Low risk of suspected Ebola case at Northampton General Hospital

Low risk of suspected Ebola case at Northampton General Hospital A patient with a suspected case of Ebola was admitted to NGH on Wednesday 14 January 2015.

Tests have now shown that the patient is malaria negative and Ebola is considered unlikely. Further testing is being done as a precaution, as is usual practice in these circumstances.

We are confident that all appropriate actions are being taken to protect the public’s health and ensure there is no risk to patients or staff. Northampton General Hospital

See also:

• Woman treated for suspected Ebola BBC News
• Northampton General Hospital confirms suspected Ebola patient The Daily Mail
• Ebola in the UK: Hospital confirms it is treating a woman with suspected case of the virus The Independent
• Northampton General Hospital says “Ebola is unlikely” but tests are being done as a precaution Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Ebola test results on Northampton General Hospital patient expected this afternoon Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• EBOLA SCARE: Woman being treated for suspected ebola at Northampton General Hospital Northants Herald and Post
• Patient tested as a precaution at Northamptonshire hospital but Ebola ‘unlikely’ Northamptonshire Telegraph

John Prescott: 'Angels at Northampton General Hospital saved my sister's life'

John Prescott: 'Angels at Northampton General Hospital saved my sister's life' Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has praised under pressure staff at Northampton General Hospital for saving his elderly sister's life - twice. Northants Herald and Post

Human factors in health care – what’s new and what next?

Human factors in health care – what’s new and what next? We will see human factors firmly embedded in health care across the world, but it won't happen without a great deal of thoughtful work by those at the front line and, importantly, those who hold the system reins, says Martin Bromiley. The Health Foundation

Guidance: Sexual and reproductive health in England: local and national data

Guidance: Sexual and reproductive health in England: local and national data Guidance to help health professionals including local government, service providers and commissioners understand the sexual health data that is available across England and how the data can be accessed. It includes data collected by Public Health England (PHE) and other organisations.

This information provides an overview of the information available on sexually transmitted infection (STIs), HIV, contraception, conception and abortion and where to access it. It is divided into indicators (used for tracking progress), detailed local information (collation and interpretation of local intelligence) and national resources (tables and reports). Public Health England

News story: Monitor guidance to help patients receive more joined-up care

News story: Monitor guidance to help patients receive more joined-up care Monitor believes that greater integration of health and care services can bring many benefits to patients. The regulator is consulting on draft guidance that makes clear Monitor can take action if providers block efforts to deliver joined-up care for patients.

This is the first time the regulator has produced guidance to help providers comply with the integrated care condition of the NHS provider licence. The licence is Monitor’s main tool for regulating NHS providers and contains a specific condition requiring providers not to block the delivery of integrated care when it can benefit patients.

Monitor’s new guidance sets out core principles - such as working effectively with other health and social care organisations locally in order to identify and improve ways of delivering person-centred, coordinated care for patients.

The guidance also gives examples of situations which might lead to action from the regulator. These include:

• failing to work with commissioners to identify how local services can be better coordinated
• refusing to discuss with other providers the use of shared care plans for patients who need to be treated by more than 1 NHS provider
• allowing unnecessary delays in the handover of patient records when a patient moves from one provider to another

Monitor is now seeking feedback on the guidance from providers, commissioners, patients and others.

Progress in improving cancer services and outcomes in England

Progress in improving cancer services and outcomes in England The Department of Health, its arms length bodies and the NHS have made progress in improving cancer services since 2010, according to the National Audit Office. However, significant variations in outcomes and access to services persist across England, indicating that there is considerable scope for further improvement.

Since the NAO last reported on cancer services, in 2010, overall outcomes for cancer patients have continued to improve. For example, the proportion of people surviving for one year and five years after diagnosis has increased to 69% (for those diagnosed in 2012) and 49% (for those diagnosed in 2008) respectively. However, data on 5-year survival rates published in 2013 (for those diagnosed between 2000 and 2007) showed that survival rates remained about 10% lower than the European average.

Quality first: Managing workload to deliver safe patient care: Guidance for GPs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Quality first: Managing workload to deliver safe patient care Guidance for GPs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland The aim of this guidance is to help practices to manage their workload and work
efficiently within safe and competent limits. British Medical Association

See also:

• GP workload is getting worse, says BMA British Medical Association
• BMA guidance tells GPs how to refuse unfunded work GP Online

The Invisible Patients Revealing the state of neurology services January 2015

The Invisible Patients Revealing the state of neurology services January 2015 A report of NHS neurological services shows a wide variation across the country and "an alarming lack of understanding" around neurological patients and their needs. The Neurological Alliance

See also:

• Neurology care varies across the country OnMedica

Right from the start: what we want from the new government

Right from the start: what we want from the new government This report outlines some of the challenges disabled children, young people and their families face. It calls for the next government to address these issues and highlights integrated care and respite care as key actions to be taken to improve the lives of disabled children and their families. Every Disabled Child Matters

More than 400,000 extra A&E visits

More than 400,000 extra A&E visits The number of A&E visits in England has soared by more than 400,000 so far this financial year, doctors tell MPs. BBC News

See also:

• VIDEO: More than 400,000 extra A&E visits BBC News
• AUDIO: Three days in a hospital stock room BBC News
• It could take FIVE YEARS to solve problems causing A&E crisis despite an extra 400,000 emergency visits in eight months The Daily Mail
• 92-year-old RAF veteran forced to wait more than 26 HOURS in A&E The Daily Mail
• A&E crisis caused by NHS 111 phoneline, senior medic suggests The Daily Telegraph
• Labour calls for more GPs in emergency departments GP Online
• A&E nurse: am I on the road to burnout and destruction? The Guardian
• A&E pressures: NHS director faces grilling from MPs The Guardian
• NHS staff are working unpaid to help avert a winter A&E crisis The Independent
• NHS England’s response to media coverage on NHS 111 NHS England

No news is not good news

No news is not good news NHS England's technology funds were supposed to "catalyse" a "technological revolution." But continued delays to the announcement of the outcome of the second fund are leading to disillusion and concern about the future of hard-worked plans. E-Health Insider

Under-80 cancer deaths 'eliminated by 2050' claim

Under-80 cancer deaths 'eliminated by 2050' claim “Cancer deaths will be eliminated for all under 80 by 2050,” The Independent reports. This is the optimistic prediction contained in a paper written by specialists in pharmacy from University College London (UCL).

The paper is an opinion piece (PDF, 2.1Mb) that points out that deaths from the most common cancers have fallen by nearly a third in the last two decades. This is due to factors such as the decline in smoking, more effective early diagnosis, and better drug and surgical treatments. However, it argues that a further reduction in death rates requires more advances in areas such as screening, genetic testing, cancer awareness programmes and innovative treatments.

It claims that further advances in prevention are needed, including the use of aspirin to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and more effective treatment for late-stage cancers, so that people with advanced diseases can continue to live fulfilling lives.

In particular, it says that "winning the cancer war" depends on reforming a healthcare culture that discourages the reporting of "minor" symptoms that can indicate a serious disease, since all cancers are most effectively treated at an early stage.

NHS to improve opportunities for black and minority ethnic staff

NHS to improve opportunities for black and minority ethnic staff Workforce race equality standard in response to evidence that BME staff under-represented in NHS leadership and over-represented in disciplinary hearings

Whereas 17% of all NHS staff identify as non-white, only 8% on higher grades do so. The proportion is lower still in very senior management and at board level. Around 20% of NHS nurses but only 3% of nursing directors are from black or minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds.

Last year my company, Public World, published Discrimination by appointment, which drew upon data from 30 NHS trusts showing that, in all but one of them, over a 12-month period the percentage of BME appointments was lower than the percentage shortlisted, which in turn was lower than the percentage of BME applicants. Continue reading... The Guardian

Ambulance crew who left body on floor ‘thought it was normal practice’

Ambulance crew who left body on floor ‘thought it was normal practice’ Inquest hears that East of England ambulance crews failed to take bodies directly to hospital on seven previous occasions

Ambulance staff who left the dead body of a man on the floor so they could finish their shift on time understood it was common practice to do so, an inquest was told on Wednesday.

James Harrison, who collapsed and died on the street in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, was left in a local ambulance station for another crew to take to the mortuary at Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge. Continue reading The Guardian

See also:

• Ambulance crew left man's dead body 'on floor' to finish their shift The Daily Mail

GPs to be offered £1bn in new funds if they improve access and elderly care

GPs to be offered £1bn in new funds if they improve access and elderly care NHS England makes £250m-a-year infrastructure cash available for renovating doctors’ surgeries, subject to targets being met

Family doctors will have to increase the number of appointments they offer and improve their care of older patients in order to share in a new £1bn NHS fund to overhaul crumbling GP surgeries.

NHS bosses have decided that England’s 8,500 GP practices must offer patients more time with doctors and expand the services they offer in return for receiving some of the money. Continue reading... The Guardian

Lack of exercise is twice as deadly as obesity, Cambridge University finds

Lack of exercise is twice as deadly as obesity, Cambridge University finds Even a small amount of exercise, such as brisk daily 20 minute walk, reduces the risk of premature death. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Inactivity 'kills more than obesity' BBC News
• Walk 20 minutes to live longer: Huge study reveals benefit of daily exercise (and how a lack of it kills twice as many people as obesity)  The Daily Mail
• Physical inactivity kills twice as many as obesity, new study claims The Independent