This blog covers the latest UK health care news, publications, policy announcements, events and information focused on the NHS, as well as the latest media stories and local news coverage of the NHS Trusts in Northamptonshire.
Monday, 27 July 2015
Policy paper: 7-day NHS services: a factsheet
Policy paper: 7-day NHS services: a factsheet Hospitals and community services are already working together to create a better service 7 days a week. This factsheet describes the further action the government wants to take to make NHS services safer during this Parliament. Department of Health
The impact of primary care quality on inpatient length of stay for people with dementia: an analysis by discharge destination
The impact of primary care quality on inpatient length of stay for people with dementia: an analysis by discharge destination This paper examines whether the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) dementia review helps to achieve timely hospital discharge for dementia patients. It found that on average the length of stay in hospital for dementia patients is 18 days and that QOF dementia review had little effect on the length of stay. Centre for Health Economics
Assaults: new figures released on A&E attendances and hospital admissions
Assaults: new figures released on A&E attendances and hospital admissions New figures on NHS A&E attendances and hospital admissions due to assaults are released today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre
Is there really a middle-class drinking 'epidemic' in over-50s?
Is there really a middle-class drinking 'epidemic' in over-50s? "Middle-class over-50s have become a generation of problem drinkers," the Mail Online reports – a headline that actually has little basis in fact.
This follows the analysis of more than 9,000 adults aged over 50 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. It found that over-50s falling into a "higher-risk drinking" category were more likely to have middle-class traits such as high educational achievement, better self-rated health, and being socially active.
Higher-risk drinking was defined as drinking more than 50 alcohol units per week (equivalent to five or more bottles of wine) for men, and over 35 units per week (three-and-half bottles of wine) for women.
The Mail's headline got the wrong idea though, because only 3-7% of over-50s drank at these "higher-risk" levels. While an obvious issue of concern, it a stretch to say this is a generation of problem drinkers.
There were also significantly different patterns between men and women. For example, higher-risk drinking was linked to higher income, but only in women.
These uncertainties aside, the study does reinforce the fact that alcohol misuse and the risks of drinking too much do not respect class boundaries. You can do just as much damage by drinking champagne to excess as you can by drinking cheap cider.
This follows the analysis of more than 9,000 adults aged over 50 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. It found that over-50s falling into a "higher-risk drinking" category were more likely to have middle-class traits such as high educational achievement, better self-rated health, and being socially active.
Higher-risk drinking was defined as drinking more than 50 alcohol units per week (equivalent to five or more bottles of wine) for men, and over 35 units per week (three-and-half bottles of wine) for women.
The Mail's headline got the wrong idea though, because only 3-7% of over-50s drank at these "higher-risk" levels. While an obvious issue of concern, it a stretch to say this is a generation of problem drinkers.
There were also significantly different patterns between men and women. For example, higher-risk drinking was linked to higher income, but only in women.
These uncertainties aside, the study does reinforce the fact that alcohol misuse and the risks of drinking too much do not respect class boundaries. You can do just as much damage by drinking champagne to excess as you can by drinking cheap cider.
'I had to starve for treatment'
'I had to starve for treatment' People with eating disorders losing weight to get treatment. BBC News
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Massive leaked NHS privatisation plan could shut 29 centres and make 800 staff redundant
Massive leaked NHS privatisation plan could shut 29 centres and make 800 staff redundant
Hundreds of workers are threatened at the Primary Care Support centres, which are being handed over to private firm Capita. The Daily Mirror
Hundreds of workers are threatened at the Primary Care Support centres, which are being handed over to private firm Capita. The Daily Mirror
New 'vanguard' areas to link GP out-of-hours with other urgent and emergency care
New 'vanguard' areas to link GP out-of-hours with other urgent and emergency care The first eight urgent and emergency care vanguards have been announced by NHS England to spearhead new integrated models of delivery. GP Online
Surgeon's picture of himself mopping the floor of his operating theatre at 10pm - after he was called back into work - is shared nearly 80,000 times on Facebook
Surgeon's picture of himself mopping the floor of his operating theatre at 10pm - after he was called back into work - is shared nearly 80,000 times on Facebook Stuart Gould, a consultant surgeon at North West London NHS Trust, dedicated his post to his trainees, some of whom worked 17 hour days. The Daily Mail
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Almost half of EU doctors seeking work in UK failed to prove English skills
Almost half of EU doctors seeking work in UK failed to prove English skills General Medical Council says 45% of those who applied in the past year did not give evidence of their language skills and were refused a licence to practise
Nearly half of all EU doctors who sought work in the UK in the past year were turned away because they failed to prove their English was good enough, the medical regulator has revealed.
In all, 779 doctors – 45% of those who applied – did not give evidence of their language skills to the General Medical Council (GMC), and were therefore refused a licence to practice, between 25 June 2014 and 6 July this year.
The fact that we can now check on doctors coming to the UK from elsewhere in Europe is proving effective
If you can’t communicate with your patients, you can’t function as a doctor Continue reading... The Guardian
Nearly half of all EU doctors who sought work in the UK in the past year were turned away because they failed to prove their English was good enough, the medical regulator has revealed.
In all, 779 doctors – 45% of those who applied – did not give evidence of their language skills to the General Medical Council (GMC), and were therefore refused a licence to practice, between 25 June 2014 and 6 July this year.
The fact that we can now check on doctors coming to the UK from elsewhere in Europe is proving effective
If you can’t communicate with your patients, you can’t function as a doctor Continue reading... The Guardian
NHS's financial problems need one solution, not many
NHS's financial problems need one solution, not many A collaborative approach is needed between local and national systems to ensure the NHS stays within its 2015-16 budget
The latest evidence, such as the King’s Fund Quarterly Monitoring Report (QMR) published last week, shows that the NHS faces a significantly more difficult challenge to stay within its budget this year than it did last year.
There are a number of possible responses from NHS frontline leaders to this problem. One would be, “The only way we can manage 2015-16 without the system crashing is for the government to inject more money and admit the current challenge is undeliverable”. Another might be, “Making the NHS numbers add up is a system level responsibility of the department of health and the arm’s length bodies, not ours”. A third would be, “We can only deliver by forgetting about everyone else and sorting out our own problems”.Continue reading... The Guardian
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The latest evidence, such as the King’s Fund Quarterly Monitoring Report (QMR) published last week, shows that the NHS faces a significantly more difficult challenge to stay within its budget this year than it did last year.
There are a number of possible responses from NHS frontline leaders to this problem. One would be, “The only way we can manage 2015-16 without the system crashing is for the government to inject more money and admit the current challenge is undeliverable”. Another might be, “Making the NHS numbers add up is a system level responsibility of the department of health and the arm’s length bodies, not ours”. A third would be, “We can only deliver by forgetting about everyone else and sorting out our own problems”.Continue reading... The Guardian
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Jeremy Hunt’s U-turn on social care ‘cost taxpayer £100m’
Jeremy Hunt’s U-turn on social care ‘cost taxpayer £100m’ Health secretary faces tough questions from MPs amid growing anger at policy fiasco over cap on care costs for the elderly
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, faces a growing backlash after quietly shelving a key Tory manifesto commitment to cap care costs for the elderly, as experts claimed that the policy fiasco has cost taxpayers up to £100m.
Hunt has announced that the plan to limit care bills from next year to £72,000 for the over-65s and for younger adults with disabilities has been delayed until 2020 – despite the fact it was trumpeted by the Conservatives in the runup to the general election. Continue reading... The Guardian
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The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, faces a growing backlash after quietly shelving a key Tory manifesto commitment to cap care costs for the elderly, as experts claimed that the policy fiasco has cost taxpayers up to £100m.
Hunt has announced that the plan to limit care bills from next year to £72,000 for the over-65s and for younger adults with disabilities has been delayed until 2020 – despite the fact it was trumpeted by the Conservatives in the runup to the general election. Continue reading... The Guardian
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- Is the cap on care costs doomed? BBC News
Tens of thousands of under-age girls given long-acting NHS contraceptives
Tens of thousands of under-age girls given long-acting NHS contraceptives More than 5,000 girls, aged 15 and under, are being given 'long-acting' contraceptive implants every year on the NHS without the need for parental consent. The Daily Telegraph
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NHS waste: efficiency and good care go hand in hand
NHS waste: efficiency and good care go hand in hand Telegraph View: The health service must not take the lazy view that bigger budgets always mean better care. The Daily Telegraph
English people with rare eye condition may be forced to move to Scotland to 'save their sight', says charity
English people with rare eye condition may be forced to move to Scotland to 'save their sight', says charity English people living with a rare eye condition may be forced to move to Scotland or Wales to “save their sight”, the country’s leading charity for the blind has said, after the NHS refused to fund routine access to treatments. The Independent
Friday, 24 July 2015
The NHS in 2030: A vision of a people-powered knowledge-powered health system
The NHS in 2030: A vision of a people-powered knowledge-powered health system "The changes to healthcare imagined in this paper would add up to a fundamental shift in how people understand health and who is responsible for managing it. By 2030, there may be new kinds of knowledge, new ways of using it and new kinds of people involved in health support and services." Nesta
Powerful people: reinforcing the power of citizens and communities in health and care
Powerful people: reinforcing the power of citizens and communities in health and care This report argues for giving citizens greater control over their own health and care, so that services are redesigned around their needs and aspirations, to improve health outcomes, and to save money by supporting people better to manage their conditions themselves. Institute for Public Policy Research
NHS launches next step of urgent care review
NHS launches next step of urgent care review NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens and the NHS Five Year Forward View partners today (Friday) announced eight new vanguards that will launch the transformation of urgent and emergency care for more than nine million people.
This comes as NHS England also revealed the success of Regional Major Trauma Networks which, after they were set up just three years ago, have seen a remarkable 50 per cent increase in the odds of survival for trauma patients revealed in a new independent audit by the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN).
This comes as NHS England also revealed the success of Regional Major Trauma Networks which, after they were set up just three years ago, have seen a remarkable 50 per cent increase in the odds of survival for trauma patients revealed in a new independent audit by the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN).
More than a fifth of young people have tried e-cigarettes
More than a fifth of young people have tried e-cigarettes School pupil survey asks about use of new smoking products and legal highs for the first time. Health and Social Care Information Centre
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Malaria vaccine one step closer
Malaria vaccine one step closer The world's first malaria vaccine has cleared one of the final regulatory hurdles prior to being used to immunise children in sub-Saharan Africa. BBC News
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Paramedics and medical assistants can ease GP workload, finds workforce commission
Paramedics and medical assistants can ease GP workload, finds workforce commission Paramedics could 'substitute for GPs' in some cases, while use of pharmacists and other staff in primary care must be widened to help tackle the workforce crisis, a landmark GP workforce commission has found. GP Online
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- The future of primary care: Creating teams for tomorrow Primary Care Workforce Commission
- GP workforce commission: Full response from RCGP chairwoman Dr Maureen Baker GP Online
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