Corby boy who needs round-the-clock care ‘is being failed’

Corby boy who needs round-the-clock care ‘is being failed’ An little boy from Corby who has astounded doctors who believed he would die in infanthood is being failed by those responsible for commissioning his care, according to his heartbroken family.

Five-year-old Logan Barton was born in March 2013 with a vanishingly rare chromosome deletion and an extensive list of chronic, potentially fatal, illnesses.

He needs round-the-clock care which his mum Wendy Barton says Corby NHS Clinical Commissioning Group is failing to find for him. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Long waits for mental health treatment lead to divorce, job loss and money problems

Long waits for mental health treatment lead to divorce, job loss and money problems PATIENTS are waiting up to 13 years to see an NHS mental health specialist, research by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) has found.

A ComRes poll of 500 British adults diagnosed with a mental illness found that over half (55%) waited more than four weeks from referral to see an NHS mental health specialist, one in four more than three months and 6% more than a year. Following the poll, RCPsych interviewed 25 respondents and found one man waited 13 years to get the help he needed.

For some, the long waits caused a deterioration in their mental health which in turn led to relationship problems including divorce (36%), financial troubles including getting into debt (32%) and work problems such as job loss (34%).

See also:

• Delays in NHS mental health treatment 'ruining lives' The Guardian

New report reveals UK doctors at greater risk of work-related stress, burnout and depression and anxiety than the general population

New report reveals UK doctors at greater risk of work-related stress, burnout and depression and anxiety than the general population We welcome the announcement made by NHS chief Simon Stevens that there will be national funding for a new mental health support scheme which will cover all doctors working in the NHS. The scheme will cover approximately 110,000 more doctors, in addition to those already supported.

A new report published today by the Society of Occupational Medicine and The Louise Tebboth Foundation offers evidence that this funding is indeed urgently needed. The report details evidence that UK doctors are at greater risk of work-related stress, burnout and depression and anxiety than the general population. The incidence of suicide, especially among women doctors and for GPs and trainees, is also comparatively high.

Regulating the duty of candour: requires improvement

Regulating the duty of candour: requires improvement This research shows that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) “requires improvement” in how it regulates the statutory duty of candour. This is despite significant improvements since AvMA’s previous report in 2016. Action against Medical Accidents

Making hospitals safe for people with diabetes

Making hospitals safe for people with diabetes This report has been developed through conversations with people with diabetes, diabetes inpatient teams, healthcare professionals working in hospitals and hospital managers. It highlights the challenges facing diabetes inpatient services and shows what should be in place in all hospitals. Diabetes UK

Who are the young people 'not ill enough' to get help?

Who are the young people 'not ill enough' to get help? Every year thousands of mentally ill young people find the help they are receiving comes to an abrupt end when they hit a significant birthday.

Across Europe, it is a point reached somewhere between the ages of 16 and 21, marking the moment at which care from children's services comes to an end.

A significant proportion are in need of ongoing support and treatment, but among those moving into adult care many report feeling abandoned, neglected or poorly looked after.

Many others fail to get any support at all from adult services - their care reaching a very real cliff edge. BBC News

Mesh 'last option' for incontinence

Mesh 'last option' for incontinence Women who need treatment for urinary incontinence should only be offered mesh surgery as a last resort, new draft guidelines for the NHS advise.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says non-surgical options, like pelvic muscle exercises, are the first to turn to.

The NHS in England has already put restrictions on mesh operations after safety concerns. BBC News

See also:

• Health officials agree to only use controversial vaginal mesh as a last-ditch resort The Daily Mail
• Vaginal mesh should only be offered after all other options explored, new guidelines state The Daily Telegraph
• Vaginal mesh should be offered as last resort, health officials say The Guardian
• Vaginal mesh should only be offered by NHS ‘as last resort’ The Independent

Ipswich Hospital 'virtual workers' free up staff time

Ipswich Hospital 'virtual workers' free up staff time A hospital has brought in three "virtual workers" to act as medical secretaries work alongside its human staff.

The software used by Ipswich Hospital, run by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, is designed to free up staff from "mundane and repetitive" tasks.

The computer automaton system helps deal with some of the 2,000 GP referrals the hospital receives.

The hospital claims the software will save the NHS £220,000 within a year. BBC News

More than one homeless person dies every day in the UK, study finds

More than one homeless person dies every day in the UK, study finds More than one homeless person died every day in the UK over the last 12 months, according to a new study.

A physicist, a former soldier and a travelling musician were among the 449 deaths recorded since October 2017, including 14 in one week alone.

Experts described the statistic as a “national scandal” and placed the blame on welfare cuts, high rents and a lack of social housing.

The true death toll is likely to be significantly higher, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which produced the database with the help of Channel 4 news, local journalists, charities and grassroots outreach groups. The Independent

Hospices care for 200,000 people a year, but they're powered by voluntary effort

Hospices care for 200,000 people a year, but they're powered by voluntary effort There’s a paradox inherent in the hospice movement: they’re integral, yet wouldn’t exist without volunteers and fundraisers

Hospices across the UK are this week supporting Hospice Care Week: seven days of events marking the extraordinary success of a movement that, in 50 years, has grown to become an essential arm of the nation’s health and care system – largely through voluntary effort.

But the week is at least as much a fundraiser as a celebration: although hospices have made themselves indispensable providers of free palliative and end-of-life care, they continue to rely on the goodwill of their local communities to keep going. On average, they receive only a third of their funding from the state; children’s hospices get even less. And for most, that contribution has been shrinking. The Guardian

Hospices would be in an even better position if their NHS funding support was both more substantial and more consistent

Private health firms squeeze out GP-run extended services

Private health firms squeeze out GP-run extended services ‘Creeping privatisation’ of local family services is compromising patient health, say critics

Profit-driven firms are squeezing traditional GPs out of running family doctor services because of rules that NHS bosses and ministers both believe harm patient care, the Observer can reveal.

Doctors, MPs and campaigners have hit out at the “creeping privatisation” of general practice, with private companies being handed contracts ahead of groups of GPs.

The government is saying one thing – collaboration – but the reality is that competition prevails The Guardian

Boy, 6, awarded record £37m in NHS compensation after ‘catastrophic’ brain damage

Boy, 6, awarded record £37m in NHS compensation after ‘catastrophic’ brain damage A six-year-old boy has been awarded a record £37 million from the NHS in compensation after contracting a virus in hospital which led to “catastrophic” brain damage.

The boy contracted the Herpes Simplex virus which later developed into a devastating brain fever following his birth at Watford General Hospital, London’s High Court heard.

The hospital did not detect the infection quickly enough, citing a two-day treatment delay which resulted in “catastrophic damage to his brain,” the boy’s barrister Henry Witcomb QC said. The Daily Telegraph

NHS patients asked if they would pay £10 to 'see a GP more quickly'

NHS patients asked if they would pay £10 to 'see a GP more quickly' EMIS Health, which runs the NHS's IT systems, sent a survey asking for people's opinions on privatising the NHS and experts worry the company is trying to get patients' information. The Daily Mail

Fraud costs the NHS £1.29bn a YEAR, report reveals

Fraud costs the NHS £1.29bn a YEAR, report reveals The NHS Counter Fraud Authority, set up in November last year, announced the damning numbers in its first annual report. It said the number will only rise if action isn't taken to stop it. The Daily Mail