Why are we still waiting for solutions to the problems of social care?

Why are we still waiting for solutions to the problems of social care? Forget Brexit, there is a longer-running political failing: about how we treat the most vulnerable in our society. In 2014 I was proud to work with The King’s Fund on an independent Commission looking at the ambitious topic of a new settlement for health and social care. The Commission’s core conclusion, which still stands, was that, while health entitlements are generous, entitlements for social care fall well short of what is needed to enable older and disabled people to secure a decent standard of care. The King's Fund

Community mental health survey 2019

Community mental health survey 2019 Results from the 2019 community mental health survey show many of those areas identified as in need of improvement in 2018 have declined further, continuing the negative trend of results consistently declining over the 2014 – 2019 period. These include:

• seeing NHS mental health services often enough
• being given sufficient time to discuss needs and treatment
• agreeing care to be received and being involved in the process
• being given help and advice with finding support with physical health needs, financial advice or benefits

Positive experiences of NHS mental health services can be found in the organising care theme.

Some groups of people consistently reported poorer experiences of using mental health services. Care Quality Commission

See also:

• NHS mental health services 'are getting worse' and only 42% of patients get enough appointments The Daily Mail

NHS staff 'uncomfortable with tech giants handling patient data'

NHS staff 'uncomfortable with tech giants handling patient data' NHS staff feel uncomfortable with the prospect of multinational big tech companies analysing patient data, according to a new survey.

A YouGov poll of 1,027 healthcare professionals, commissioned by Sensyne Health, found that 81% supported the analysis of anonymised data to enable quicker diagnosis and more effective treatment for patients.

More than eight in 10 (85%) said they felt the NHS should receive a fair share of any financial gains made from subsequent medical discoveries, with 87% agreeing that the government should ensure that the NHS and UK taxpayers benefited from gains resulting from any analysis. Digital Health

Autism: 'Unprecedented' demand creates long appointment waits

Autism: 'Unprecedented' demand creates long appointment waits New data suggests some patients thought to have autism waited over 19 weeks for their first mental health appointments.

Patients at 10 out of 25 English health trusts waited an average of 137 days or more following referral, against a target of 91 days, in spring 2018.

The National Autistic Society (NAS) said the limited NHS statistics were "disappointing" as they only cover about a quarter of people referred. BBC News

Ketamine may reduce heavy drinkers' craving

Ketamine may reduce heavy drinkers' craving A one-off dose of ketamine may help heavy drinkers cut back on alcohol, an experimental trial by University College London suggests.

When the sedative was used to disrupt people's memories of why they wanted to drink, they drank less and their urge to drink lowered over nine months.

The researchers say ketamine could be a helpful treatment for alcohol and other addictions. BBC News

See also:

• Ketamine can reduce harmful drinking by pharmacologically rewriting drinking memories (open access) Nature Communications
• One shot of ketamine could reduce problem drinking University College London
• Injecting alcoholics with KETAMINE could help them quit problem drinking The Daily Mail
• One ketamine dose could help heavy drinkers reduce alcohol intake, study reveals The Independent

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Hundreds of families come forward

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Hundreds of families come forward Hundreds of families whose babies died or were left disabled at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust have come forward during the past week, it has emerged.

Following revelations by The Independent of widespread poor maternity care over four decades, more than 200 families are understood to have complained about maternity care at the trust.

See also:

• 'Hundreds more cases' in Shropshire maternity scandal BBC News
• Hundreds of potential new cases come forward in Shrewsbury maternity scandal The Daily Telegraph

Patients less likely to get physio after hip surgery if they are male and old

Patients less likely to get physio after hip surgery if they are male and old Older men who have had hip and knee operations are missing out on crucial physiotherapy, amid warnings too many are being left to fend for themselves.

The study - the first major research into provision of such treatment in the UK - shows significant inequalities in the likelihood of receiving treatment to restore mobility. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Demographic and geographical variability in physiotherapy provision following hip and knee replacement. An analysis from the National Joint Registry for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man (abstract) Physiotherapy

All parents will be sent reminders urging them to get their children vaccinated

All parents will be sent reminders urging them to get their children vaccinated Every family will receive reminders from their GPs when it is time for their children’s jabs, under a Tory pledge to reverse a decline in rates of vaccinations.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said the new system, which will primarily operate through text messages, would save lives, ensuring the nation’s children are healthy and protected. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Tories plan vaccination text reminders from GPs to boost uptake The Guardian

Europe and UK are spiralling towards a drugs overdose epidemic, study warns

Europe and UK are spiralling towards a drugs overdose epidemic, study warns Europe could be spiralling towards an opioid epidemic as an unprecedented surge of cheap, super-strength heroin hits the streets of EU nations, a major report warns.

Experts say the influx of the opiate, as well as a surge in the number of copycat drugs like fentanyl, could trigger an explosion in the number of overdoses.

A major EU report about the drugs market in the continent today revealed record amounts of heroin are being shipped into Western nations, and that man-made versions of the drug represent a 'growing health danger'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• 2019 EU Drug Markets Report European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and Europol
• Synthetic opioids account for fifth of addicts needing treatment, Europol reveals The Daily Telegraph 

Corrected contributions? Understanding the NHS pensions tax ‘trap’

Corrected contributions? Understanding the NHS pensions tax ‘trap’ Following an announcement in the media last week that the government has found a solution to the problem of doctors taking a dramatic financial hit through pensions tax for undertaking overtime shifts, Helen Buckingham explains the situation as it stands on the tax 'trap' debate. Nuffield Trust

Pregnancy and childbirth in prison: what do we know?

Pregnancy and childbirth in prison: what do we know? Following the recent death of a baby born in prison, Miranda Davies presents new findings on the plight of pregnant prisoners – a group whose health needs are not currently being met. Nuffield Trust

PHE and NHS England urge eligible people to get free flu vaccine

PHE and NHS England urge eligible people to get free flu vaccine Primary school flu vaccination programme resumes following temporary delay of nasal spray vaccine from the manufacturer. Public Health England

See also:

• Let’s do our duty: Top nurse leads NHS staff flu jab drive NHS England

Guide to caring for people with multiple long-term conditions

Guide to caring for people with multiple long-term conditions A guide from the taskforce on multiple conditions showcases ten examples of improving care to the 15 million people in England with multiple long-term conditions. The Richmond Group of Charities 

Type 2 diabetes peer mentor programme: midterm evaluation

Type 2 diabetes peer mentor programme: midterm evaluation This report outlines the findings so far from an interim evaluation of a peer mentoring service for people living with type 2 diabetes. The programme builds on Brigstowe's model of peer mentoring for people diagnosed with HIV and aimed to see if similar wellbeing and health outcomes could be achieved when transferring the model to other long-term health conditions. Brigstowe

Can the NHS boost nurse numbers by 50,000?

Can the NHS boost nurse numbers by 50,000? The Conservative manifesto pledges to add 50,000 nurses to the workforce in England by 2024-25.

How realistic is this target, particularly given that nurse numbers have gone up by only about 5,000 since 2010?

Workforce is one of the main concerns for the NHS in England right now. Health employers talk of difficulties filling rotas and worries about how future staff can be recruited at a time of rising patient demand. BBC News

See also:

• Will a Conservative government deliver 50,000 more nurses? The Guardian
• I’m a nurse, and here’s how to attract more of us to the NHS | Molly Case The Guardian
• Will a Boris Johnson government deliver 50000 more NHS nurses? The Independent

Martin Marshall: GPs need to do less, but it’s not what patients want to hear

Martin Marshall: GPs need to do less, but it’s not what patients want to hear | Denis Campbell The new chair of the RCGP says doctors are under pressure to overtreat, and calls on politicians to stem the exodus from the profession

The NHS does too much medicine”. These are surprising words to hear uttered by a GP, given their role as gatekeepers to the NHS – the doctors who send patients to hospital for tests, surgery or other treatment.

But Martin Marshall, the new chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, firmly believes that part of the reason the NHS is so overstretched is that doctors (GPs and hospital doctors) overdiagnose illness – and as a result patients have too many exploratory tests and too many unnecessary treatments. Getting a grip on that, he believes, would help relieve the pressure on the health service in general and the nation’s overworked family doctors in particular. The Guardian

Hospital beds at record low in England as NHS struggles with demand

Hospital beds at record low in England as NHS struggles with demand The number of hospital beds has fallen to its lowest level ever, despite the head of the NHS warning that bed closures have gone too far.

The health service in England has cut so many beds in recent years that it has just 127,225 left to cope with the rising demand for care, which will intensify as winter starts to bite.

In total, 17,230 beds have been cut from the 144,455 that existed in April-June 2010, the period when the coalition Conservative/Liberal Democrat government took office and imposed a nine-year funding squeeze on the NHS, even though critics cautioned against it because of growing pressures on the service. The Guardian

A third of maternity doctors 'burnt out' and at risk of losing empathy for women in their care

A third of maternity doctors 'burnt out' and at risk of losing empathy for women in their care More than a third of maternity doctors are “burnt out,” and at risk of lacking empathy for the women in their care, researchers have warned.

The study of more than 3,000 obstetricians and gynaecologists found high levels of long-term stress and overwork, especially among trainee medics.

Researchers said the findings - from the largest UK study on the topic - were “very worrying,” with serious implications for patients. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Burnout, well-being and defensive medical practice among obstetricians and gynaecologists in the UK: cross-sectional survey study (open access) BMJ Open

Six million TONNES of asbestos are still in schools and hospitals in the UK

Six million TONNES of asbestos are still in schools and hospitals in the UK Six million tonnes of asbestos are still inside 1.5million buildings in the UK including hospitals and eight out of 10 schools, according to a report.

Think-tank ResPublica has urged the Government to reform its policies in order to save teachers and nurses from asbestos related deaths.

The toxic material was once used for insulation and fire-proofing but can lead to serious cases of lung disease and cancer, particularly mesothelioma, if inhaled.

Although the use of asbestos was banned 20 years ago, anything built or refurbished before 1999 may still contain it. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Don’t Breathe In: Bridging the Asbestos Safety Gap ResPublica

Breast cancer GP 'didn't think' he could get the disease

Breast cancer GP 'didn't think' he could get the disease A retired male GP who was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago said he "hadn't even contemplated" he could get the disease.

Mike Greenhalgh, from Abthorpe, Northamptonshire, who was a doctor for 27 years, said he had never seen a case of breast cancer in men.

The 63-year-old said he found it "difficult" being seen in a clinic with mostly women patients.

About 360 men in the UK are diagnosed each year, compared to 54,500 women. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Male breast cancer: Men warned to check for symptoms BBC News