

Number of NHS bureaucrats on MORE than PM's £150k salary doubles in three years The number of NHS bureaucrats earning more than the Prime Minister has doubled in three years.

Ninety-three officials took home more than Theresa May's £149,440 salary last year – up from 48 in 2013.

Seven of those on the list, which was published by the Cabinet Office, earned more than £200,000. The official figures came after Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, told MPs the Health Service was underfunded. The Daily Mail

A&E crisis: Four in 10 NHS hospitals declared a major alert in their A&E departments amid mounting pressure

A&E crisis: Four in 10 NHS hospitals declared a major alert in their A&E departments amid mounting pressure Overall, NHS hospitals issued 226 serious alerts in the first week of 2017, saying they were experiencing major pressures in their A&E departments. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Major alerts 'at half of hospitals' BBC News
• Turmoil inflames tensions at top of NHS BBC News
• A&E crisis deepens with 66 hospital trusts issuing emergency alerts The Daily Telegraph
• A&E needs total system overhaul if it's to cope, says hospital which revolutionised its emergency care The Daily Telegraph 
• Theresa May's choice: give the NHS more money, or tell voters to expect worse care The Daily Telegraph
• Crisis, what NHS crisis? Theresa May must stop this denial The Guardian
• It is clear to anyone in the NHS that we cannot carry on as we are The Guardian
• NHS crisis: more money must be linked to reform The Guardian
• Tory health committee chair defends NHS chief in funding row with PM The Guardian
• NHS crisis: 'My frail mum was forced to wait on the floor for eight hours' The Guardian
• Winter pressures were already hitting last autumn OnMedica
• Theresa May is wrong to suggest the NHS needs reform rather than money – it needs both The Independent

Theresa May to tell GP surgeries to give patients appointments when they want them or face funding cuts

Theresa May to tell GP surgeries to give patients appointments when they want them or face funding cuts GP surgeries will be forced to give patients appointments when they want or face funding cuts, Theresa May has announced as she attempts to relieve the pressure on crisis-hit Accident & Emergency units.

The Prime Minister will demand that GP surgeries meet the Government’s pledge to open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week unless they can prove that there is not demand in their area.

A major package of Government funding will be “contingent” on GPs being able to “demonstrate” that they are offering appointments “when patients want them”, ministers will say. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Don't blame GPs for NHS crisis - fund the health service properly, RCGP tells PM Royal College of General Practitioners
• GPs urged to commit to seven day service or lose funding BBC News
• GPs 'already work 24/7, 365 days a year' BBC News
• The NHS is making people sick, GP tells BBC BBC News
• GPs' leaders hit back at Theresa May in row over extended opening hours amid growing A&E crisis The Daily Telegraph
• Theresa May pushes for GPs to take the strain amid A&E crisis The Guardian
• May's scapegoat attempt could spark mass resignations, says top GP The Guardian
• GPs unable to cope with demand as leaders admit funding shortfall OnMedica

Largest NHS trust hit by cyber attack

Largest NHS trust hit by cyber attack The largest NHS hospital trust in England has been infected with a virus affecting thousands of sensitive files.

A message sent to staff at Barts Health Trust on Friday morning warns that the trust’s four hospitals are experiencing a “ransomware virus attack.”

The victims of blackmail ransomware usually receive phishing messages in an attempt to elicit money in order to restore access to the computer system.

The trust said it was making “every effort” to avoid disruption to patients treated at its four hospitals in east London: The Royal London, St Bartholomew’s, Whipps Cross and Newham. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• London NHS hospital trust hit by cyber-attack The Guardian

The other one in four – how financial difficulty is neglected in mental health services

The other one in four – how financial difficulty is neglected in mental health services This report assesses the extent to which mental health services systematically recognise and respond to this relationship between financial difficulty and mental health problems. They explore where there are gaps in existing provision and where better coordination could improve services for people with mental health problems who are experiencing financial difficulty. The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

Immigration Removal Centres need to focus on detainees' mental health and wellbeing, says new report

Immigration Removal Centres need to focus on detainees' mental health and wellbeing, says new report People detained in Immigration Removal Centres in England face challenges to their mental health and need support for their wellbeing, according to a report published today by Centre for Mental Health.

Immigration Removal Centres in England: A mental health needs analysis was commissioned by NHS England. The Centre conducted interviews with staff and detainees and observations at ten IRCs which between them held 30,000 people in the year to March 2016.

The report finds that all immigration detainees experience significant distress and many had faced trauma prior to being detained. It finds that being in immigration detention adds to people’s distress and that mental health support varies from one centre to another. Centre for Mental Health

Fundamental Facts about mental health 2016

Fundamental Facts about mental health 2016 A comprehensive summary of mental health research, providing a unique handbook of key facts and figures, covering all key areas of mental health. Mental Health Foundation

Locums 'weak link' in doctors' performance checks

Locums 'weak link' in doctors' performance checks There are weaknesses in the way the performance of locum doctors is checked in the UK, a review suggests.

Doctors have had to take part in five-yearly "MOTs" since 2012 to ensure they are fit to continue working.

The General Medical Council said the system was working well, but highlighted problems with the way it was being applied to locums.

The review by the regulator found hospitals were "unwilling to provide frank feedback" on locums.

Sometimes hospitals just told agencies "please don't send this doctor again" rather than giving full reasons. BBC News

See also:

• Taking revalidation forward Sir Keith Pearson’s review of medical revalidation January 2017 Improving the process of relicensing for doctors Improving the process of relicensing for doctors General Medical Council
• GMC statement in response to the publication of Sir Keith Pearson's review of revalidation General Medical Council
• Pearson report into revalidation makes some encouraging recommendations Royal College of General Practitioners
• NHS hospitals failing to pass on concerns about incompetent doctors The Daily Mail
• Hospitals failing to raise alarm over sub-standard locum doctors The Daily Telegraph

Former head of doctors’ regulator to lead NHS Confederation

Former head of doctors’ regulator to lead NHS Confederation Niall Dickson to lead NHS organisations’ representative body. OnMedica

No new antidepressants likely in next decade, say scientists

No new antidepressants likely in next decade, say scientists NHS and healthcare providers don’t want to foot the bill for expensive drugs so pharmaceuticals unwilling to invest in research

No new drugs for depression are likely in the next decade, even though those like Prozac work for little more than half of those treated and there have been concerns over their side effects, say scientists.

Leading psychiatrists, some of whom have been involved in drug development, say criticism of the antidepressants of the Prozac class, called the SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), is partly responsible for the pharmaceutical industry’s reluctance to invest in new drugs – even though demand is steadily rising. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Why 'big pharma' stopped searching for the next Prozac The Guardian
• Why have antidepressant prescriptions doubled in the last decade? The Guardian

The NHS dental service is broken – and its rotten payment system is to blame

The NHS dental service is broken – and its rotten payment system is to blame A rise in hospital tooth extractions for children in England and Wales is alarming. But this is just one symptom of the growing crisis in NHS dentistry

Almost as soon as I stepped into dental school in the mid-1980s, an enthusiastic and wild-eyed child dental health lecturer thrust a Venn diagram in my face. Few who are not professional mathematicians can say that a Venn diagram shaped and guided the whole of their working life, but this one did. The equation the three intersecting circles in this particular diagram represented was this:

Clinicians are having to be too focused on targets to spend adequate time on giving individual prevention advice Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS hospitals offload sick on to families and GPs are called in to clear wards

NHS hospitals offload sick on to families and GPs are called in to clear wards Tales of patients returning after operations to see people in their beds and a Leicester hospital asking relatives to administer injections to loved ones, has revealed the pressures facing the NHS. The Daily Mail

See also:

• GPs drafted in to send hospital patients home as patients asked to take on 'daunting' care duties The Daily Telegraph

Simon Stevens told to 'calm down' NHS furore or risk his future

Simon Stevens told to 'calm down' NHS furore or risk his future The head of the NHS could risk his job unless he “calms” things down following his row about healthcare funding with Theresa May, senior Government sources say.

The remarks will increase pressure on Simon Stevens, who technically does not have to report to ministers as chief executive of the NHS in England.

Mr Stevens is at loggerheads with the Prime Minister amid a mounting crisis in Accident & Emergency units. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS chief Simon Stevens refuses to buckle under No 10 pressure The Guardian
• Ministers can’t silence NHS concerns because people can see it unravelling The Guardian
• The Guardian view on NHS politics: a truce is necessary but not inevitable | Editorial The Guardian
• Struggling hospitals brace for further spike in demand during cold snap The Guardian
• More than 20 NHS hospitals on 'black alert’ amid reports of patients left in ambulances The Independent

NHS bed-blocking rises 42% in a year, new figures show

NHS bed-blocking rises 42% in a year, new figures show Bed-blocking has risen more than 40 per cent in a year as hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with people needing care, figures showed on Thursday.

New data from November shows a health system under strain as it got ready to enter its busiest time ever over Christmas.

It follows warnings from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing that the NHS is now experiencing its worst ever winter crisis.

The research for England highlights acute problems with delayed discharges - where patients are medically fit to leave hospital but are stuck in beds due to problems arranging care in the community.

It follows calls from the head of the NHS for extra funding for social care. The Daily Telegraph

US woman killed by superbug resistant to every available antibiotic

US woman killed by superbug resistant to every available antibiotic A woman in Nevada has been killed by a superbug that proved resistant to every antibiotic available in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said.

The woman’s condition was deemed incurable, and 26 different antibiotics were tested in vain before she died in September.

She was in her 70s, and had recently returned to the US after an extended visit to India, according to the CDC’s Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report. She had been hospitalised there multiple times before returning to the US and being admitted to an acute care hospital in Nevada in mid-August.

One week later local health authorities were notified that every possible medication had been tried without success. The CDC later determined that no drug currently on the market would have stopped the bacteria’s spread. The Daily Telegraph

Cover needed as KGH’s acting chief executive announces she’s leaving

Cover needed as KGH’s acting chief executive announces she’s leaving Hospital bosses are working on arrangements for when the acting chief executive leaves in March. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Tackling wasteful spending on health

Tackling wasteful spending on health This report finds that across OECD countries a significant share of health care system spending and activities are wasteful at best, and harm our health at worst and that one in ten patients in OECD countries is unnecessarily harmed at the point of care. It also finds that more than 10 per cent of hospital expenditure is spent on correcting preventable medical mistakes or infections that people catch in hospitals. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Swimming together or sinking alone: health, care and the art of systems leadership

Swimming together or sinking alone: health, care and the art of systems leadership This report is based on interviews with senior leaders in health and local government on what is happening as managers grapple with the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) process. It aims to help leaders understand the values, culture and skills they need to survive and thrive as the NHS tries to change from organisations working in silos to local health and care networks focused on the needs of patients. Institute of Healthcare Management

NHS England chief contradicts May over spending

NHS England chief contradicts May over spending The chief executive of NHS England has contradicted government claims that the health service is getting more funding than it asked for.

Simon Stevens told MPs this was "stretching it" and there were "clearly substantial funding pressures".

And, in clashes with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the PM called claims of a "humanitarian crisis" in the NHS "irresponsible" and "overblown".

But Mr Corbyn said Theresa May was "in denial" over the situation.

There have been several warnings in recent days about the pressure on the health service in England. BBC News

See also:

• Financial sustainability of the NHS examined Commons Public Accounts Committee
• Theresa May and NHS chief Simon Stevens clash overgrowing crisis in health service The Daily Mail
• Former Tory health minister defends Simon Stevens over NHS winter crisis The Daily Telegraph
• Doctors' leaders slam Theresa May's 'wilful ignorance' of NHS crisis GP Online
• NHS England chief hits back at Theresa May on health service funding The Guardian
• NHS's Simon Stevens defended by MPs in health funding row The Guardian
• Former Tory health minister defends Simon Stevens over NHS winter crisis The Guardian
• NHS chief clashes with Downing Street over funding ITV News

Retired British expats 'outstrip European pensioners using NHS'

Retired British expats 'outstrip European pensioners using NHS' Many more expat UK pensioners rely on European healthcare under reciprocal healthcare agreements than UK-based European pensioners rely on the NHS.

While 70,000 retired Brits use Spain's health system, 81 Spanish pensioners are registered as covered by the NHS.

Across the European Economic Area (EEA) there are 145,000 UK expat pensioners registered, compared with 4,000 EEA pensioners registered to use the NHS.

The figures were obtained after a BBC Freedom of Information request. BBC News

Mental health care: 'The system is broken'

Mental health care: 'The system is broken' Theresa May has unveiled plans to do more to help those, particularly young people, with mental health conditions.

In her speech at the Charity Commission, the prime minister announced a number of pledges including training at every secondary school, training for employers and organisations, and the appointment of a mental health campaigner.

Here, people have been sharing their experiences of mental health services. BBC News

Everyone the Conservative government has blamed for NHS crisis

Everyone the Conservative government has blamed for NHS crisis Theresa May has defended the Government’s handling of NHS pressures in response to doctors' warnings of a dangerous crisis in the health service.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) joined the British Medical Association and other medical authorities to demand an urgent boost to health and social care funding after the British Red Cross warned of a “humanitarian crisis” in NHS hospitals.

But the Prime Minister and Jeremy Hunt have said health funding is already at record levels and have instead suggested steps be taken to reform the NHS – blaming a number of different factors for the problems faced by the service. The Independent

More than 20 NHS hospitals on 'black alert’ amid reports of patients left in ambulances

More than 20 NHS hospitals on 'black alert’ amid reports of patients left in ambulances Overcrowding in NHS hospitals has become so severe that last week more than 20 trusts issued ‘black alerts’, meaning they are unable to guarantee life-saving emergency care.

The top-level alert, considered a “serious incident” by NHS England, can result in scheduled operations being cancelled and patients being diverted to other hospitals as overflowing A&E departments struggle to cope. The Independent

See also:

• Surgeon: Lethal NHS failings BBC News
• NHS crisis: 20 hospitals declare black alert as patient safety no longer assured The Guardian

NHS hospitals in England face £322m tax bill increase from April

NHS hospitals in England face £322m tax bill increase from April Changes to business rates system mean NHS trusts face 21% rise in property tax bill over next five years – but some are fighting for charitable exemption

Cash-strapped hospitals in England face a £322m tax rise from April which threatens to increase the strain on the under-pressure NHS.

Changes to the business rates system mean that the 1,249 NHS hospitals liable for the property tax will see their bill increase by 21% over the next five years, according to research conducted for the Guardian by property consultant CVS. Continue reading... The Guardian

Care home closures set to rise as funding crisis bites

Care home closures set to rise as funding crisis bites Insolvencies among care home operators are at a record high and likely to continue without government action

Care home operators, trade unions and charities have been telling Theresa May for months that the care home industry is in crisis and needs help.

Last week, May got her sternest warning yet – the chairs of three influential Commons committees urged the prime minister to deal with the “immense challenge” of paying for health and social care in the future. Continue reading... The Guardian

BBC doc shows NHS doctors forced to decide between saving cancer patient or pensioner

BBC doc shows NHS doctors forced to decide between saving cancer patient or pensioner A new BBC2 documentary revealing the true crisis the NHS is currently in has left viewers heartbroken.

Doctors were forced to decide between saving a cancer patient or a pensioner bleeding to death during the first episode of Hospital last night.

A woman, known only as Janice, was rushed to the A&E department at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington after suffering from a ruptured blood vessel.

But hospital staff had already prepared Simon, who suffers from cancer in his oesophagus, for life-saving surgery. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Hospital episode 1 BBC iPlayer
• Hospital review – shining a light on an NHS at breaking point The Guardian

If you want to kill yourself, the NHS won't stop you. A kinder system could save lives

If you want to kill yourself, the NHS won't stop you. A kinder system could save lives In Theresa May’s speech on Monday, she announced her intention to improve mental health provision and reduce the number of people who die by suicide. She said that there will be more focus on community care.

In the NHS, this is currently provided by crisis resolution and home treatment teams. But too many people are dying under its care: indeed, three times as many as in psychiatric hospitals, according to a national inquiry.

I run a charity which also provides crisis care. So far, no client has died under our care – so we know it is possible to achieve this in a non-residential setting. We have done this with very limited funds; I set up the Suicide Crisis Centre in Cheltenham after experiencing suicidal crisis myself in 2012, and finding that the NHS's approach and methods did not work for me. The Daily Telegraph

NHS to recruit hundreds of GPs from Poland, Lithuania and Greece

NHS to recruit hundreds of GPs from Poland, Lithuania and Greece The health service is to recruit hundreds of GPs from countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Greece with promises of £90,000 salaries and “generous relocation packages” in a bid to tackle a spiralling NHS crisis.

The new scheme run by NHS England will see doctors from across the EU undergoing 12 weeks training in Poland before they start work in Britain.

Health officials are trawling EU countries for medical staff in a bid to plug shortages of family doctors, amid warnings that long waits to see GPs are fuelling the Accident & Emergency (A&E) crisis.

Medics from Croatia, Lithuania, Greece, Spain and Poland have now been recruited, as part of plans which aim to bring 500 doctors in from the EU ahead of Brexit. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Why vanishing GPs are to blame for this NHS hospital crisis The Daily Mail
• Mail Online names and shames some of the thousands of GP surgeries shutting up The Daily Mail
• Exclusive: Demand soars for GP out-of-hours care as winter crisis bites GP Online

Improving patient access to general practice

Improving patient access to general practice The National Audit Office has found that the Department of Health and NHS England have a high-level vision for improving patient access to general practice and have increased the funding available, but are seeking to extend access despite failing to provide consistent value for money from existing services.

The Department has set objectives such as providing evening and weekend access for all patients and 5,000 extra doctors in general practice, both by 2020. However, they have not evaluated the cost-effectiveness and consequences of their objectives. The NAO’s analysis suggests the minimum additional capacity required by the new commitment equates to £230 per appointment hour per 1,000 registered patients. In core contract hours the cost is an estimated £154. NHS England intends that the additional funding will be used to also cover transformation costs and deliver wider improvements in access, but has not currently set out how it will take assurance that the additional funding provides good value for money.

See also:

• Improving patient access to general practice (full report) National Audit Office
• NAO fails to understand intense pressures GPs face everyday, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• Are part-time GPs fuelling the meltdown in casualty? Fifth shut their doors for at least one afternoon a week The Daily Mail
• GP opening hours are fuelling A&E pressures, NAO report suggests The Daily Telegraph
• GP access report shows plans for seven-day service 'in disarray' GP Online
• Plans for seven-day GPs not thought out, says spending watchdog The Guardian

NHS conditions worst ever, say leading nurses

NHS conditions worst ever, say leading nurses Nurses say conditions in the NHS are the worst they have experienced, the Royal College of Nursing has said.

In a separate move, 50 leading doctors have warned the prime minster in a letter that lives are being put at risk due to mounting pressures on the NHS.

Charities working with elderly people said long-term solutions were needed, with a similar call from a group of Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem MPs.

Health officials said they were investing more in care. BBC News

See also:

• 'Quality of patient care threatened' physicians tell PM Royal College of Physicians
• Letter to the Prime Minister Royal College of Physicians
• Annual A&E statistics published NHS Digital
• NHS trolley waits hit record high BBC News
• Long waiting time at A&E? There's an app to find that BBC News
• Top doctors tell Jeremy Hunt to tackle A&E crisis The Daily Mail
• NHS Digital data shows record number of over 70s are enduring 12 hour waits in A&E The Daily Mail
• 'Lives at risk' as hospitals become paralysed by spiralling demand The Daily Telegraph
• GPC rejects Jeremy Hunt's NHS crisis plan for GPs to support urgent care GP Online
• NHS 'will fail' this winter without cash injection, doctors tell Theresa May The Guardian
• Our NHS trust is close to a tipping point – and we are not alone The Guardian
• More than 2m people wait over four hours in A&E, figures show The Guardian
• Two million wait more than four hours in A&E amid huge increase in 12-hour waits for elderly The Independent
• NHS crisis 'putting lives at risk', warns Royal College of Physicians The Independent

Steep rise in A&E psychiatric patients

Steep rise in A&E psychiatric patients There has been a steep rise in the number of people arriving at A&E departments in England with mental health problems, figures show.

Experts say a lack of early support means patients are reaching crisis.

Data compiled for the BBC by NHS Digital showed that between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the number of patients attending A&E units with psychiatric problems rose by nearly 50% to 165,000.

For the under 18s alone the numbers almost doubled to nearly 22,000.

These figures represent a small minority of overall A&E attendances - just over 1% in total.

But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that was likely to be the "tip of the iceberg" as these figures just included cases where the primary diagnosis was a psychiatric condition. BBC News

GP practices begin processing backlog of over 100,000 patient letters

GP practices begin processing backlog of over 100,000 patient letters GP practices across England have begun to receive their share of a huge backlog of patient data that a former provider of primary care support services left by mistake in a warehouse. GP Online

Social care does need more funds, but there are also savings to be made

Social care does need more funds, but there are also savings to be made Social and health care should be integrated, but as that is unlikely to happen, care reforms already tested could make significant savings

Ministers last week stepped in with an extra cash boost for social care. On top of a funding increase announced three months ago, they unveiled a further rise to help meet payroll costs and to help professionalise the workforce. Council leaders “warmly welcomed” the move and the emphasis on preventive support for older and disabled people.

You may have guessed this wasn’t in England. It was in Wales, where, as the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) observes, the policy position is “very different”. True, the sums involved are not huge. After a £25m grant increase for social care in 2017-18 set out last October, the Welsh government last week found a further £10m and raised the individual cap on homecare costs – a feature of the system not replicated in England – from £60 a week to £70, which should give councils another £4m for the year from April. Continue reading... The Guardian

Child 'sugar scourge': thousands having teeth removed in hospital

Child 'sugar scourge': thousands having teeth removed in hospital Experts say annual figures for England obtained by LGA show need for tougher curbs on sugar in children’s diets

More than 40,000 children and young people a year are having rotten teeth removed in hospital in further evidence of what doctors call the “costly scourge of sugar”.

New NHS figures obtained by the Local Government Association (LGA) show that 40,800 under-18s in England had at least one tooth taken out last year under general anaesthetic because of decay. Performing the procedures cost £35.6m. Continue reading... The Guardian

British heart attack patients are abandoned without receiving life-saving aftercare

British heart attack patients are abandoned without receiving life-saving aftercare Tens of thousands of British cardiac patients are abandoned to cope without the essential care they need after a heart attack, a major audit reveals.

An astonishing 69 per cent of NHS cardiac rehabilitation services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are failing to hit minimum standards, a damning report revealed.

All heart patients should be offered rehabilitation care in the aftermath of an attack, which has been shown to reduce the risk of death by 18 per cent in the next year, and cut readmissions by 31 per cent.

Yet 66,000 of 132,000 eligible patients are missing out on cardiac rehabilitation each year, the National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation revealed. The Daily Mail

See also:

• National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation Annual Statistical Report 2016 British Heart Foundation