Report on district nurse education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2012/13

Report on district nurse education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2012/13: This report reveals concerns around the number of new district nurses currently being educated, particularly in England. It finds that the numbers being trained do not meet the replacement level required to maintain the district nursing workforce, which has shrunk rapidly over the past ten years as experienced nurses have left the role, principally through retirement.

• Report
• QNI - news

MMR action plan: 15 May 2013

MMR action plan: 15 May 2013: This plan outlines a comprehensive set of local and national actions to significantly increase MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine coverage among those most at risk. It highlights the need for directors of public health to take a local view about the particularly vulnerable or low coverage groups, and to ensure that there are specific plans in place to identify the un- or undervaccinated in these groups and to offer them vaccination in a way designed to have good uptake.

• Action plan
• Annexes
• Department of Health - news

Police launch inquiry into hundreds of Stafford hospital deaths

Police launch inquiry into hundreds of Stafford hospital deaths: Multi-agency review identifies up to 300 deaths at Mid Staffordshire trust to which neglect may have contributed.
Hundreds of deaths at Stafford hospital are being examined by police after a review identified 200 to 300 cases where neglect might have been a contributory factor.

Breast cancer screening fails to cut deaths

Breast cancer screening fails to cut deaths: 25 years of breast cancer screening has failed to significantly reduce deaths from disease, Oxford University researchers find. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Breast cancer screening not shown to reduce deaths, say researchers The Guardian

Natural birth push to tackle trend for needless C-sections

Natural birth push to tackle trend for needless C-sections: Women will be encouraged to give birth naturally amid fears that mothers are opting for caesarean sections needlessly, leading to a significant rise in the number of operations. The Daily Telegraph

Specialist diabetes service gets the green light

Specialist diabetes service gets the green light: The Northamptonshire Diabetes Multidisciplinary Team (NDMT), of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has successfully secured a three year contract to provide diabetic care across... NHFT News

Mum launches legal action against hospital after tot’s death

Mum launches legal action against hospital after tot’s death: An investigation has been launched into the circumstances of a two-year-old’s death after she was discharged from Northampton General Hospital less than 24 hours before dying of septicemia. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Number of carers in Northamptonshire rises by 18% - Northampton Herald and Post

Number of carers in Northamptonshire rises by 18% Northampton Herald and Post Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) has signed up to the Triangle of Care, a national model of working aimed at involving carers more in decisions over patient care, and is developing a Carers Handbook for carers of people with ... and more »

Thief stole from staff at Northampton hospital - Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Thief stole from staff at Northampton hospital Northampton Chronicle & Echo A thief who stole almost £1,700 from NHS staff is among the criminals listed in Northampton General Hospital's annual security report. The new report says the thief, now known to be 41-year-old Adrian Michael Garrick, stole credit cards from two ...

How important is compassion in healthcare?

How important is compassion in healthcare?: Is much of medicine just making reassuring noises? BBC News

Disability payment changes begin

Disability payment changes begin: A new system of payments replacing the Disability Living Allowance, which will see hundreds of thousands lose their benefits, takes effect across Britain. BBC News

GPs warn NHS 111 data 'do not give full picture'

GPs warn NHS 111 data 'do not give full picture': GP leaders have warned the latest performance figures for NHS 111 do not give a full picture of the troubled phone service. GP Online

See also:

• NHS 111 is steadily improving NHS England

Failure good in the NHS because we learn

Failure good in the NHS because we learn: NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar says there is cause to be optimistic about the future of the NHS Public Service

UK plastic surgeons renew call for universal PIP implant removal

UK plastic surgeons renew call for universal PIP implant removal:

Call follows decision in Sweden to act, in wake of new analysis Related items from OnMedica Almost 8,000 women with PiP breast implants seek NHS help NHS receives over 7,000 breast implant referrals PIP implants: Taking the right decision and lessons to be learnt GPs should be told when patients have cosmetic surgery Standards issued to curb rogue cosmetic surgery

New Down’s syndrome blood test 'more reliable'

New Down’s syndrome blood test 'more reliable': A new test can reliably tell if an unborn baby has Down’s syndrome without putting it at risk,” Metro reports.

Screening for Down’s syndrome is currently offered to all pregnant women. However, the current screening test has a false positive rate (that is, the results suggest a problem when the foetus is in fact healthy) of around 3-4%. This means many women have needless invasive testing, using chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. Both of these procedures carry around a one in 100 risk of causing a miscarriage.

Apps won't have a big impact on the NHS in the short to medium term

Apps won't have a big impact on the NHS in the short to medium term: Use of the NHS is more common among the older and less wealthy and these groups are unlikely to have smartphones.
Do you remember when there was "an app for everything" – except for people who wouldn't stop saying "there's an app for that"? The catchphrase may have lost its ubiquity, but mobile apps are here to stay – Apple recently celebrated 50bn sold. The NHS has been slower off the mark than other sectors, but enthusiasm for health-themed apps is starting to permeate the health service.

CQC reform delays put lives at risk, NHS watchdog is warned

Reform delays put lives at risk, NHS watchdog is warned: Patients' lives are being put at risk by the failure of the NHS's official regulator, the CQC, to carry out key reforms quickly, one of its most senior officials has warned. The Daily Telegraph

Patients put at risk in a quarter of A&E hospitals

Patients put at risk in a quarter of A&E hospitals: A quarter of accident and emergency hospitals are putting patients at risk by failing to meet basic care standards, an analysis by The Daily Telegraph finds. The Daily Telegraph

We can't judge surgeons by league tables alone

We can't judge surgeons by league tables alone: Survival rates are a crude measure of surgical success, says Max Pemberton The Daily Telegraph

Special report: Andrew Lansley to blame for A&E crisis, says quango

Special report: Andrew Lansley to blame for A&E crisis, says quango:
Andrew Lansley's decision to downgrade the four-hour waiting target for accident and emergency admissions may have triggered the current beds crisis, an official NHS quango has concluded. The Independent