Northampton and Kettering hospitals work together to help crime victims

Northampton and Kettering hospitals work together to help crime victims Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital have agreed to join up with Voice, the free, confidential support service for anyone affected by crime in Northamptonshire.

The three organisations came together recently to sign an agreement that will see them working together to ensure patients and staff are able to access the specialist support provided by Voice. Northamptonshire Telegraph

New out-of-hours GP provider appointed in Northamptonshire

New out-of-hours GP provider appointed in Northamptonshire A new provider for the GP out of hours service has been appointed by the Northamptonshire CCGs (Corby CCG and Nene CCG).

From Monday (April 1) DHU Health Care will be operating the service for patients registered with a Northamptonshire GP. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

NICE at 20

NICE at 20 This Monday – 1 April 2019, or All Fools’ Day – is the sixth anniversary of the implementation of Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Act, 2012. An Act that everyone from the Prime Minister down appears to agree now needs amending.

But it is also the twentieth anniversary of the arrival of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). And that has to be an occasion for a birthday cake and a few celebratory fireworks. The King's Fund

'She was so desperate, she swallowed a toothbrush'

'She was so desperate, she swallowed a toothbrush' "She is so desperate to end it all, she currently has a toothbrush inside her."

Jane Haines is talking about her daughter, Ayla, who has been in secure units for people with learning difficulties for seven years.

A government programme to move people out of these units after an abuse scandal is a failure, campaigners say.

The government said in 2015 it was committed to reducing inpatient numbers in England by at least 35%, although it has only relocated 20% so far.

That means 2,000 patients remain in them and the government has extended the original March 2019 deadline to 2020. BBC News

Ask children about social media use, psychiatrists urged

Ask children about social media use, psychiatrists urged Psychiatrists are being urged to ask children with mental health issues how long they spend online and what they use social media for.

Questions about technology should be a routine part of assessments, the Royal College of Psychiatrists says.

It is concerned about how time spent online impacts on mood, sleep, diet and behaviour.

The government is expected to announce plans to regulate social media companies soon. BBC News

Schools and NHS could be held accountable over youth crime

Schools and NHS could be held accountable over youth crime Teachers, NHS workers and police officers could be held accountable for failing to spot violent crime among young people under government plans announced on Monday.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has launched a consultation to assess whether there is a "public health duty" to report concerns over children at risk.

He said he will use "all the tools" at his disposal to end violent crime.

A summit on serious youth violence is being held at Downing Street this week. BBC News

New diabetes diagnosis every three minutes, new figures suggest

New diabetes diagnosis every three minutes, new figures suggest One person is being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in England and Wales every three minutes, according to new figures.

Data from 2017 revealed 202,665 people were diagnosed with the disease across the two countries in that year, equivalent to 23 people every hour.

Diabetes UK, which conducted the analysis, said the figures revealed the UK’s obesity crisis was fuelling a rapid rise in the number of people living with the condition. The Independent

Fury as government delays promised social care reform for sixth time amid Brexit gridlock

Fury as government delays promised social care reform for sixth time amid Brexit gridlock The government has failed for the sixth time to hit its own deadline to publish details of care system reforms for adults with disabilities and the elderly, because of the Brexit gridlock wracking the Commons.

Charities claimed lives were being put at risk by minsters’ “dithering and delays” and warned vulnerable people denied care, such as those with learning disabilities, were at increased “risk of abuse and neglect”. The Independent

Transgender fertility rules updated by NHS

Transgender fertility rules updated by NHS Refusal to offer services will require ‘strong justification’ under revised guidance

A long-running battle between the NHS and the equality watchdog over transgender people’s right to access fertility services has ended with both sides claiming victory.

Guidance will be issued to all of the country’s 200-plus clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) – the NHS bodies that plan and commission services – saying that refusal to offer fertility services to people who are transitioning will need a strong justification. A failure to provide this could be challenged in court. However, in a move that will dismay some trans rights groups, NHS England need not instruct CCGs that they must offer the services, after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) dropped its legal challenge. The Guardian

See also:

• Transgender: How people from three generations transitioned BBC News

University student died after hospital ‘assumed he was drunk’

University student died after hospital ‘assumed he was drunk’ A university student died after doctors failed to spot a head injury he sustained during a night out to celebrate his birthday because they assumed his condition was due to excessive drink, a coroner has found.

Maria Voisin, the senior coroner for Avon, said the death of 22-year-old Alex Green was “contributed to by neglect” by hospital staff. The Guardian

Matt Haig: teach children about mental health as readily as road safety

Matt Haig: teach children about mental health as readily as road safety Teaching children about wellbeing is as important as road safety, best-selling author Matt Haig has said as he calls for mental health to be added to the school curriculum.

However, Haig, who is known for his children's books which unpick mental health issues for young readers, warned against so-called 'helicopter parents' "editing" their sons and daughters' lives. The Daily Telegraph

Half of NHS trusts are providing poor care and hundreds of thousands are not being diagnosed

Half of NHS trusts are providing poor care and hundreds of thousands are not being diagnosed The NHS is failing dementia patients across huge swathes of Britain, official figures reveal.

Nearly half of England’s health boards offer poor standards of care, according to Ofsted-style scores.

The figures suggest hundreds of thousands of people are not even diagnosed. And many who do get a diagnosis have to wait for more than a year between their care assessments.

An estimated 850,000 people in the UK have dementia but the number is predicted to soar to two million by 2050. The Daily Mail

All pregnant women will be tested to see if they or their partners smoke, as part of NHS drive

All pregnant women will be tested to see if they or their partners smoke, as part of NHS drive Under radical new NHS plans, all women and their partners will be screened to see if they smoke during pregnancy.

The NHS will offer all women a carbon monoxide screening test at the 12 and 36 weeks stage of pregnancy in a bid to persuade thousands to give up the habit.

The routine screening will come into effect in July. One in 10 women, around 65,000, smoke throughout their pregnancy. The Daily Mail

Hackers attempt to access Northampton General Hospital computers 240 times a day

Hackers attempt to access Northampton General Hospital computers 240 times a day Northampton General Hospital has warned its staff about opening suspicious emails after it revealed its software is fighting off hundreds of cyber attacks every day.

The hospital, along with the wider NHS, says it is continuing to see an increase in daily activity attempting to cause disruption and gain access to IT systems. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The state of care in independent doctor and clinic services providing primary medical care: findings from CQC’s programme of comprehensive inspections in England

The state of care in independent doctor and clinic services providing primary medical care: findings from CQC’s programme of comprehensive inspections in England This report gives an overview of care from inspection findings for doctors and clinics that provide primary medical services in the independent or private sector – that is those not provided by NHS organisations. It found that many services were responding to the needs of their patients, delivering caring services tailored to people’s requirements and needs. However, a number were not meeting the necessary regulations and not delivering safe and effective care. Care Quality Commission

Prevention before cure: prioritising population health

Prevention before cure: prioritising population health This policy paper contains a suggested framework for a cross-government approach to prioritising population health. The framework outlines four areas to consider: addressing the social determinants that influence health; increased and sustained funding for public health; prioritising prevention through the health service; and effective regulation to tackle key drivers of ill-health. British Medical Association

Implementing handovers and huddles: a framework for practice in maternity units

Implementing handovers and huddles: a framework for practice in maternity units This framework aims to provide a structure for maternity units to create and develop their own approach to effectively communicating clinical data and transferring key safety information. It describes the difference between handovers and huddles, the benefits of effective clinical handovers and the role of huddles in promoting safety. It is intended as a good practice guide for healthcare professionals involved in the care of pregnant women and their infants, regardless of the nature of the unit they work in or whether it is in the community or a hospital. NHS Improvement 

Wide array of NHS figures named as the new NHS Assembly announced

Wide array of NHS figures named as the new NHS Assembly announced A diverse group of leading NHS figures, disability advocates and charity bosses have been named in the new NHS Assembly including trust chief executives, ex-government advisors, patient representatives and a Guardian columnist.

The NHS has announced that the NHS Assembly, a team of health and social care experts, is to be established by April 2019 and will be tasked with supporting the delivery of the NHS Long-Term Plan. National Health Executive

Jump in antidepressant prescriptions in England

Jump in antidepressant prescriptions in England A total of 70.9 million prescriptions for antidepressants were dispensed in England in 2018.

NHS Digital figures show that the number of drugs issued - for conditions like depression and anxiety - went up from 67.5 million in 2017.

The total is almost double the number dispensed in 2008.

The figure includes all items issued by the NHS in England, except those given out in hospitals or on private prescriptions. BBC News

See also:

• Prescription Cost Analysis - England, 2018 NHS Digital
• Rising prescription numbers not 'automatically a bad thing', says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners 
• A nation of pill poppers: NHS dishes out more prescriptions than EVER before The Daily Mail
• Doubling in number of antidepressants doled out in a decade, NHS figures show The Daily Telegraph
• Antidepressant prescriptions in England double in a decade The Guardian
• Antidepressant prescriptions nearly double in a decade The Independent

Brexit: NHS no-deal fears prompt call for drugs export ban

Brexit: NHS no-deal fears prompt call for drugs export ban Pharmaceutical industry leaders want a temporary ban on drugs exports to prevent the NHS being hit by shortages in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The call came from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

It told the BBC a drop in the value of the pound would create an incentive for wholesalers to sell medicines overseas instead of to the NHS.

The Department of Health says it is working closely with the industry to ensure continuity of supply. BBC News