News story: Healthcare worker flu vaccination figures published
Latest vaccination figures show 32.4% of frontline healthcare workers had influenza vaccinations in September and October 2015.
Figures published today (19 November 2015) by Public Health England (PHE), show that more than 312,000 frontline healthcare workers in England had a flu vaccination in September and October this year.
This compares to 36.8% of workers who were vaccinated in the same period in 2014 to 2015, and 35% of workers in 2013 to 2014.
Flu experts warn that more workers need to take up the vaccine to help protect themselves and vulnerable patients this winter and help save lives, while keeping NHS services running as normal.
Hospital surveillance in 2014 to 2015 reported a total of 1,187 admissions to intensive care and high dependency units due to lab confirmed flu across England, and 8.4% of these resulted in death.
The annual campaign to drive up NHS staff vaccination rates is called flu fighter (@NHSflufighter, #flufighter). Run by NHS Employers and supported by the Department of Health and PHE, flu fighter is once again providing employers with all the resources they need to help their staff run lively local campaigns which promote vaccinations, answer questions and improve access to them. Flu fighter is now in its fifth year and has helped the NHS to increase frontline staff flu vaccinations from 359,080 (34.7%) in 2010 to 2011 to 541,757 (54.9%) by the end of last winter.
This year, for the first time, NHS Employers is also working with the residential care sector to identify how flu vaccination can become routine for care workers, identifying both challenges and examples of good practice. A tailored set of campaign materials has been made available. Public Health England
Friday, 20 November 2015
NHS Employers responds to consultation on agency price caps
NHS Employers responds to consultation on agency price caps
Read our response to the Monitor and NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) consultation on the proposed introduction of price caps for agency staff. NHS Employers
Read our response to the Monitor and NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) consultation on the proposed introduction of price caps for agency staff. NHS Employers
The state of medical education and practice in the UK report: 2015
The state of medical education and practice in the UK report: 2015
This report sets out what is happening in the education and practice of doctors, and considers some of the current challenges facing the profession and the systems in which it works. An online resource containing the GMC’s registration, education and fitness to practise data is published alongside the report.
General Medical Council
This report sets out what is happening in the education and practice of doctors, and considers some of the current challenges facing the profession and the systems in which it works. An online resource containing the GMC’s registration, education and fitness to practise data is published alongside the report.
General Medical Council
Assaults on NHS staff a “barometer” for health care under strain - RCN
Assaults on NHS staff a “barometer” for health care under strain - RCN
RCN comments on new figures showing that attacks on NHS staff in the acute sector have risen in the past year.
RCN comments on new figures showing that attacks on NHS staff in the acute sector have risen in the past year.
Work needed to end discrimination for NHS staff
Work needed to end discrimination for NHS staff
Study shows wide variation in discrimination across country. OnMedica News
Study shows wide variation in discrimination across country. OnMedica News
Plans to speed up cancer drugs access
Plans to speed up cancer drugs access
A new Cancer Drugs Fund is to be set up to improve access to cancer drugs, says a consultation document from NHS England. BBC News
A new Cancer Drugs Fund is to be set up to improve access to cancer drugs, says a consultation document from NHS England. BBC News
Last line in antibiotic resistance under threat
Last line in antibiotic resistance under threat
"The last line of antibiotic defence against some serious infections is under threat," The Guardian reports, after researchers found that E.coli bacteria from food products in China has developed resistance to colistin – a polymixin antibiotic.
This antibiotic is, in a sense, a weapon of last resort in the antibiotics armoury, and is sometimes used to serious treat infections that have become resistant to other strong antibiotics.
The researchers found that colistin resistance was caused by a gene called MCR-1. This gene was found on a piece of bacterial DNA that can be transferred between bacteria.
They took a number of samples from animals in abattoirs, and raw meat from open markets and supermarkets in China to identify how frequently the MCR-1 gene is found in bacteria.
The study found the MCR-1 gene in E. coli collected from 15% of raw meat samples and 21% of animals tested from 2011-14. The gene was also found in E. coli from 1% of hospital inpatients in China.
As this study was conducted in China, we do not know whether the situation is the same in the UK. However, antibiotic resistance is a global concern that could potentially advance more quickly than new antibiotics can be developed.
An editorial accompanying the study recommends that the use of polymixin should be restricted in agriculture, as we could end up with a situation where doctors are forced to say, "Sorry, there is nothing I can do to cure your infection".
"The last line of antibiotic defence against some serious infections is under threat," The Guardian reports, after researchers found that E.coli bacteria from food products in China has developed resistance to colistin – a polymixin antibiotic.
This antibiotic is, in a sense, a weapon of last resort in the antibiotics armoury, and is sometimes used to serious treat infections that have become resistant to other strong antibiotics.
The researchers found that colistin resistance was caused by a gene called MCR-1. This gene was found on a piece of bacterial DNA that can be transferred between bacteria.
They took a number of samples from animals in abattoirs, and raw meat from open markets and supermarkets in China to identify how frequently the MCR-1 gene is found in bacteria.
The study found the MCR-1 gene in E. coli collected from 15% of raw meat samples and 21% of animals tested from 2011-14. The gene was also found in E. coli from 1% of hospital inpatients in China.
As this study was conducted in China, we do not know whether the situation is the same in the UK. However, antibiotic resistance is a global concern that could potentially advance more quickly than new antibiotics can be developed.
An editorial accompanying the study recommends that the use of polymixin should be restricted in agriculture, as we could end up with a situation where doctors are forced to say, "Sorry, there is nothing I can do to cure your infection".
'More money needed' to beat TB
'More money needed' to beat TB
More investment is needed to beat tuberculosis (TB), which has become one of the most deadly infectious diseases in the world, a coalition of health agencies warn. BBC News
More investment is needed to beat tuberculosis (TB), which has become one of the most deadly infectious diseases in the world, a coalition of health agencies warn. BBC News
Liver deaths 'likely to increase' after relaxation of alcohol tax policies
Liver deaths 'likely to increase' after relaxation of alcohol tax policies
Deaths from liver disease in UK quadrupled between 1980 and 2013 as alcohol became cheaper due to policy encouraged by lobbying from drinks industry, report says
Deaths from liver disease are likely to increase as a result of the government’s relaxation of alcohol taxation policies, say liver experts, who voice concern about a shortage of specialists to treat patients across the UK.
Only a third of district general hospitals have a liver specialist on the staff, according to a new report. It warns that obesity and alcohol are fuelling a rise in liver disease, which can cause cirrhosis, cancer and death if not caught early enough to be treatable.
Guardian
Continue reading...
Deaths from liver disease in UK quadrupled between 1980 and 2013 as alcohol became cheaper due to policy encouraged by lobbying from drinks industry, report says
Deaths from liver disease are likely to increase as a result of the government’s relaxation of alcohol taxation policies, say liver experts, who voice concern about a shortage of specialists to treat patients across the UK.
Only a third of district general hospitals have a liver specialist on the staff, according to a new report. It warns that obesity and alcohol are fuelling a rise in liver disease, which can cause cirrhosis, cancer and death if not caught early enough to be treatable.
Guardian
Continue reading...
Thursday, 19 November 2015
Nurse from Northampton wins award after reducing maximum length of her patients’ hospital stay by 18 weeks
Nurse from Northampton wins award after reducing maximum length of her patients’ hospital stay by 18 weeks A Macmillan nurse based at Northampton General Hospital has won a national award for her work with brain tumour patients. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Junior doctors 'overwhelmingly back strikes'
Junior doctors 'overwhelmingly back strikes' Junior doctors have overwhelmingly voted in favour of going on strike in their dispute with ministers over a new contract.
Some 98% voted in favour of a full strike and 99% in favour of action just short of a full strike.
The first walk-out will take place on 1 December with another two dates earmarked for later in the month. BBC News
See also:
Some 98% voted in favour of a full strike and 99% in favour of action just short of a full strike.
The first walk-out will take place on 1 December with another two dates earmarked for later in the month. BBC News
See also:
- Junior doctors 'to vote for strikes' BBC News
- VIDEO: Junior doctors 'will support strikes' BBC News
- Hospitals may be sued if they hire locums to cover junior doctors' strike The Daily Mail
- Doctors' strike: Junior medics poised to back first 'all out' strike in NHS history The Daily Telegraph
- Junior doctors explain why they are striking The Daily Telegraph
- Doctors should never strike, and their threat must be withdrawn The Daily Telegraph
- The BMA should retreat before real harm is done The Daily Telegraph
- How much are junior doctors paid, and why are they threatening to strike? The Daily Telegraph
- Viewpoint: DH still has time to show common sense and avoid junior doctor strike GP Online
- Junior doctors expected to vote for strike as ballot closes The Guardian
- Junior doctors, Jeremy Hunt and the facts behind the strike ballot The Guardian
- The truth is we have no choice': junior doctors on striking The Guardian
- Hunt at loggerheads with BMA over junior doctor talks as strike ballot result nears OnMedica
On targets: How targets can be most effective in the English NHS
On targets: How targets can be most effective in the English NHS "This report does not set out to determine whether targets, as a concept, are good or bad, but focuses on how targets can be most effective for improving quality of care. It builds on the evidence base regarding the impact of targets to identify good practice in designing new or improved targets, and considers how policymakers can apply these lessons to the challenges facing the NHS." The Health Foundation
Continuous improvement of patient safety
Continuous improvement of patient safety This report makes the case for changing the way patient safety is approached in the NHS. It argues that change is needed in: how safety is understood, because current approaches to measurement don’t provide the full picture; how safety is improved, because existing approaches alone will not address the most intractable problems; how risk is perceived, because comfort-seeking behaviours will not create a genuine culture of learning. The Health Foundation
NHS financial temperature check: November 2015
NHS financial temperature check: November 2015 This briefing summarises finance directors' views on financial challenges facing the NHS. Please note that you need to complete a registration form to view this document. Healthcare Financial Management Association
World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era'
World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era' Bacteria are now resistant to drugs of last resort meaning the world is on the cusp of a "post-antibiotic era", warn scientists. BBC News
See also:
See also:
- Emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mechanism MCR-1 in animals and human beings in China: a microbiological and molecular biological study Lancet Infectious Diseases
- Analysis: Antibiotic apocalypse BBC News
- Q&A: Antibiotic resistance BBC News
- Superbugs 'are now resistant to ALL drugs and antibiotic defences' The Daily Mail
- E.coli has developed resistance to last-line of antibiotics, warn scientists The Daily Telegraph
Crisis talks with care homes 'on brink'
Crisis talks with care homes 'on brink' Crisis talks are taking place later between care home owners and council leaders amid mounting concern a large number of providers are preparing to pull out of the market. BBC News
HIV home-test kit launched in England
HIV home-test kit launched in England A free HIV home-testing kit has been launched across England as the latest figures show 18,100 people in the UK are unaware they have the infection. BBC News
See also:
See also:
- Press release: Free HIV home sampling launched to increase HIV testing Public Health England
Jeremy Hunt statement on weekend hospital care is misleading, experts warn
Jeremy Hunt statement on weekend hospital care is misleading, experts warn Health secretary’s claim that only 10% of patients are seen by a senior doctor within 14 hours at the weekend are refuted by statisticians and NHS England.
Leading statisticians have cast serious doubt on Jeremy Hunt’s claim that only 10% of patients are seen by a consultant within 14 hours of being admitted to hospital at a weekend, and described it as unfair, misleading and a gross underestimation.
NHS England has also distanced itself from the health secretary’s claim and said that the evidence it has collected on hospitals’ performance in this area does not bear out his interpretation of it. Continue reading... The Guardian
Leading statisticians have cast serious doubt on Jeremy Hunt’s claim that only 10% of patients are seen by a consultant within 14 hours of being admitted to hospital at a weekend, and described it as unfair, misleading and a gross underestimation.
NHS England has also distanced itself from the health secretary’s claim and said that the evidence it has collected on hospitals’ performance in this area does not bear out his interpretation of it. Continue reading... The Guardian
Give HPV vaccine to men who have sex with men, government told
Give HPV vaccine to men who have sex with men, government told Advisers say extending use of cervical cancer vaccine given to girls could help cut risk of anal, penile and throat cancers
Government advisers say the HPV vaccine that has been offered to girls aged 12 or 13 since 2008 to help protect them against cervical cancer should now also be available to men who have sex with men.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends a targeted programme of three doses for those aged up to 45 attending clinics specialising in treating HIV and genito-urinary conditions. There should be no lower age limit. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
Government advisers say the HPV vaccine that has been offered to girls aged 12 or 13 since 2008 to help protect them against cervical cancer should now also be available to men who have sex with men.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends a targeted programme of three doses for those aged up to 45 attending clinics specialising in treating HIV and genito-urinary conditions. There should be no lower age limit. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
- Guidance: JCVI statement on HPV vaccination of men who have sex with men Department of Health
Half of stillbirths could be avoided through basic checks and listening to women
Half of stillbirths could be avoided through basic checks and listening to women More than half of stillbirths might be prevented if maternity units carried out basic checks and acted on the concerns raised by pregnant women, study finds. The Daily Telegraph
See also:
See also:
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