Leading for integrated care: 'If you think competition is hard, you should try collaboration'

Leading for integrated care: 'If you think competition is hard, you should try collaboration' The NHS long-term plan has reinforced the role of integrated care systems (ICSs) in establishing more collaborative working and joined-up care for patients and their local populations. ICSs will cover the whole of England by 2021.

As these systems evolve, strong leadership is needed to bring NHS, local authority, private and third sector organisations together.

Our interviews with the chairs and leads of both ICSs and the remaining sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) found that while progress is being made, there are also a number of challenges. The King's Fund

Nursing staff stretched to breaking point over workloads

Nursing staff stretched to breaking point over workloads Findings from the RCN’s recent employment survey show that nursing staff across the UK are under such pressure that six out of 10 say they cannot provide the level of care they want to.

The annual survey, which was first carried out in 1986, also shows that barely a quarter of respondents think their pay is appropriate for the level of responsibility and stress they face at work. Three in 10 say they have suffered physical abuse from patients, or patients’ relatives, in the last 12 months.

The survey also highlighted that health care assistants are increasingly being asked to take on the duties of registered nurses. Royal College of Nursing

See also:

• RCN Employment Survey 2019 Royal College of Nursing
• 'We try our best as nurses, but it's not enough' BBC News

Patients’ experience of mental health services

Patients’ experience of mental health services  NHS England has published the latest statistical information on patients’ experience of mental health services in the NHS. This is an update to include results from the 2019 Community Mental Health Survey.

Prevention and mental health: understanding the evidence so that we can address the greatest health challenge of our times

Prevention and mental health: understanding the evidence so that we can address the greatest health challenge of our times This resource provides information on the scale of mental health problems in society, what shapes our mental health, an integrated model of mental health, how life events can affect mental health, the relationship between physical and mental health, the meaning of prevention and how society must change to put prevention front and centre.  It is aimed at policymakers, health professionals, mental health advocates and their families and friends. Mental Health Foundation

Estimating need in older people: findings for England

Estimating need in older people: findings for England This report outlines how ill health, poverty, unmet needs for care and support, poor housing, loneliness and social isolation are profound challenges for many older people. It estimates the numbers and percentages of people aged 65 and over in England with these disadvantages, and collates insights from older people’s own voices about the experience of living with them. Age UK

Smartphone 'addiction': Young people 'panicky' when denied mobiles

Smartphone 'addiction': Young people 'panicky' when denied mobiles Almost a quarter of young people are so dependent on their smartphones that it becomes like an addiction, suggests research by psychiatrists.

The study, from King's College London, says such addictive behaviour means that people become "panicky" or "upset" if they are denied constant access.

The youngsters also cannot control the amount of time they spend on the phone.

The study warns that such addictions have "serious consequences" for mental health. BBC News

See also:

• Prevalence of problematic smartphone usage and associated mental health outcomes amongst children and young people: a systematic review, meta-analysis and GRADE of the evidence (open access) BMC Psychiatry
• One in four children are 'addicted to their smartphones': Teenagers and young people become anxious and depressed when they're separated from their devices, new study reveals The Daily Mail
• Study finds one in four youngsters 'addicted' to smartphones ITV News

‘Disgraceful’: Furious families confront NHS trust bosses over maternity scandal as it emerges true extent may never be known

‘Disgraceful’: Furious families confront NHS trust bosses over maternity scandal as it emerges true extent may never be known The full extent of failings by the hospital trust at the centre of the largest NHS maternity scandal may never be known, it has emerged.

The chair of the independent investigation into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has warned that some records going back more than two decades may have been destroyed under NHS rules.

Writing exclusively for The Independent, midwife Donna Ockenden said she would strive to deliver answers for families, and she issued a public appeal for any parents with concerns about poor maternity care at the Shropshire trust to come forward.

See also:

• Shropshire baby deaths: 'This review is our babies' legacy' BBC News
• Midwife warns full extent of NHS maternity scandal in Shrewsbury and Telford may not be known The Daily Telegraph
• As the head of the review into the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity deaths, I ask any family affected to come forward (Donna Ockenden) The Independent
• NHS bosses threatened with lawsuit for blocking maternity report during election campaign The Independent

Hospital admissions for pensioners with drug-related conditions rises sixfold in ten years, figures reveal.

Hospital admissions for pensioners with drug-related conditions rises sixfold in ten years, figures reveal. The number of hospital admissions for pensioners with drug-related conditions has increased sixfold in the past decade, NHS figures have revealed.

Charities have said that more older people living with addiction, and that the social isolation of older people can exacerbate problematic drug use such as opium, making it more difficult to recover.

Figures released today by NHS Digital showed that in 2018/19 there were 3,078 admissions for those 65 and over, rising more than sixfold from 484 in 2008/9. The Daily Telegraph

Number of GPs in England FALLS by more than 300 in year despite Government pledge to hire more

Number of GPs in England FALLS by more than 300 in year despite Government pledge to hire more The NHS has haemorrhaged hundreds of GPs again this year despite Government pledges to hire thousands more, figures show.

Official data up to September revealed 339 family doctors quit the heath service in the last 12 months.

And almost as many GPs left the NHS between June 2018 and June 2019 as did in the entire three years to March.

Doctors' union the British Medical Association (BMA) said falling GP numbers mean strained GPs are risking their own health to catch up with huge workloads. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Drastic action needed to reverse declining GP numbers trend, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• The Government's pledge to boost GP ranks by 5,000 has fallen short by over 90%, new NHS figures have shown. The Daily Telegraph

Hospitalizations surge for sepsis, UTIs and kidney failure when air quality is poor, study reveals

Hospitalizations surge for sepsis, UTIs and kidney failure when air quality is poor, study reveals Hospital admission go up for a host of life-threatening illnesses - including sepsis, kidney failure and urinary tract infections - never before linked to pollution on days when air quality is poor, a new study reveals.

Even low exposure raises the risk of the potentially fatal illnesses, according to the research.

It adds to evidence there is no safe amount of tiny particles called PM2.5s that are pumped into the atmosphere by traffic and industry. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Short term exposure to fine particulate matter and hospital admission risks and costs in the Medicare population: time stratified, case crossover study (open access) The BMJ
• Yaguang Wei: The dangers of air pollution for human health The BMJ
• The health effects of fine particulate air pollution (editorial) The BMJ
• Impact of air pollution may be worse than previously thought OnMedica

Falling short: the NHS workforce challenge. Workforce profile and trends of the NHS in England

Falling short: the NHS workforce challenge. Workforce profile and trends of the NHS in England This is the fourth annual NHS workforce trends report published by the Health Foundation. In it, we analyse the changes in the size and composition of the NHS workforce in England in the context of long-term trends, policy priorities and future projected need.

This report builds on those of previous years to provide analysis of longer-term trends and insights into the changing NHS staff profile. It focuses specifically on the critical NHS workforce issues that have been repeatedly identified in recent years: nursing shortages, and shortages of staff in general practice and primary care. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Support staff and nurses from abroad plugging shortages in NHS workforce The Health Foundation
• Health and social care workforce: General Election 2019: priorities for the next government The Health Foundation
• Nursing shortages forcing NHS to rely on less qualified staff – report The Guardian
• Patients being put at risk as NHS substitute nurses for care staff with only a few weeks of training The Independent

Immunotherapy offers hope for men with prostate cancer

Immunotherapy offers hope for men with prostate cancer A major trial of an immunotherapy drug has shown it can be effective in some men with advanced prostate cancer.

The men had stopped responding to the main treatment options.

Researchers found that a small proportion of men, described as "super responders", remained well even after the trial ended, despite a very poor prognosis before treatment. BBC News

See also:

• Pembrolizumab for Treatment-Refractory Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Multicohort, Open-Label Phase II KEYNOTE-199 Study (abstract) Journal of Clinical Oncology
• Terminal prostate cancer patients could get 'two more years of life' with experimental drug The Daily Mail

General election 2019: NHS news under wraps until after polling day

General election 2019: NHS news under wraps until after polling day There have been calls for politicians to dial down the rhetoric in the health debate and to avoid "weaponising" the NHS.

The subject has been prominent in the election campaign and there is a widespread interest in understanding what is actually happening across the health service.

Political claims, counter-claims and rows over statistics don't always help that understanding. Some voters might feel they would like to hear from clinicians and other frontline staff.

But that won't be possible until after polling day because of a Cabinet Office policy known as "purdah" BBC News

General election 2019: Row over Labour's 'NHS for sale' claim

General election 2019: Row over Labour's 'NHS for sale' claim A row has broken out after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed he had "proof" the NHS was at risk under a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

Mr Corbyn said he had a 451-page dossier showing initial talks had taken place, proving the NHS was "for sale".

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the claims were "nonsense" and the NHS would not be part of trade talks. BBC News

See also:

• General Election 2019: NHS is in no way on the table, says Johnson BBC News
• Jeremy Corbyn says Tories will put NHS 'up for sale' to US The Daily Mail
• Jeremy Corbyn reveals dossier 'proving NHS up for sale' The Guardian
• 'The NHS is not on the table': Boris Johnson denies Labour claims – video The Guardian
• Andrew Sparrow's election briefing: the NHS dossier The Guardian
• Corbyn says NHS will be on the table in US trade talks Sky News

‘I cry every day’: Anorexia patient forced to live 400 miles from home because of NHS bed crisis

‘I cry every day’: Anorexia patient forced to live 400 miles from home because of NHS bed crisis A student midwife battling anorexia is being forced to live almost 400 miles from her home in Norfolk because of a chronic shortage of specialist beds in the NHS.

Emily Gasparro, 20, is one of dozens of patients being forced to travel long distances across the UK to receive the help they need for serious mental health problems. The Independent

Record rise in student nurses – but unions warn it isn’t enough to cover NHS shortfall

Record rise in student nurses – but unions warn it isn’t enough to cover NHS shortfall The number of students accepted on nursing courses at UK universities has reached a record high – but unions warn that significant shortages remain in the workforce.

Figures from Ucas show the number of nursing applicants has risen by 6.7 per cent across the UK, ending a decline that began when the government scrapped bursaries for student nurses in 2017.

But unions say the numbers are still “nowhere near” enough to end the ”staffing crisis” facing the nursing sector. The Independent

Health service in UK lagging behind that of other wealthy countries

Health service in UK lagging behind that of other wealthy countries Britain's health service is lagging behind that of other high-income countries, research suggests.

The study by the London School of Economics and Harvard School of Public Health compared

ten countries, examining spending levels, and a range of indicators measuring quality of care. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Performance of UK National Health Service compared with other high income countries: observational study (open access). The BMJ

Doubling in number of overseas nurses coming to work in UK

Doubling in number of overseas nurses coming to work in UK The number of foreign nurses coming to work in Britain has doubled in just one year, a report shows.

The official figures show more 7,125 nurses who trained abroad registered for work in the UK in 2018/19 - up from 3,525 the year before. The Daily Telegraph

Major NHS hospital sees record 499 A&E patients in one 'manic' day

Major NHS hospital sees record 499 A&E patients in one 'manic' day One of the UK's biggest hospitals had a record-breaking number of people through the doors of its emergency department on Sunday.

The Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent dealt with 499 patients – the most it has ever had – under what its chief executive said was 'immense pressure'.

A normal day for the city A&E sees just 384, meaning the 'manic' rise added a a third more patients. The Daily Mail

Patients waiting to have NHS operations could lose promise of being seen in 18 weeks, documents reveal

Patients waiting to have NHS operations could lose promise of being seen in 18 weeks, documents reveal Patients waiting to have an operation on the NHS could lose the promise of being seen within 18 weeks as health bosses consider replacing the target with an average instead, it has emerged.

According to hospital documents, seen by the Health Service Journal, the new waiting-time target for NHS patients is expected to be changed from the current 18 weeks to an average wait of 8.5 weeks.

The NHS is field-testing new targets at 12 hospitals, including Northampton General Hospital Trust, where board papers said: “The target average wait is expected to be 8.5 weeks from referral although this has not yet been set. The current average at NGH is 11 weeks.” The Independent

See also:

• NHS could SCRAP its 18-week surgery waiting target even though 4.42MILLION people are on the list The Daily Mail
• New NHS plans could mean average wait of eight and a half weeks The Daily Telegraph
• Flagship waiting time target ‘expected’ to be relaxed Health Service Journal
• What would an 8.5 weeks average elective target look like? Health Service Journal