Friday, 6 January 2017
Operations cancelled as Northampton's emergency department remains on 'high alert'
Operations cancelled as Northampton's emergency department remains on 'high alert' Sick and seriously ill people are stranded in A&E as hospitals across Northamptonshire spend another day at critical capacity. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Youth service backs Northamptonshire County Council’s vision for young people’s mental health services
Youth service backs Northamptonshire County Council’s vision for young people’s mental health services A counselling service for children and young people has largely welcomed the goals set out in Northamptonshire County Council’s draft budget and plan. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Safe, sustainable and productive staffing: an improvement resource for adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals
Safe, sustainable and productive staffing: an improvement resource for adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals This guidance aims to help standardise staffing decisions in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals. This resource is based on the National Quality Board’s expectationsopens in a new window that to ensure safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care, trusts will employ the right staff with the right skills in the right place and at the right time. The closing date for comments on the draft guidance is 3 February 2017. NHS Improvement
Blocked beds blight mental health care
Blocked beds blight mental health care Delays in discharging people from hospital are rising more rapidly in mental health trusts than other parts of the NHS in England, a study shows.
NHS England data found a 56% rise in the number of bed days lost to delayed discharge in psychiatric trusts in October 2016 compared to November 2015.
There was a comparable rise in acute trusts of 30%.
A spokeswoman said the Department of Health was investing £400m over four years to support people in their homes.
"No-one should face unnecessary delays in being discharged," she said. "The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health will transform services by 2020/21 to make sure urgent improvements are made." BBC News
See also:
NHS England data found a 56% rise in the number of bed days lost to delayed discharge in psychiatric trusts in October 2016 compared to November 2015.
There was a comparable rise in acute trusts of 30%.
A spokeswoman said the Department of Health was investing £400m over four years to support people in their homes.
"No-one should face unnecessary delays in being discharged," she said. "The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health will transform services by 2020/21 to make sure urgent improvements are made." BBC News
See also:
Hospitals warn over pressure of patient numbers
Hospitals warn over pressure of patient numbers A third of hospital trusts in England issued alerts warning they needed urgent action to cope with the pressure of patient numbers last month.
In the most serious cases - seven of the 50 trusts that issued alerts - the hospitals declared they were unable to give patients comprehensive care.
BBC Radio 4's Today programme has been told operations have been cancelled and patients left waiting on trolleys.
NHS England said tried-and-tested plans were managing the pressures.
Dr Taj Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said there was an "absolute and urgent need" to help emergency departments. BBC News
In the most serious cases - seven of the 50 trusts that issued alerts - the hospitals declared they were unable to give patients comprehensive care.
BBC Radio 4's Today programme has been told operations have been cancelled and patients left waiting on trolleys.
NHS England said tried-and-tested plans were managing the pressures.
Dr Taj Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said there was an "absolute and urgent need" to help emergency departments. BBC News
MPs urge Theresa May to agree cross-party NHS funding plan
MPs urge Theresa May to agree cross-party NHS funding plan The chairs of three influential House of Commons select committees have urged prime minister Theresa May to agree a cross-party deal to secure the future of health and social care funding. GP Online
See also:
See also:
- Letter to the Prime Minister regarding health and social care Health, Public Accounts and Community and Local Government Committee Chairs
- The King’s Fund responds to a letter from the chairs of three Select Committees to the Prime Minister The King's Fund
- Social care funding: MPs urge 'swift' cross-party review BBC News
- Social care crisis: MPs put May under pressure to act fast The Guardian
- Social care spending falling below £554 minimum in most areas The Guardian
General practice could be 'outsourced' to private corporations under MCP deal, warns BMA
General practice could be 'outsourced' to private corporations under MCP deal, warns BMA General practice could be outsourced to private corporations under multispecialty community provider (MCP) contracts set to be rolled out this year, GP leaders have warned. GP Online
Improving NHS services should not feel like a quest in a labyrinth
Improving NHS services should not feel like a quest in a labyrinth Resources are being squandered with teams of people battling an unwieldy health system
The surprise in the health service is not how little collaboration there is across professional and organisational boundaries, but how so many people achieve so much in the face of overwhelming odds.
Ministers and NHS leaders encourage and cajole staff to improve services, but even the most driven transformation zealots find themselves worn down by having to fight the system rather than be supported and encouraged by it.
Improving services should not feel like a quest in a labyrinth Continue reading... The Guardian
The surprise in the health service is not how little collaboration there is across professional and organisational boundaries, but how so many people achieve so much in the face of overwhelming odds.
Ministers and NHS leaders encourage and cajole staff to improve services, but even the most driven transformation zealots find themselves worn down by having to fight the system rather than be supported and encouraged by it.
Improving services should not feel like a quest in a labyrinth Continue reading... The Guardian
A receptionist saved my life and other love letters to healthcare staff
A receptionist saved my life and other love letters to healthcare staff Caring nurses, skilled surgeons and quick thinking midwives. Readers recall health workers who changed their lives
I’d gone to A&E in Derby, where I was staying for Christmas, with the most dreadful headache. I’d been a radiographer at St Thomas’ hospital in London for 18 years and knew something wasn’t right. It was the day after Boxing Day and there had been heavy snow so it was busy with people who had fallen over. Continue reading... The Guardian
I’d gone to A&E in Derby, where I was staying for Christmas, with the most dreadful headache. I’d been a radiographer at St Thomas’ hospital in London for 18 years and knew something wasn’t right. It was the day after Boxing Day and there had been heavy snow so it was busy with people who had fallen over. Continue reading... The Guardian
Would YOU trust it? NHS to diagnose patients via new smartphone app after criticisms of 'inadequate' 111 helpline
Would YOU trust it? NHS to diagnose patients via new smartphone app after criticisms of 'inadequate' 111 helpline The NHS will roadtest new smartphone technology in a bid to diagnose patients. Starting at the end of January, more than a million residents of north London will trial the triage app. The Daily Mail
See also:
See also:
- NHS trials artificial intelligence app as alternative to 111 helpline The Daily Telegraph
- Babylon Health to power NHS 111 with AI triage bot Digital Health
- NHS to trial medical advice smartphone app The Guardian
Thursday, 5 January 2017
People urged to stay away with Kettering General Hospital on ‘black alert’
People urged to stay away with Kettering General Hospital on ‘black alert’ People are being urged to avoid going to A&E and find alternative care as Kettering General Hospital struggles to find beds for its patients. Northamptonshire Telegraph
Changes in the behaviour and health of 40 to 60 year olds
Changes in the behaviour and health of 40 to 60 year olds These two reports present the results of analysis of health-related questions on obesity, smoking, drinking and general health conditions from the Health Survey for England. The reports show how the behaviour and health of people aged between 40 and 60 has changed over the last 20 years. Public Health England
NHS screening plan for type 2 diabetes 'inaccurate'
NHS screening plan for type 2 diabetes 'inaccurate' The NHS programme for screening those at high risk of type 2 diabetes is unlikely to have much impact, an Oxford University study in the BMJ suggests.
It concluded that inaccurate blood tests would give too many people an incorrect diagnosis, while lifestyle changes had a low success rate.
But the director of the NHS programme said its approach was based on "robust evidence". BBC News
See also:
It concluded that inaccurate blood tests would give too many people an incorrect diagnosis, while lifestyle changes had a low success rate.
But the director of the NHS programme said its approach was based on "robust evidence". BBC News
See also:
Dementia rates 'higher near busy roads'
Dementia rates 'higher near busy roads' People who live near major roads have higher rates of dementia, research published in the Lancet suggests.
As many as 11% of dementia cases in people living within 50m of a major road could be down to traffic, the study suggests.
The researchers, who followed nearly 2m people in Canada over 11 years, say air pollution or noisy traffic could be contributing to the brain's decline.
UK dementia experts said the findings needed probing but were "plausible". BBC News
As many as 11% of dementia cases in people living within 50m of a major road could be down to traffic, the study suggests.
The researchers, who followed nearly 2m people in Canada over 11 years, say air pollution or noisy traffic could be contributing to the brain's decline.
UK dementia experts said the findings needed probing but were "plausible". BBC News
New organ named in digestive system
New organ named in digestive system A part of the digestive system is reclassified as an organ, called the mesentery. BBC News
Exclusive: Loss of control and time dominate GP fears over working at scale
Exclusive: Loss of control and time dominate GP fears over working at scale Loss of independence, not having enough time to develop a network or federation and concerns over funding are the top three issues GPs say are putting them off working at scale, a poll reveals. GP Online
Second doctors’ union will participate in national contract negotiations
Second doctors’ union will participate in national contract negotiations Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association will join the BMA in future national contract negotiations. OnMedica
NHS groups 'paying millions to private firms that block GP referrals'
NHS groups 'paying millions to private firms that block GP referrals' Referral management centres being used by some NHS bodies to scrutinise patient referrals to hospitals, BMJ inquiry finds
NHS organisations are paying millions of pounds to private firms that stop patients being referred to hospital by their GPs, an investigation has found.
Controversial referral management centres are used by some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to scrutinise patient referrals to hospitals by family doctors. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
NHS organisations are paying millions of pounds to private firms that stop patients being referred to hospital by their GPs, an investigation has found.
Controversial referral management centres are used by some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to scrutinise patient referrals to hospitals by family doctors. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
- Referral management schemes: good for whom? The BMJ
- It is vital CCGs spend their budgets to provide better support for local GPs, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
- How hospital chiefs spend millions to STOP you being treated: Four in ten trusts are sifting through GPs letters and sending back any deemed unnecessary The Daily Mail
- NHS spends millions on private companies that block GP referrals, investigation finds The Independent
- The BMJ reveals private firms run one-third of CCGs' schemes to screen GP referrals MedicalXpress
2016 was the worst year in NHS history – we must fight for its survival
2016 was the worst year in NHS history – we must fight for its survival The NHS is under unprecedented pressure after its annus horribilis. We must demand a rethink on its current trajectory before it’s too late
The last 12 months have been the worst in the history of the NHS. Our health system is under pressure like never before. The moment of crisis many warned of has arrived, and it is not clear that the NHS can be retrieved from this state of affairs.
We used to say that flailing A&Es represented an early warning sign that the health service was under pressure. And so that has proven to be. England’s major A&Es are under record strain with black alerts being regularly sounded, and in some instances wards turning patients away. Last year the A&E crisis spread to other sectors. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
The last 12 months have been the worst in the history of the NHS. Our health system is under pressure like never before. The moment of crisis many warned of has arrived, and it is not clear that the NHS can be retrieved from this state of affairs.
We used to say that flailing A&Es represented an early warning sign that the health service was under pressure. And so that has proven to be. England’s major A&Es are under record strain with black alerts being regularly sounded, and in some instances wards turning patients away. Last year the A&E crisis spread to other sectors. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
- What does 2017 hold for public services? The Guardian
- The social care crisis is pulling NHS trusts further underwater The Guardian
Scientists identify rogue proteins behind Alzheimer's disease
Scientists identify rogue proteins behind Alzheimer's disease The treatment of Alzheimer's Disease could be revolutionised after a breakthrough discovery by US scientists. The Daily Mail
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