How to fix the funding of health and social care

How to fix the funding of health and social care Institute for Government -This report calls for a parliamentary inquiry into how to raise money for health and social care both now and in the future. It dismisses the idea of a ‘Brexit dividend’ and argues that unless there is a clear way to raise the additional money it will have to come from cuts to other parts of public expenditure. King's Fund - Health Management and Policy Alert

Gosport scandal exposes blame culture in NHS, says Hunt

Gosport scandal exposes blame culture in NHS, says Hunt The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has suggested that the hundreds of deaths at Gosport War Memorial hospital could have been prevented if whistleblowers had been encouraged to come forward in the NHS.
He said the scandal exposed a blame culture across the health service that made medical staff reluctant to raise the alarm about mistakes. The Guardian
See also:

• Hundreds of whistleblowers claim they faced recriminations as NHS fears repeat of Gosport scandal Independent

Pathologists like me save lives daily. Yet so few people know what we do

Pathologists like me save lives daily. Yet so few people know what we do Those of us who work in ‘the lab’ often feel forgotten. But our role in the NHS is crucial – and we care deeply about patients. Anyone who watched BBC2’s fly-on-the-wall documentary Hospital might have heard of “the lab”. I am one of many who work there – and as a pathologist I often feel, as many of my lab colleagues do, like a forgotten or unknown entity. There are nearly 20 disciplines of pathology – and that number is growing – and 70% of all diagnoses made in the NHS involve pathology and biomedical science. The Royal College of Pathologists’ annual report [pdf] tells us that more than a billion tests are carried out annually – and NHS England says the number of pathology tests [pdf] equates to 14 for each person in England and Wales. The Guardian

Gosport War Memorial Hospital: the report of the Gosport Independent Panel

Gosport War Memorial Hospital: the report of the Gosport Independent Panel The Gosport Independent Panel was set up to address concerns raised by families over a number of years about the initial care of their relatives in Gosport War Memorial Hospital and the subsequent investigations into their deaths. This report is an in-depth analysis of the Panel’s findings. It explains how the information reviewed by the Panel informed those findings and illustrates how the disclosed documents add to public understanding of events at the hospital and their aftermath. King's Fund - Health Management and Policy Alert
See Also:

• NMC responds to Gosport Independent Panel Report Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Gosport hospital deaths: Prescribed painkillers 'shortened 456 lives' BBC News
• Gosport hospital deaths: families condemn 'scandalous' failings The Guardian
• Gosport hospital deaths: how victims' families were let down for 20 years TheGuardian
• Gosport: NHS 'blame culture' must end to prevent more hospital scandals, warns Jeremy Hunt The Telegraph

Allied Health Professions hold key role in future NHS

Allied Health Professions hold key role in future NHS The Allied Health Professions (AHPs) have a significant role to play in the future delivery of integrated urgent care within the NHS. And the quality of leadership of the AHPs will be vital in determining their impact and the quality of care that patients receive. These are two of the key findings of a study ‘Leadership of Allied Health Professions in Trusts: what exists and what matters’ commissioned by NHS Improvement and compiled by Kingston University. NHS England
See Also:

• Allied Health Professions key to NHS integration On Medica

Cases of cancer in elderly to surge by 2035, report says

Cases of cancer in elderly to surge by 2035, report says Cancer Research UK estimates that by 2035 about 234,000 over-75s will get cancer each year - up from 130,000 now. The charity also said the elderly were more likely to have multiple health conditions, leading to later diagnoses. It called on the health service to prepare now for the rise in older patients with "complex needs". The government said cancer was a "priority" and the prime minister had just announced increased funding for the NHS. BBC News - Health

See Also:

• Number of elderly people with cancer 'tipped to soar over next 20 years' The Telegraph

Sex, drugs and A&E: 10 charts on how the under-30s use the NHS

Sex, drugs and A&E: 10 charts on how the under-30s use the NHS Debates about the NHS often focus on the pressures of an ageing population, but how do younger patients use the service? BBC News

NHS at 70: How Moorfields Eye Hospital changed the world

NHS at 70: How Moorfields Eye Hospital changed the world In seven decades as an NHS institution, Moorfields Eye Hospital has been at the forefront of pioneering treatments. Today, cutting-edge research continues, new cures for blindness are discovered and hope is given to patients nationwide. BBC News

Enhancing Junior Doctor Working Lives progress report

Enhancing Junior Doctor Working Lives progress report Health Education England (HEE) has published the 2018 Enhancing Junior Doctor Working Lives progress report. This latest report provides an update on the work that HEE has completed with partners, including the British Medical Association (BMA), medical royal colleges and the General Medical Council, over the past year in response to the concerns doctors in training have raised and to help boost morale. NHS Employers

Guidance: Bowel cancer screening: bowel scope standard operating procedures

Guidance: Bowel cancer screening: bowel scope standard operating procedures These standard operating procedures (SOPs) help commissioners and providers in establishing and implementing bowel scope screening. Public Health England (Gov.UK)

News story: Cancer patients at increased risk of suicide

News story: Cancer patients at increased risk of suicide Cancer patients in England are at increased risk of suicide compared to the general population, according to new figures from Public Health England (PHE).The first national study of its kind in England reveals cancer patients have a 20% increased risk of suicide, with the highest risk seen within the first 6 months of diagnosis. Public Health England (Gov.UK)

Northants County Council misspent £8m of public health money

Northants County Council misspent £8m of public health money  After months of talks a deal has been struck between the local authority and Public Health England (PHE) over the council’s misspending of its public health grant. The council received a £35m grant from PHE in 2017-18 and a similar sum in 2016-17. The grant was given to provide services with public health outcomes but instead several millions were incorrectly spent on adult social care and children’s services. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Judge grants judicial review over Corby Urgent Care Centre changes

Judge grants judicial review over Corby Urgent Care Centre changes The Save Our UCC group scored a win over Corby CCG, which pays for the running of the centre, after a court in Cardiff ruled in their favour today (June 19) by granting a judicial review. The action group say that the proposal to offer an appointment-only system is a material change to the function of the walk-in facility and therefore bosses should have launched a full consultation before they announced the change. But Corby CCG say it is not a big enough change to warrant a full consultation change and so a full consultation wasn’t necessary before the decision was taken. Northamptonshire Telegraph

System under strain: why demand pressures are more than a winter phenomenon

System under strain: why demand pressures are more than a winter phenomenon A report from NHS Confederation shows that increases in demand for health care services are not restricted to particular parts of the service and specific times of the year. NHS Networks

Strong bones after 50: fracture liaison services explained

Strong bones after 50: fracture liaison services explained The Royal College of Physicians has released new guidance for patients and carers to support older people who have broken a bone following a fall. NHS Networks

See Also:

• Strong bones after 50: Fracture liaison services explained  Royal College of Physicians

NHS boss warns of cannabis addiction risk for kids after former Tory leader calls for legalisation

NHS boss warns of cannabis addiction risk for kids after former Tory leader calls for legalisation Legalising cannabis risks making children believe it is safe, the head of the NHSwarned yesterday.
In a major intervention, Simon Stevens highlighted serious health dangers, such as addiction and psychosis. He spoke out after former Tory leader Lord Hague urged ministers to be ‘bold’ and legalise cannabis for recreational use – meaning it could be sold in shops with alcohol and tobacco.
The peer claimed the war on the class B drug had been ‘comprehensively and irreversibly lost’. But campaigners said it would be wrong to decriminalise a narcotic linked to mental illness, organised crime, violence and road deaths. Mail Online

See Also:

• Government to review medicinal use of cannabis On Medica
• Young people 'see cannabis as safer than alcohol' BBC News
• Medicinal cannabis use to be reviewed by government BBC News
• Cannabis: What are the risks of recreational use? BBC News
• Home secretary announces review into medicinal cannabis use The Guardian

Doctors ordered to recognise the ‘human value’ of patients with dementia in major care overhaul

Doctors ordered to recognise the ‘human value’ of patients with dementia in major care overhaul Doctors have been ordered to recognise the ‘human value’ of patients with dementia as part of a major overhaul of care.
Dementia patients should be treated as individuals, have a say in their care and not face discrimination for their age or the severity of their illness, new guidelines say.
While there is currently no cure for dementia, the guidelines from the health watchdog Nice stress the importance of diagnosis so that patients and their families can prepare for the future and start treatments to slow its advance. This includes giving patients a controversial spinal tap when doctors are unsure whether they have dementia. Mail Online

See Also:

• Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence)

Gosport hospital deaths: Independent panel findings due

Gosport hospital deaths: Independent panel findings due Families of hundreds of people who died at a scandal-hit hospital hope a report published later could end a decades-long wait for the truth. The report follows several inquiries into the prescribing of sedatives at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.
A fresh review, led by former Bishop of Liverpool James Jones, spoke to more than 100 families and analysed 800 death certificates. BBC News
See Also:

• Widespread blame expected from inquiry into suspicious hospital deaths The Guardian

NHS 70: How have hospitals changed for children?

NHS 70: How have hospitals changed for children? It's 70 years since the start of the NHS. How have hospitals changed for child patients since 1948? BBC News - Health

The nurses tackling mental illness in police custody

The nurses tackling mental illness in police custody About third of those arrested in England have mental health issues. The BBC met the nurses who help them. BBC News