NHS bed-blocking rises 42% in a year, new figures show Bed-blocking has risen more than 40 per cent in a year as hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with people needing care, figures showed on Thursday.
New data from November shows a health system under strain as it got ready to enter its busiest time ever over Christmas.
It follows warnings from the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing that the NHS is now experiencing its worst ever winter crisis.
The research for England highlights acute problems with delayed discharges - where patients are medically fit to leave hospital but are stuck in beds due to problems arranging care in the community.
It follows calls from the head of the NHS for extra funding for social care. The Daily Telegraph
Friday, 13 January 2017
US woman killed by superbug resistant to every available antibiotic
US woman killed by superbug resistant to every available antibiotic A woman in Nevada has been killed by a superbug that proved resistant to every antibiotic available in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said.
The woman’s condition was deemed incurable, and 26 different antibiotics were tested in vain before she died in September.
She was in her 70s, and had recently returned to the US after an extended visit to India, according to the CDC’s Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report. She had been hospitalised there multiple times before returning to the US and being admitted to an acute care hospital in Nevada in mid-August.
One week later local health authorities were notified that every possible medication had been tried without success. The CDC later determined that no drug currently on the market would have stopped the bacteria’s spread. The Daily Telegraph
The woman’s condition was deemed incurable, and 26 different antibiotics were tested in vain before she died in September.
She was in her 70s, and had recently returned to the US after an extended visit to India, according to the CDC’s Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report. She had been hospitalised there multiple times before returning to the US and being admitted to an acute care hospital in Nevada in mid-August.
One week later local health authorities were notified that every possible medication had been tried without success. The CDC later determined that no drug currently on the market would have stopped the bacteria’s spread. The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, 12 January 2017
Cover needed as KGH’s acting chief executive announces she’s leaving
Cover needed as KGH’s acting chief executive announces she’s leaving Hospital bosses are working on arrangements for when the acting chief executive leaves in March. Northamptonshire Telegraph
Tackling wasteful spending on health
Tackling wasteful spending on health This report finds that across OECD countries a significant share of health care system spending and activities are wasteful at best, and harm our health at worst and that one in ten patients in OECD countries is unnecessarily harmed at the point of care. It also finds that more than 10 per cent of hospital expenditure is spent on correcting preventable medical mistakes or infections that people catch in hospitals. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Swimming together or sinking alone: health, care and the art of systems leadership
Swimming together or sinking alone: health, care and the art of systems leadership This report is based on interviews with senior leaders in health and local government on what is happening as managers grapple with the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) process. It aims to help leaders understand the values, culture and skills they need to survive and thrive as the NHS tries to change from organisations working in silos to local health and care networks focused on the needs of patients. Institute of Healthcare Management
NHS England chief contradicts May over spending
NHS England chief contradicts May over spending The chief executive of NHS England has contradicted government claims that the health service is getting more funding than it asked for.
Simon Stevens told MPs this was "stretching it" and there were "clearly substantial funding pressures".
And, in clashes with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the PM called claims of a "humanitarian crisis" in the NHS "irresponsible" and "overblown".
But Mr Corbyn said Theresa May was "in denial" over the situation.
There have been several warnings in recent days about the pressure on the health service in England. BBC News
See also:
Simon Stevens told MPs this was "stretching it" and there were "clearly substantial funding pressures".
And, in clashes with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the PM called claims of a "humanitarian crisis" in the NHS "irresponsible" and "overblown".
But Mr Corbyn said Theresa May was "in denial" over the situation.
There have been several warnings in recent days about the pressure on the health service in England. BBC News
See also:
- Financial sustainability of the NHS examined Commons Public Accounts Committee
- Theresa May and NHS chief Simon Stevens clash overgrowing crisis in health service The Daily Mail
- Former Tory health minister defends Simon Stevens over NHS winter crisis The Daily Telegraph
- Doctors' leaders slam Theresa May's 'wilful ignorance' of NHS crisis GP Online
- NHS England chief hits back at Theresa May on health service funding The Guardian
- NHS's Simon Stevens defended by MPs in health funding row The Guardian
- Former Tory health minister defends Simon Stevens over NHS winter crisis The Guardian
- NHS chief clashes with Downing Street over funding ITV News
Retired British expats 'outstrip European pensioners using NHS'
Retired British expats 'outstrip European pensioners using NHS' Many more expat UK pensioners rely on European healthcare under reciprocal healthcare agreements than UK-based European pensioners rely on the NHS.
While 70,000 retired Brits use Spain's health system, 81 Spanish pensioners are registered as covered by the NHS.
Across the European Economic Area (EEA) there are 145,000 UK expat pensioners registered, compared with 4,000 EEA pensioners registered to use the NHS.
The figures were obtained after a BBC Freedom of Information request. BBC News
While 70,000 retired Brits use Spain's health system, 81 Spanish pensioners are registered as covered by the NHS.
Across the European Economic Area (EEA) there are 145,000 UK expat pensioners registered, compared with 4,000 EEA pensioners registered to use the NHS.
The figures were obtained after a BBC Freedom of Information request. BBC News
Mental health care: 'The system is broken'
Mental health care: 'The system is broken' Theresa May has unveiled plans to do more to help those, particularly young people, with mental health conditions.
In her speech at the Charity Commission, the prime minister announced a number of pledges including training at every secondary school, training for employers and organisations, and the appointment of a mental health campaigner.
Here, people have been sharing their experiences of mental health services. BBC News
In her speech at the Charity Commission, the prime minister announced a number of pledges including training at every secondary school, training for employers and organisations, and the appointment of a mental health campaigner.
Here, people have been sharing their experiences of mental health services. BBC News
Everyone the Conservative government has blamed for NHS crisis
Everyone the Conservative government has blamed for NHS crisis Theresa May has defended the Government’s handling of NHS pressures in response to doctors' warnings of a dangerous crisis in the health service.
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) joined the British Medical Association and other medical authorities to demand an urgent boost to health and social care funding after the British Red Cross warned of a “humanitarian crisis” in NHS hospitals.
But the Prime Minister and Jeremy Hunt have said health funding is already at record levels and have instead suggested steps be taken to reform the NHS – blaming a number of different factors for the problems faced by the service. The Independent
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) joined the British Medical Association and other medical authorities to demand an urgent boost to health and social care funding after the British Red Cross warned of a “humanitarian crisis” in NHS hospitals.
But the Prime Minister and Jeremy Hunt have said health funding is already at record levels and have instead suggested steps be taken to reform the NHS – blaming a number of different factors for the problems faced by the service. The Independent
More than 20 NHS hospitals on 'black alert’ amid reports of patients left in ambulances
More than 20 NHS hospitals on 'black alert’ amid reports of patients left in ambulances Overcrowding in NHS hospitals has become so severe that last week more than 20 trusts issued ‘black alerts’, meaning they are unable to guarantee life-saving emergency care.
The top-level alert, considered a “serious incident” by NHS England, can result in scheduled operations being cancelled and patients being diverted to other hospitals as overflowing A&E departments struggle to cope. The Independent
See also:
The top-level alert, considered a “serious incident” by NHS England, can result in scheduled operations being cancelled and patients being diverted to other hospitals as overflowing A&E departments struggle to cope. The Independent
See also:
NHS hospitals in England face £322m tax bill increase from April
NHS hospitals in England face £322m tax bill increase from April Changes to business rates system mean NHS trusts face 21% rise in property tax bill over next five years – but some are fighting for charitable exemption
Cash-strapped hospitals in England face a £322m tax rise from April which threatens to increase the strain on the under-pressure NHS.
Changes to the business rates system mean that the 1,249 NHS hospitals liable for the property tax will see their bill increase by 21% over the next five years, according to research conducted for the Guardian by property consultant CVS. Continue reading... The Guardian
Cash-strapped hospitals in England face a £322m tax rise from April which threatens to increase the strain on the under-pressure NHS.
Changes to the business rates system mean that the 1,249 NHS hospitals liable for the property tax will see their bill increase by 21% over the next five years, according to research conducted for the Guardian by property consultant CVS. Continue reading... The Guardian
Care home closures set to rise as funding crisis bites
Care home closures set to rise as funding crisis bites Insolvencies among care home operators are at a record high and likely to continue without government action
Care home operators, trade unions and charities have been telling Theresa May for months that the care home industry is in crisis and needs help.
Last week, May got her sternest warning yet – the chairs of three influential Commons committees urged the prime minister to deal with the “immense challenge” of paying for health and social care in the future. Continue reading... The Guardian
Care home operators, trade unions and charities have been telling Theresa May for months that the care home industry is in crisis and needs help.
Last week, May got her sternest warning yet – the chairs of three influential Commons committees urged the prime minister to deal with the “immense challenge” of paying for health and social care in the future. Continue reading... The Guardian
BBC doc shows NHS doctors forced to decide between saving cancer patient or pensioner
BBC doc shows NHS doctors forced to decide between saving cancer patient or pensioner A new BBC2 documentary revealing the true crisis the NHS is currently in has left viewers heartbroken.
Doctors were forced to decide between saving a cancer patient or a pensioner bleeding to death during the first episode of Hospital last night.
A woman, known only as Janice, was rushed to the A&E department at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington after suffering from a ruptured blood vessel.
But hospital staff had already prepared Simon, who suffers from cancer in his oesophagus, for life-saving surgery. The Daily Mail
See also:
Doctors were forced to decide between saving a cancer patient or a pensioner bleeding to death during the first episode of Hospital last night.
A woman, known only as Janice, was rushed to the A&E department at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington after suffering from a ruptured blood vessel.
But hospital staff had already prepared Simon, who suffers from cancer in his oesophagus, for life-saving surgery. The Daily Mail
See also:
- Hospital episode 1 BBC iPlayer
- Hospital review – shining a light on an NHS at breaking point The Guardian
If you want to kill yourself, the NHS won't stop you. A kinder system could save lives
If you want to kill yourself, the NHS won't stop you. A kinder system could save lives In Theresa May’s speech on Monday, she announced her intention to improve mental health provision and reduce the number of people who die by suicide. She said that there will be more focus on community care.
In the NHS, this is currently provided by crisis resolution and home treatment teams. But too many people are dying under its care: indeed, three times as many as in psychiatric hospitals, according to a national inquiry.
I run a charity which also provides crisis care. So far, no client has died under our care – so we know it is possible to achieve this in a non-residential setting. We have done this with very limited funds; I set up the Suicide Crisis Centre in Cheltenham after experiencing suicidal crisis myself in 2012, and finding that the NHS's approach and methods did not work for me. The Daily Telegraph
In the NHS, this is currently provided by crisis resolution and home treatment teams. But too many people are dying under its care: indeed, three times as many as in psychiatric hospitals, according to a national inquiry.
I run a charity which also provides crisis care. So far, no client has died under our care – so we know it is possible to achieve this in a non-residential setting. We have done this with very limited funds; I set up the Suicide Crisis Centre in Cheltenham after experiencing suicidal crisis myself in 2012, and finding that the NHS's approach and methods did not work for me. The Daily Telegraph
NHS to recruit hundreds of GPs from Poland, Lithuania and Greece
NHS to recruit hundreds of GPs from Poland, Lithuania and Greece The health service is to recruit hundreds of GPs from countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Greece with promises of £90,000 salaries and “generous relocation packages” in a bid to tackle a spiralling NHS crisis.
The new scheme run by NHS England will see doctors from across the EU undergoing 12 weeks training in Poland before they start work in Britain.
Health officials are trawling EU countries for medical staff in a bid to plug shortages of family doctors, amid warnings that long waits to see GPs are fuelling the Accident & Emergency (A&E) crisis.
Medics from Croatia, Lithuania, Greece, Spain and Poland have now been recruited, as part of plans which aim to bring 500 doctors in from the EU ahead of Brexit. The Daily Telegraph
See also:
The new scheme run by NHS England will see doctors from across the EU undergoing 12 weeks training in Poland before they start work in Britain.
Health officials are trawling EU countries for medical staff in a bid to plug shortages of family doctors, amid warnings that long waits to see GPs are fuelling the Accident & Emergency (A&E) crisis.
Medics from Croatia, Lithuania, Greece, Spain and Poland have now been recruited, as part of plans which aim to bring 500 doctors in from the EU ahead of Brexit. The Daily Telegraph
See also:
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Improving patient access to general practice
Improving patient access to general practice The National Audit Office has found that the Department of Health and NHS England have a high-level vision for improving patient access to general practice and have increased the funding available, but are seeking to extend access despite failing to provide consistent value for money from existing services.
The Department has set objectives such as providing evening and weekend access for all patients and 5,000 extra doctors in general practice, both by 2020. However, they have not evaluated the cost-effectiveness and consequences of their objectives. The NAO’s analysis suggests the minimum additional capacity required by the new commitment equates to £230 per appointment hour per 1,000 registered patients. In core contract hours the cost is an estimated £154. NHS England intends that the additional funding will be used to also cover transformation costs and deliver wider improvements in access, but has not currently set out how it will take assurance that the additional funding provides good value for money.
See also:
The Department has set objectives such as providing evening and weekend access for all patients and 5,000 extra doctors in general practice, both by 2020. However, they have not evaluated the cost-effectiveness and consequences of their objectives. The NAO’s analysis suggests the minimum additional capacity required by the new commitment equates to £230 per appointment hour per 1,000 registered patients. In core contract hours the cost is an estimated £154. NHS England intends that the additional funding will be used to also cover transformation costs and deliver wider improvements in access, but has not currently set out how it will take assurance that the additional funding provides good value for money.
See also:
- Improving patient access to general practice (full report) National Audit Office
- NAO fails to understand intense pressures GPs face everyday, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
- Are part-time GPs fuelling the meltdown in casualty? Fifth shut their doors for at least one afternoon a week The Daily Mail
- GP opening hours are fuelling A&E pressures, NAO report suggests The Daily Telegraph
- GP access report shows plans for seven-day service 'in disarray' GP Online
- Plans for seven-day GPs not thought out, says spending watchdog The Guardian
NHS conditions worst ever, say leading nurses
NHS conditions worst ever, say leading nurses Nurses say conditions in the NHS are the worst they have experienced, the Royal College of Nursing has said.
In a separate move, 50 leading doctors have warned the prime minster in a letter that lives are being put at risk due to mounting pressures on the NHS.
Charities working with elderly people said long-term solutions were needed, with a similar call from a group of Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem MPs.
Health officials said they were investing more in care. BBC News
See also:
In a separate move, 50 leading doctors have warned the prime minster in a letter that lives are being put at risk due to mounting pressures on the NHS.
Charities working with elderly people said long-term solutions were needed, with a similar call from a group of Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem MPs.
Health officials said they were investing more in care. BBC News
See also:
- 'Quality of patient care threatened' physicians tell PM Royal College of Physicians
- Letter to the Prime Minister Royal College of Physicians
- Annual A&E statistics published NHS Digital
- NHS trolley waits hit record high BBC News
- Long waiting time at A&E? There's an app to find that BBC News
- Top doctors tell Jeremy Hunt to tackle A&E crisis The Daily Mail
- NHS Digital data shows record number of over 70s are enduring 12 hour waits in A&E The Daily Mail
- 'Lives at risk' as hospitals become paralysed by spiralling demand The Daily Telegraph
- GPC rejects Jeremy Hunt's NHS crisis plan for GPs to support urgent care GP Online
- NHS 'will fail' this winter without cash injection, doctors tell Theresa May The Guardian
- Our NHS trust is close to a tipping point – and we are not alone The Guardian
- More than 2m people wait over four hours in A&E, figures show The Guardian
- Two million wait more than four hours in A&E amid huge increase in 12-hour waits for elderly The Independent
- NHS crisis 'putting lives at risk', warns Royal College of Physicians The Independent
Steep rise in A&E psychiatric patients
Steep rise in A&E psychiatric patients There has been a steep rise in the number of people arriving at A&E departments in England with mental health problems, figures show.
Experts say a lack of early support means patients are reaching crisis.
Data compiled for the BBC by NHS Digital showed that between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the number of patients attending A&E units with psychiatric problems rose by nearly 50% to 165,000.
For the under 18s alone the numbers almost doubled to nearly 22,000.
These figures represent a small minority of overall A&E attendances - just over 1% in total.
But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that was likely to be the "tip of the iceberg" as these figures just included cases where the primary diagnosis was a psychiatric condition. BBC News
Experts say a lack of early support means patients are reaching crisis.
Data compiled for the BBC by NHS Digital showed that between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the number of patients attending A&E units with psychiatric problems rose by nearly 50% to 165,000.
For the under 18s alone the numbers almost doubled to nearly 22,000.
These figures represent a small minority of overall A&E attendances - just over 1% in total.
But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said that was likely to be the "tip of the iceberg" as these figures just included cases where the primary diagnosis was a psychiatric condition. BBC News
GP practices begin processing backlog of over 100,000 patient letters
GP practices begin processing backlog of over 100,000 patient letters GP practices across England have begun to receive their share of a huge backlog of patient data that a former provider of primary care support services left by mistake in a warehouse. GP Online
Social care does need more funds, but there are also savings to be made
Social care does need more funds, but there are also savings to be made Social and health care should be integrated, but as that is unlikely to happen, care reforms already tested could make significant savings
Ministers last week stepped in with an extra cash boost for social care. On top of a funding increase announced three months ago, they unveiled a further rise to help meet payroll costs and to help professionalise the workforce. Council leaders “warmly welcomed” the move and the emphasis on preventive support for older and disabled people.
You may have guessed this wasn’t in England. It was in Wales, where, as the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) observes, the policy position is “very different”. True, the sums involved are not huge. After a £25m grant increase for social care in 2017-18 set out last October, the Welsh government last week found a further £10m and raised the individual cap on homecare costs – a feature of the system not replicated in England – from £60 a week to £70, which should give councils another £4m for the year from April. Continue reading... The Guardian
Ministers last week stepped in with an extra cash boost for social care. On top of a funding increase announced three months ago, they unveiled a further rise to help meet payroll costs and to help professionalise the workforce. Council leaders “warmly welcomed” the move and the emphasis on preventive support for older and disabled people.
You may have guessed this wasn’t in England. It was in Wales, where, as the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) observes, the policy position is “very different”. True, the sums involved are not huge. After a £25m grant increase for social care in 2017-18 set out last October, the Welsh government last week found a further £10m and raised the individual cap on homecare costs – a feature of the system not replicated in England – from £60 a week to £70, which should give councils another £4m for the year from April. Continue reading... The Guardian
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)