System leaders and patient leaders: learning from a new relationship

System leaders and patient leaders: learning from a new relationship The idea that citizens should be leaders in the services they use is far from new, yet it is still at odds with many aspects of NHS culture. A recently launched programme by The King’s Fund is offering the chance to foster a new type of relationship between citizens and care systems – and to learn from how it evolves.

NHS to get above-inflation cash boost

NHS to get above-inflation cash boost Front-line NHS services in England will get a £3.8bn, above-inflation cash injection next year, amid mounting fears about the pressures they face. BBC News

See also:

• George Osborne's £6billion a year increase for the NHS The Daily Mail
• George Osborne will use Autumn Statement to increase NHS funding by £6billion The Daily Telegraph
• General practice needs an extra £3.8bn a year by 2020 warns RCGP GP Online
• Osborne injects £3.8bn to help reduce NHS financial pressure The Guardian
• George Osborne to fast-track £4bn NHS investment in bid to head off crisis The Independent
• NHS England to get spending boost sooner than expected ITV News

Rise in prosecutions following assaults on NHS staff

Rise in prosecutions following assaults on NHS staff The number of criminal actions following reported assaults on NHS hospital workers increased slightly last year. Figures from NHS Protect show that there were 1,679 criminal proceedings instigated last year - up by 30 from 2013-4. There were 67,864 reported physical assaults against NHS staff in England last year - a small reduction of 819 from 68,683 in 2013-14. OnMedica

Scandal of patients denied 5p pill that shrinks cancer

Scandal of patients denied 5p pill that shrinks cancer Within seven weeks of starting on a new treatment, the tumour in Mary Nike's left breast had shrunk from 1½ in to ½ in. Mary, 58, from Brewood, Staffordshire, was being treated with a 5p pill. The Daily Mail

First UK case of a mother using bleach to 'cure' son's autism reported to Thames Valley Police

First UK case of a mother using bleach to 'cure' son's autism reported to Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police have confirmed they have received a complaint about the alleged use of MMS, which is similar to bleach. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Autism: Potentially lethal bleach cure feared to have spread to Britain The Independent

Let's tackle mental health stigma and attract trainees to psychiatry

Let's tackle mental health stigma and attract trainees to psychiatry Demand for psychiatrists is growing but the healthcare community needs to get its own house in order if we are to fill the gaps in recruitment

“I’ve got my life back … thanks.”

Through the clinic window, autumn’s blaze of colour is muted with drizzle and dark skies, but inside I am cast in light. I am privy to a private miracle. A corrosive mental illness that was throttling a life is no longer wreaking havoc. Hope, agency and opportunity has emerged. Career and relationships are reinvigorated and joy has been restored. The grace with which I am shown gratitude moves me profoundly and I reconnect with my sense of mission and purpose as a psychiatrist. Not a bad way to start a Monday. Continue reading... The Guardian

Health data from wearable devices could be restricted under new EU regulation

Health data from wearable devices could be restricted under new EU regulation Law firm Osborne Clarke has called on regulators to rethink the implication of the future European General Data Protection Regulation on health information. The Daily Telegraph

Attributes Common to Programs That Successfully Treat High-Need, High-Cost Individuals

Attributes Common to Programs That Successfully Treat High-Need, High-Cost Individuals Care delivery models designed to improve health outcomes and reduce spending for patients with complex health needs vary in their effectiveness. The Commonwealth Fund

Flu jabs at your pharmacy for ‘at risk’ patients

Flu jabs at your pharmacy for ‘at risk’ patients For the first time ever patients who are considered to be in an ‘at risk’ group can get their free flu jab at a local pharmacy. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Detailed guide: Rules for all agency staff working in the NHS

Detailed guide: Rules for all agency staff working in the NHS  Published new guidance on price caps for agency staff working in the NHS and consolidated a separate guidance on nursing agency spend. Monitor

See also:

• Agency price cap guidance published NHS Employers
• NHS agency staff costs cap brought in BBC News

Overspending by NHS trusts hits £1.6bn

Overspending by NHS trusts hits £1.6bn Overspending by NHS trusts in England has risen to £1.6bn this year, as concerns about the financial problems facing the health service grow. BBC News

See also:

• What not to do to stay in budget The King's Fund
• The King's Fund responds to today's NHS financial performance figures The King's Fund
• Press release: Challenging environment for NHS providers Monitor
• NHS in 'unprecedented financial meltdown': Agency staff and bed-blocking blamed as deficit hits 1.6 billion in just six months The Daily Mail
• NHS faces worst financial crisis in its history The Daily Telegraph
• NHS deficit soars to £1.6bn The Guardian
• NHS and Treasury deadlocked over budget increase before spending review The Guardian
• NHS deficit hits £1.6 billion OnMedica

'Thousands' in England malnourished

'Thousands' in England malnourished Hospitals in England are seeing thousands of patients suffering from the symptoms of malnutrition. BBC News

NHS mandate consultation expires in two days but critics argue Department of Health kept it quiet

NHS mandate consultation expires in two days but critics argue Department of Health kept it quiet Department of Health's inbox has been overloaded by replies to the consultation in the last couple of days. The Independent

See also:

• NHS consultation expands inbox after flurry of responses The Guardian

Junior doctors call for talks with Jeremy Hunt to avert strike

Junior doctors call for talks with Jeremy Hunt to avert strike Medics say they are desperate to avoid industrial action, as health secretary says patients could die if walkout goes ahead

Hundreds of junior doctors have called on Jeremy Hunt to avert industrial action after the health secretary said patients could die if next month’s planned strikes went ahead.

More than 600 junior doctors signed a letter to Hunt imploring him to enter into talks at the mediation service Acas to solve the dispute over changes to their pay and working hours. They said they had voted for strike action “with a very heavy heart”. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Junior doctors row: A nightmare for the NHS and patients? BBC News
• MPs clash over junior doctor strikes in urgent Commons debate GP Online
• Junior doctors' strike 'puts 60,000 operations a day at risk' The Guardian
• Patients could die if junior doctors' strike goes ahead, says Jeremy Hunt The Guardian
• Junior doctors accuse NHS chief of exploiting Paris attacks to stoke public fears over strike The Independent

George Osborne considers axing student nurse bursaries

George Osborne considers axing student nurse bursaries Stopping public funding for students of nursing would save £800m a year but could worsen NHS recruitment problems

Student nurses may stop receiving bursaries and instead have to take out loans to pay their tuition fees under plans the Treasury is considering.

Officials are examining the viability of the cost-cutting measure which the chancellor, George Osborne, could announce in his spending review next Wednesday. Continue reading... The Guardian

Ebola crisis 'claimed needless lives' because World Health Organisation failed to act quickly

Ebola crisis 'claimed needless lives' because World Health Organisation failed to act quickly Internal memos showed the WHO was reluctant to declare a public health emergency after it had its fingers burned with the Swine Flu pandmeic. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Liberia confirms fresh Ebola cases BBC News
• Thousands died needlessly from ebola because of World Health Organisation’s response The Daily Mail
• Ebola: Scale of latest epidemic is unlikely to be repeated, says expert The Indepdendent

Northamptonshire hospitals target capital city nurses in a bid to plug recruitment gap

Northamptonshire hospitals target capital city nurses in a bid to plug recruitment gap

A recruitment day in London is being organised by hospitals in Northamptonshire in a bid to recruit more qualified nurses. Evening Telegraph

Six people currently needing organ transplant in Northamptonshire are ‘likely to die on waiting list’, according to NHS

Six people currently needing organ transplant in Northamptonshire are ‘likely to die on waiting list’, according to NHS

New figures from the NHS show there are 64 people in Northamptonshire waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Evening Telegraph

NHS bosses pressure Hunt to agree to arbitration with junior doctors

NHS bosses pressure Hunt to agree to arbitration with junior doctors

Health secretary is insisting BMA begins talks before he will consider bringing in conciliation service

Jeremy Hunt is under growing pressure to let independent arbitrators try to settle the junior doctors dispute before their series of strikes starts next month.

Senior NHS figures and leading members of the medical establishment want the health secretary to drop his insistence that the British Medical Association reopen talks with him before asking the Arbitration, Conciliation and Advisory Service (Acas) to mediate between the two sides. Guardian

Continue reading...

NHS on course for worst financial crisis in its history

NHS on course for worst financial crisis in its history

Exclusive: The NHS is expected to declare the largest deficit in its history, amid warnings that hospitals could run out of cash to pay staff within a year. Telegraph