New children's commissioner has started at Northamptonshire County Council

New children's commissioner has started at Northamptonshire County Council The new children’s commissioner drafted in to save Northamptonshire’s failing children’s service department has started work.

Despite the lack of an official announcement from central government, experienced commissioner Malcolm Newsam is in post and is getting to grips with what is going on within the in-crisis department. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Campaign against domestic abuse and sexual violence to run in Northampton over the festive period

Campaign against domestic abuse and sexual violence to run in Northampton over the festive period A new campaign promoting organisations who support survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence will see a series of surgeries held in Northampton over the next fortnight.

Marking the national 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in Northampton, the ‘Don’t let violence shatter your Christmas’ campaign and activities aims to raise awareness of local support in the run-up to the festive period, when instances of domestic abuse and sexual violence can increase.

The activities will include town centre information stalls on the Market Square and support surgeries held in local businesses. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Community mental health survey 2018

Community mental health survey 2018 This survey looks at the experiences of people receiving community mental health services. It finds that people’s experiences of the care they receive from community-based mental health services have continued to deteriorate. It highlights concerns around access to care, care planning and support for people with mental health conditions in relation to physical health needs, financial advice or benefits. Care Quality Commission

Asylum seekers in Britain unable to access healthcare

Asylum seekers in Britain unable to access healthcare Cost and fears about how they will be treated, or consequences for their immigration status, are preventing people seeking or refused asylum from using health services, a new report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found, prompting a call for greater separation of the immigration and healthcare systems.
Our new research, published today, explores the experiences of people who are or have been in the asylum process in Britain, as well as engaging with healthcare professionals and analysing existing research.

See also:

• Access to healthcare for people seeking and refused asylum in Great Britain: a review of evidence Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Asylum seekers 'too afraid' to seek NHS care, report says The Guardian
• Asylum seekers forced to choose between medicine and food, warns human rights watchdog The Independent

Independent evaluation of The Guinness Partnership’s dementia project

Independent evaluation of The Guinness Partnership’s dementia project The Housing LIN was commissioned by The Guinness Partnership to undertake an independent evaluation of the progress made in becoming a more dementia-friendly organisation. Guinness implemented a two year project in 2015 to take forward developments, initially in two pilot areas of Havant and Manchester with a view to rolling out successful approaches more broadly. Housing LIN

Five key questions Brexit poses for the NHS

Five key questions Brexit poses for the NHS Whether it is a no-deal Brexit or the agreement brokered by the prime minister, leaving the European Union promises to have a profound impact on patients and the wider NHS.

From the staff who work on the wards and in the GP surgeries to the supply of vital medicines, there are implications.

Here is a look at five key questions. BBC News

Health Secretary Matt Hancock deletes '1,000 more GPs' claim after statistics watchdog censure

Health Secretary Matt Hancock deletes '1,000 more GPs' claim after statistics watchdog censure The health secretary has deleted claims of a “terrific” increase of 1,000 GPs joining the NHS in just three months, after being censured by the government statistics watchdog.

Matt Hancock made the claimed in a tweet last week and was widely criticised by doctors and health groups who said he was misleading the public, as the actual figures showed qualified doctor numbers fell.

Those figures were also drastically inflated by the new intake of junior doctors who started GP specialty training in August. The Independent

NHS trust at centre of baby deaths inquiry deemed 'unsafe'

NHS trust at centre of baby deaths inquiry deemed 'unsafe' Shrewsbury and Telford hospital’s A&E and maternity care is inadequate – regulator

The hospital trust at the centre of an inquiry into dozens of baby deaths and injuries has been declared inadequate by the NHS’s care regulator over its “unsafe” A&E and maternity care.

The move by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the latest blow to hit Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS trust, which has been under pressure over a growing catalogue of alleged breaches of care standards. The Guardian

See also:

• Shropshire baby deaths: Hospital trust 'has bullying culture' BBC News
• Some locum doctors costing hospital trust £100 an hour BBC News
• Services at scandal-hit Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals 'inadequate' The Daily Telegraph

An 'alarm bell': Experts warn HIV has hit a 10 year high in Europe ahead of 30th World Aids Day

An 'alarm bell': Experts warn HIV has hit a 10 year high in Europe ahead of 30th World Aids Day The rate of new HIV infections reached a decade-long high in Europe last year, raising an "alarm bell" ahead of the 30th anniversary of World Aids Day on Saturday.

Despite the huge progress made in controlling the global endemic since the 1980s, Europe saw nearly 160,000 new HIV cases in 2017.

This is equivalent to 20 people per 100,000, a rise from the 18.2 new diagnoses per 100,000 people in 2016, according to a joint report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Research and analysis: HIV in the United Kingdom Public Health England
• UK meets global HIV targets as diagnoses keep falling BBC News

Climate change is a grave threat to our health. Time is running out to act

Climate change is a grave threat to our health. Time is running out to act The world is finally waking up to the enormity of the public health threat posed by climate change after a summer of searing temperatures left a trail of destruction stretching across the globe.

The effects of these heatwaves have recently been underscored by a groundbreaking report from the Lancet Countdown, which provides an annual global barometer on the health impacts of climate change. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come The Lancet
• Climate change needs public health campaign similar to tobacco as extreme heat threatens to overwhelm hospitals, experts warn The Independent

Which are the healthiest nations in the world?

Which are the healthiest nations in the world? London-based charity the Legatum Institute has ranked 149 countries on nine different categories, including health, but health was the area in which the UK performed worst, ranking just 26th. The Daily Mail

See also:

• The Legatum Prosperity Index 2018 Legatum Institute
• 2018 Legatum Prosperity Index: Global prosperity rises to highest ever level Legatum Institute

NHS should be run like MCDONALD's, Health Secretary Matt Hancock claims

NHS should be run like MCDONALD's, Health Secretary Matt Hancock claims The NHS should look to McDonald's to improve its leadership, according to the Health and Social Care Secretary.

Matt Hancock praised the fast food chain's training and support programmes in a speech that emphasised the importance of leadership in the health service. The Daily Mail

See also:

• The King’s Fund response to Matt Hancock’s speech on leadership The King's Fund
• NHS managers will be trained by the army in bid to boost leadership skills The Daily Telegraph
• NHS should learn from McDonalds says Health Secretary The Daily Telegraph