Levelling Up: tackling variation in diabetes care

Levelling Up: tackling variation in diabetes care This report is the result of a year-long inquiry into the causes and solutions to the variation in diabetes care. The report sums up the evidence collected from healthcare professionals, academics, commissioners and people with diabetes, making recommendations for how we can secure a better diabetes care for everyone. All Party Parliamentary Group on Diabetes Care

See also:

• MPs call for 'radical expansion' of structured diabetes education GP Online

Carers

Carers This briefing paper provides information about the number of carers in the UK and the issues they face. It also explains the rights, benefits and support available to carers and government policy on caring. House of Commons Library

Thousands 'miss out on stroke treatment'

Thousands 'miss out on stroke treatment' About 9,000 stroke patients a year are missing out on a treatment that can prevent disability following a stroke, say UK experts.

Clot retrieval can restore blood flow to the brain, preventing some lasting damage, but currently only 600 patients a year get this therapy, they estimate.

A national stroke audit reveals part of the problem is a lack of skilled staff to do the procedure.

NHS England says stroke patients are receiving high quality care. BBC News

See also:

• Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) Royal College of Physicians
• Stroke patients 'at risk in the NHS' as staffing levels need improvement The Daily Mail
• Stroke patients in UK 'missing out on treatment for brain clots' The Guardian

Will NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans work?

Will NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans work? Will the NHS's savings plan work? Mark Lobel reports. BBC News

Operating theatre fraudsters ordered to repay £650,000

Operating theatre fraudsters ordered to repay £650,000 Four operating theatre technicians who defrauded the NHS have been ordered to repay £650,000 or face extended jail sentences.

The four worked at Basildon Hospital’s Cardio Thoracic Centre as perfusionists – specialist operating theatre technicians. They worked the machinery to keep patients’ hearts and lungs functioning while they underwent major surgery such as heart bypasses.

They were also the directors of a private company, London Perfusion Science Ltd (LPS), a vehicle they used to work privately and profitably at numerous other NHS hospitals at times they were already being paid to work at Basildon Hospital. They only worked 55% of their contracted hours at Basildon and the court determined that they had failed to work 14,000 hours they had been paid for. OnMedica

End 'patronising and insulting' consultations for morning after pill, campaigners say

End 'patronising and insulting' consultations for morning after pill, campaigners say The morning after pill should be available to buy straight off the shelf without the need for an “unnecessary and embarrassing” consultation, a leading reproductive rights charity has said.

The current requirement for women to speak with their pharmacist before they can buy emergency contraception is “patronising and insulting,” according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas).

Bpas also demanded a drop in the price of the morning after pill, which usually costs around £25 to £30 at chemists, to bring the UK in line with other European countries where it is cheaper. The Independent

NHS patients told to lose weight and quit smoking or face operation delays

NHS patients told to lose weight and quit smoking or face operation delays NHS England approves plans from a Yorkshire health authority to restrict access to routine procedures

Obese people and smokers will be asked to lose weight and give up cigarettes or face delays to routine operations after a health authority’s proposals were approved by NHS England.

Patients with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 will be asked to lose weight or face a 12-month delay for elective surgery while smokers will be asked to quit for two months or face a six-month postponement, the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) announced. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also

• Obese patients and smokers face surgery delays in York BBC News
• Decision to deny surgery to obese patients is like 'racial discrimination' The Guardian

Hammond facing growing Tory rebellion over social care crisis

Hammond facing growing Tory rebellion over social care crisis MPs dismayed issue was not addressed in autumn statement amid warnings there could be a tax credit-style rebellion

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, is coming under mounting pressure from Tory MPs to bring forward help for the NHS and social care services, amid dire warnings that council budget cuts are causing unsustainable problems.

A string of Conservatives have begun to express dismay that Hammond did not address the issue in his autumn statement. Their voices add to the senior doctors, council leaders from all parties, two Tory former health secretaries and the Labour frontbench, who are warning that increasingly hospitals are unable to discharge elderly patients as struggling social care services are not able to make appropriate arrangements. Continue reading... The Guardian

Breast cancer drug that costs just 4p could save lives of women at high risk of the disease

Breast cancer drug that costs just 4p could save lives of women at high risk of the disease A pill that halves the risk of breast cancer among high risk women and costs just 4p per day should be offered on the NHS, the drugs watchdog will announce.

Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) will mean around 600,000 healthy women should be given the chance to take anastrozole.

The drug has been shown to halve the chances of developing breast cancer for high-risk post-menopausal women. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS watchdog urges doctors to offer breast cancer pill to high risk patients The Daily Mail

Unmet need for health and social care: a growing problem?

Unmet need for health and social care: a growing problem? There is a great deal of focus in the health and care system on measuring the quality of care being provided. But what about care that isn’t provided at all?

We have published several reports this year highlighting pressures in community-based services, including social care and district nursing. These pieces of research raised concerns about changes to the availability and quality of services as a result of rising demand and insufficient funding and staff numbers. The reports also raised concerns that these pressures might be leading to rising levels of unmet need. The King's Fund

Multimorbidity – the biggest clinical challenge facing the NHS? – Dawn Moody and David Bramley

Multimorbidity – the biggest clinical challenge facing the NHS? – Dawn Moody and David Bramley Around one in four of us have two or more long-term conditions (LTCs), often known as ‘multimorbidity’ and this rises to two thirds of people aged 65 years or over. In this joint blog, Dawn Moody and David Bramley argue multimorbidity is therefore becoming the norm. NHS England

NHS safety - Warnings from all sides

NHS safety - Warnings from all sides This report seeks to summarise the warnings about safety and declining performance in the NHS and explore the link with the financial crisis. It is crucial that the government listens and responds to the powerful evidence and testimony from the frontline of our healthcare system. TUC

See also:

• NHS cuts putting patient safety at risk, TUC warns The Guardian

2016 becomes worst year ever recorded for suicides in prisons

2016 becomes worst year ever recorded for suicides in prisons More than 100 people have lost their lives through suicide in prisons in England and Wales so far this year, an all-time record, it can be revealed today (Monday 28 November) as two charities publish new research on how to make jails safer.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has been notified of 102 people dying by suicide behind bars since the beginning of 2016 – one every three days.

See also:

• Preventing prision suicide Centre for Mental Health and The Howard League for Penal Reform 
• Prison suicides in England and Wales 'reach record levels' BBC News
• Prisoner dies by suicide every three days as toll hits 'epidemic' level The Daily Telegraph

'No solid evidence' for IVF add-on success

'No solid evidence' for IVF add-on success Nearly all costly add-on treatments offered by UK fertility clinics to increase the chance of a birth through IVF are not supported by high-quality evidence proving that they work, a study has revealed.

The findings are the result of research commissioned by BBC Panorama and conducted by Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, world experts in assessing medical studies. BBC News

See also:

• Lack of evidence for interventions offered in UK fertility centres The BMJ

'We've travelled 8,000 miles to see our anorexic daughter'

'We've travelled 8,000 miles to see our anorexic daughter' Bed shortages mean a young patient with anorexia has to be treated hundreds of miles from her family. BBC News

Pregnant women and new mums in mental health funding boost

Pregnant women and new mums in mental health funding boost Twenty areas across England are to receive funding to help pregnant women and new mums with severe mental health problems. BBC News

Patient safety at risk because of GPs' 'unmanageable' workloads, BMA survey finds

Patient safety at risk because of GPs' 'unmanageable' workloads, BMA survey finds GPs say patient safety is at risk due to “unmanageable” workloads.

A survey of 5,025 family doctors for the British Medical Association (BMA) found 57 per cent felt their workload was unmanageable, with a further 27 per cent saying it was excessive. This prevented GPs from delivering high-quality and safe care to patients at times, the survey found. The Independent

See also:

• Workload strain compromises patient safety, finds survey British Medical Association
• Survey of GPs in England British Medical Association
• Relentless GP workload is a threat to our patients' safety, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• GPs say workload affects quality of care and one in ten say they offer 'safe' care The Daily Mail
• Nine out of ten GPs cannot offer safe care, new survey indicates The Daily Telegraph
• Eight out of 10 GPs in England say their workload is unmanageable GP Online

Care for elderly ‘close to collapse’ across UK as council funding runs out

Care for elderly ‘close to collapse’ across UK as council funding runs out Theresa May under pressure as doctors urge funding U-turn and cross-party alliance warns millions of people are at risk

Theresa May is under intense pressure from senior doctors and a powerful cross-party alliance of politicians to avert a collapse in care for the elderly, as shocking new figures show the system close to meltdown. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• The future of the NHS and social care – for better or worse | Letters The Guardian

Huge rise in hospital beds in England taken up by people with malnutrition

Huge rise in hospital beds in England taken up by people with malnutrition Critics blame three-fold rise on poverty, cutbacks to meals on wheels services for the elderly and inadequate social care

The number of hospital beds in England taken up by patients being treated for malnutrition has almost trebled over the last 10 years, in what charities say shows the “genuinely shocking” extent of hunger and poor diet.

Official figures reveal that people with malnutrition accounted for 184,528 hospital bed days last year, a huge rise on 65,048 in 2006-07. The sharp increase is adding to the pressures on hospitals, which are already struggling with record levels of overcrowding. Continue reading... The Guardian

Brexit means 'only major crisis will focus ministers on to NHS'

Brexit means 'only major crisis will focus ministers on to NHS' Former health boss Nigel Crisp says government will be distracted by leaving EU and there is no sign of mitigating action

The NHS and social care are at risk of being downgraded as a priority by a government distracted by Brexit unless there is a major public health crisis, the former chief executive of the NHS has warned.

Nigel Crisp, who ran the NHS and Department of Health for six years, said the government’s need to concentrate on the economics of leaving the EU would be one of the three biggest risks to health and social care posed by the referendum vote, along with loss of staff who are EU citizens and a brain drain from medical research. Continue reading... The Guardian