Venture capital firm makes £2m selling hospital to NHS

Venture capital firm makes £2m selling hospital to NHS: A venture capital firm has made £2 million selling a small hospital to the NHS, less than a year after it opened.The Daily Telegraph

Mid Staffs scandal: who buried the damning NHS reports?

Mid Staffs scandal: who buried the damning NHS reports?: Put Patients First: An MP will next week challenge former Labour Ministers to explain who suppressed three damning reports handed to the Department of Health in 2008. The Daily Telegraph

NHS must halt low aspirations and go for gold, says Hunt

NHS must halt low aspirations and go for gold, says Hunt: NHS hospitals should no longer accept "mediocrity" as the "moment has now come" for a dramatic improvement in standards, the Health Secretary warns today. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Coasting culture can kill, Jeremy Hunt warns hospitals The Independent
• NHS 'coasting' culture kills patients, says Jeremy Hunt The Guardian
• Hunt attacks 'complacent' hospitals BBC News
• Hunt – NHS is coasting with complacency Public Service

Royal Bolton Hospital deaths were 'wronglyrecorded'

Royal Bolton Hospital deaths were 'wrongly recorded': A hospital that saw a sudden leap in the number of patient deaths attributed to septicaemia had recorded the deaths wrongly, an inquiry has found. The Independent

KGH: Don’t attend A&E unless it’s an emergency

KGH: Don’t attend A&E unless it’s an emergency: People are being urged not to go to A&E at Kettering or Northampton general hospitals after a large rise in admissions during the past 48 hours. Evening Telegraph

Baby P ‘fixer’ called into Northamptonshire

Baby P ‘fixer’ called into Northamptonshire: The man who turned around the London council at the centre of the Baby Peter case has been brought in to head Northamptonshire’s safeguarding board as the county tackles a crisis within child protection. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northampton General Hospital sees highest A&E admissions for four months - Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Northampton General Hospital sees highest A&E admissions for four months - Northampton Chronicle & Echo:

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Northampton General Hospital sees highest A&E admissions for four months Northampton Chronicle & Echo People are being urged to stay away from A&E at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) after admissions reached a four-month high this week. A total of 343 patients attended NGH on Tuesday, the highest figure since November, while the attendance of 255 ...

Memorandum on the provision of the out-of-hours GP service in Cornwall

Memorandum on the provision of the out-of-hours GP service in Cornwall: A memorandum on the provision of out-of-hours GP services in Cornwall found whistleblowers played a significant role in highlighting concerns about the service. National Audit Office

See also:

• 'Disgraceful' Serco falsified GP out-of-hours figures The Daily Telegraph
• Private contractor fiddled data when reporting to NHS, says watchdog The Guardian
• Whistleblowers revealed Serco shortfalls Public Service

Why ministers are walking an NHS tightrope

Why ministers are walking an NHS tightrope In his evidence to MPs, NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson described the current moment in time as one of "maximum risk"... BBC News

''Restrict the care large hospitals provide''

''Restrict the care large hospitals provide'': Treatment should be limited to people with life-threatening conditions or needing complex surgery Public Service

Transforming local care: community healthcare rises to the challenge

Transforming local care: community healthcare rises to the challenge: This briefing shows how the community health sector is driving the transformation of local care systems. NHS Confederation

The patient online: the road map

The patient online: the road map: This guidance aims to support GP practices in providing online access for patients. It looks at the principles of online access to records by patients; steps to offering access; and the principles around training, education and support for practices. Issues around information governance, including third party data and GP workload, are taken into account.

• Guidance
• RCGP - news

Sir David determined to carry on

Sir David determined to carry on: NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson has refused to step down, despite admitting faults over his role in the Stafford Hospital scandal.
Questioned by MPs when he appeared before the Health Select Committee, he spelled out his determination to carry on leading the health service.
However, there have been calls for his resignation over the failings at Stafford, which led to hundreds of needless deaths,... Healthcare Today

Growing fears of Bolton hospital death rate 'cover up'

Growing fears of Bolton hospital death rate 'cover up': The deaths of up to 400 patients may have been misrecorded by a major hospital to prevent it having among the highest death rates in the country, an independent report suggests. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS Bolton hospital report finds scores of deaths blamed on septicaemia The Guardian
• Doctors accused of fixing death rates: Staff at Bolton NHS Trust accused of reclassifying cause of death to cover up poor care The Daily Mail

GPs must learn e-efficiency from Easyjet, says Jeremy Hunt

GPs must learn e-efficiency from Easyjet, says Jeremy Hunt: GPs must take efficiency lessons from Easyjet if they are to provide better care for the elderly, according to the Health Secretary, who has admitted there is no more money to improve matters. The Daily Telegraph

Still fancy the full English? Study links processed meat consumption to risk of early death

Still fancy the full English? Study links processed meat consumption to risk of early death:
If you're still mulling over your breakfast options, and are leaning towards a traditional English fry-up, then look away now - as the news isn't good about its contents. The Independent

See also:

• Just a chipolata a day, say health experts The Daily Telegraph
• Processed meat 'is to blame for one in 30 deaths': Major Oxbridge- backed study says more than a rasher of bacon a day is harmful The Daily Mail
• Processed meat 'early death' link BBC News

UK men 'losers in European prostate cancer lottery'

UK men 'losers in European prostate cancer lottery': British men with prostate cancer are the losers in a European "lottery of care" when it comes to access to drugs, a report claims. The Daily Telegraph

Two million quit work to care for a sick loved one

Two million quit work to care for a sick loved one: More than two million people in the UK have given up work to care for disabled, sick or elderly relatives and loved ones, according to a survey. The Independent

The Values of Medical Libraries Study: An Update

The Values of Medical Libraries Study: An Update: “In the fall of 2010, UPMC physicians, residents, and nurses were invited to participate in the initial phase of a multi-site survey of the role of library information resources in improving patient care. The results of the full study were recently published.¹ In this study, clinicians from 118 hospitals completed an online survey that asked them to think of an occasion when they required additional information for a patient care issue, and to then answer questions about the impact of access to library information resources on patient outcomes for that particular case.
Nearly every study participant agreed that information resources available from their libraries were relevant (99 percent), accurate (99 percent) and current (97 percent). The high quality of information available was not just appreciated, however—75 percent of participants agreed that access to the information definitely or probably changed how they handled an aspect of patient care, including advice given to a patient (48 percent), drug choice (33 percent), and diagnosis (25 percent). Participants (85 percent) indicated that having access to the information saved them time, with the average amount of time saved estimated to be 2.5 hours.
In addition to these positive impacts, clinicians believed the information provided by libraries helped to avoid negative events such as patient misunderstanding of disease (23 percent), misdiagnosis (13 percent), adverse drug events (13 percent), medication errors (12 percent), patient mortality (6 percent), and hospital acquired infections (3 percent).
In follow-up interviews, a subset of participants reiterated the clinical value of having access to current and accurate information, and the impact such access has on patient safety. Clinicians also commented on the value of having access to professional librarians who can assist with patient care, either through provision of literature searches for busy clinicians, or through education of clinicians in the most efficient use of library resources.
1. J.G. Marshall, J. Sollenberger, S. Easterby-Gannett, L.K. Morgan, M. Klem M, et al., “The Value of Library and Information Services in Patient Care: Results of a Multisite Study,” Journal of the Medical Library Association 101 no. 1 (2013): 38-46.”

The increasing demands on Accident and Emergency departments: no easy answers

The increasing demands on Accident and Emergency departments: no easy answers: Few health policy issues have received greater attention than how best to meet the demands on hospital A&E departments − and manage the associated unscheduled admissions to hospital. There is now extensive practical advice available on NHS websites, and most trusts have had at least one Emergency Care Intensive Support Team (ECIST) review of their services. Despite this, the reality is that many health economies are struggling to cope with demand.