NHS: Over 3,000 more midwifery training places offered

NHS: Over 3,000 more midwifery training places offered More than 3,000 places on midwifery training courses are to be created over the next four years in England as part of plans to meet NHS staffing demands.

The government has announced a 25% boost in training places, which it said amounted to the "largest ever" increase in NHS midwives and maternity staff. It follows a similar plan for nurses which was announced last year. The Royal College of Midwives welcomed the move but said training more midwives was only half of the problem. The plan needs investment and time to make it work, the RCM added. BBC News - Health
See also:

• Hunt to unveil plan for women to have the same midwives throughout pregnancy The Guardian

Hospital doctors will find new NHS order on checkups 'impossible'

Hospital doctors will find new NHS order on checkups 'impossible' Hospital bosses have ridiculed a new edict from the NHS which insists every inpatient should be medically assessed each morning and evening by a senior doctor.

They claim the order is “impossible” to fulfil because so many hospitals are struggling to fill medical rotas because of widespread shortages of doctors, which are as high as 25% in some places.

The instruction came earlier this month in a letter to the chief executives and medical directors of hospitals in England from the regulators NHS England and NHS Improvement. It made clear that in a bid to cut the number of patients using beds unnecessarily, hospitals must “ensure every patient has a review at the start and end of the day by a senior clinician to facilitate discharge”. The Guardian

Home ‘MOTs’ to improve housing health

Home ‘MOTs’ to improve housing health The NHS is teaming up with councils to improve health through better housing through home ‘MOTs’, quick homes grants, falls help lines, stair lifts and heating systems among others.

A King’s Fund and National Housing Federation report out now on housing and health says the cost of poor housing to the NHS is £1.4 billion per year. NHS Networks

See also:

• Health and Housing report The King's Fund

New draft regulations to prevent discrimination against applicants who speak up

New draft regulations to prevent discrimination against applicants who speak up Staff who speak up about patient safety issues and seek new jobs in the NHS will be protected under new draft regulations proposed by the government.

The new regulations seek to prohibit an employer from treating an applicant less favourably than another based on their previous history of raising concerns. Under existing legislation, ‘workers’ are protected against detrimental treatment, while the new amendments to the Employment Rights Act 1996 will extend this to include applicants. NHS Employers

Jeremy Hunt backs 10-year funding deals for NHS – video

Jeremy Hunt backs 10-year funding deals for NHS – video The health secretary has conceded he believes taxes may have to rise to pay for a boost in NHS spending. Appearing on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Hunt said speculation in the Sunday Times about a £4bn-a-year funding boost to coincide with the NHS’s 70th birthday was premature.

However, Hunt, who resisted Theresa May’s plan to move him into another post in January, argued that it was time to scrap what he said had been a 'feast or famine' approach to funding the health service The Guardian