Ambulance crews attacked 135 times in 12 months in Northamptonshire

Ambulance crews attacked 135 times in 12 months in Northamptonshire East Midlands Ambulance Service has welcomed the news that anyone who assault an ambulance crew member could face a doubled prison sentence.

It comes after frontline staff suffered 476 assaults since April, including five incidents involving spitting, five involving knives, two involving firearms and three involving racial abuse.

In Northamptonshire, there were 135 assaults in 2017/2018, eleven of which caused injury and 41 of which when the assailant was drunk. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Acute medical care in England: Findings from a survey of smaller acute hospitals

Acute medical care in England: Findings from a survey of smaller acute hospitals This profile of smaller hospitals in England finds trusts struggling to recruit and retain acute medical staff. Services across the country are configured in a wide variety of ways, with little evidence of an 'ideal' model for acute medical care emerging from our research. Nuffield Trust

Social care funding in England: call for evidence

Social care funding in England: call for evidence This inquiry will focus on the funding challenges faced by the social care system in England. The Committee is seeking to assess the effectiveness of different funding models, the shortfalls in delivery and to make recommendations on how future social care demands can be met in England. The deadline for submissions is 9 October 2018. House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee

Pathologists shortage 'delaying cancer diagnosis'

Pathologists shortage 'delaying cancer diagnosis' Patients are facing delays in diagnosis because of severe shortages among pathology staff, according to a report seen by the BBC.

A survey by the Royal College of Pathologists found only 3% of the NHS histopathology departments that responded had enough staff.

Histopathologists are doctors and scientists who diagnose and study diseases such as cancer.

Hundreds more pathologists are now working in the NHS, health chiefs said. BBC News

NHS bosses will be sacked if they fail to stamp out 'alarming' bullying of hospital staff

NHS bosses will be sacked if they fail to stamp out 'alarming' bullying of hospital staff NHS bosses will be sacked if they fail to stamp out what ministers admit are “alarming” levels of bullying of hospital staff, under a new crackdown.

A “fit and proper person” test is set to be toughened to include a legal duty to act on the victimisation of health workers by both patients and colleagues, The Independent has learnt.

The uncomfortable truth is that many psychiatric wards have a culture of sexual assault

The uncomfortable truth is that many psychiatric wards have a culture of sexual assault Sexual assault and harassment is “commonplace” on inpatient psychiatric wards, according to Dr Paul Lelliott, the deputy chief inspector of hospitals and mental health lead at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following the publication of an important, national report this week. This is not news to psychiatric patients, who have been raising the issue for more than 50 years. Will this report provide the #MeToo wake-up call on sexual violence that mental health services desperately need? Or will the currents of denial, avoidance, victim blaming and silencing that swirl around sexual assault, and which psychiatric discourse specifically enable, block progress as they have time and time again? The Independent

Matt Hancock, you need to hear what happened to my daughter during a mental health crisis

Matt Hancock, you need to hear what happened to my daughter during a mental health crisis My daughter has endured the most devastating lack of continuity of care during the past six years under a depleted mental health service. The Independent

See also:

• Out of Area Placements in Mental Health Services - June 2018 NHS Digital
• Mental health patients sent 300 miles from home due to lack of beds The Guardian

NHS mental health crisis worsens as 2,000 staff quit per month

NHS mental health crisis worsens as 2,000 staff quit per month Pledge to boost services undermined by failure to retain thousands of key workers, minister admits

Thousands of nurses, therapists and psychiatrists are quitting NHS mental health services, raising serious doubts about ministerial pledges to dramatically expand the workforce.

Two thousand mental health staff a month are leaving their posts in the NHS in England, according to figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The news comes as services are already seriously understaffed and struggling to cope with a surge in patients seeking help for anxiety, depression and other disorders. Continue reading... The Guardian

Sick of waiting at the doctor's? The app will see you now

Sick of waiting at the doctor's? The app will see you now The public sector should be leading the charge with queue-busting tech, not leaving innovation to private companies

It hasn’t been all that long since Matt Hancock was best known for his app, which he called Matt Hancock, in a very Ronseal approach to technology. Not long after being promoted from a digital minister to culture secretary, Hancock rolled out the app in a bid to keep his constituents up to date with local goings-on, and to create a space for feedback. Naturally, Hancock got the piss taken out of him on social media. But aside from legitimate data concerns with the app accessing users’ photos – seemingly even when permission was not given; but that, unfortunately, isn’t a niche breach – the derisive response was, for the most part, unjustified.

People can’t have it both ways: dissing politicians for not being innovative or digitally astute, and then mocking the few who seem genuinely interested in technology and how it can change politics for the better. Continue reading... The Guardian

Health regulator withholding vaccines results making it impossible to establish if drugs could be harmful

Health regulator withholding vaccines results making it impossible to establish if drugs could be harmful The failure of England's public healthy body to publish results of three major studies into vaccines for children makes it impossible for experts to establish whether the drugs could be harmful, scientists have claimed.

Hundreds of children took part in three potentially risky Government drug trials, but Public Health England (PHE) breached the law by failing to add the findings to the official register set up to allow the scientific community to scrutinise the outcomes.

Experts have accused PHE of an “incomprehensible” violation of the trust of parents who gave their consent for their children to take part in the tests. The Daily Telegraph

More than 3 million people in Britain now vape, data suggests

More than 3 million people in Britain now vape, data suggests ASH estimates there are around 3.2 million vapers in Britain in 2018 – in the region of six per cent of the total population. It is 10 per cent up on the amount estimated for 2017. The Daily Mail

Corby Urgent Care Centre changes put on hold

Corby Urgent Care Centre changes put on hold A plan to change access to Corby’s Urgent Care Centre has been placed on hold. Corby CCG had decided, controversially, to replace the current walk-in service with a new appointment-based GP-led ‘Same Day Access Hub’. Those plans were the subject of a judicial review with campaigners against the plans claiming victory after a judge ruled the CCG did not carry out the consultation it had promised. But now the health body has decided to instead search for an organisation to run the centre for another three years rather than immediately progressing with their previous plan. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• ‘Bridges to be built’ between opposing sides in Corby Urgent Care Centre row Northamptonshire Telegraph

How children's services cuts are affecting one family

How children's services cuts are affecting one family  As Northamptonshire County Council makes £70m worth of spending cuts, how does it feel for a needy family to have support withdrawn? BBC News

Northants health bosses want meeting ahead of service cuts

Northants health bosses want meeting ahead of service cuts Health bosses from across Northamptonshire are demanding a meeting with leaders at Northamptonshire County Council ahead of expected huge service cuts. There was strong criticism of the county authority at yesterday’s Health and Wellbeing Board meeting (September 13) that the authority is seemingly moving ahead with plans to cut its services without having an input from Northamptonshire’s various health services. There are fears the cuts could have a huge impact on communities. Health bosses, including the leader of Northamptonshire Health Foundation Trust Angela Hillery and Northampton General Hospital’s chief executive Sonia Swart, blasted the authority for not asking for their input. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS treatments in England fall by 675 a day, despite waiting list

NHS treatments in England fall by 675 a day, despite waiting list The number of consultant-led NHS treatments in England fell by more than 84,000 in the first seven months of 2018 compared with last year, and there was an increase in the waiting list for planned surgery.

Analysis by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) found that on average 675 fewer patients a day were admitted for planned treatment, including surgical operations, between January and July compared with the same period last year.

Statistics published on Thursday show that the number of people waiting longer than the recommended 18 weeks to start planned NHS hospital treatment reached its highest in a decade. The Guardian

See also:

• Hospital admissions have dropped by over 84,000 this year, despite rising waiting lists Royal College of Surgeons

Alcohol dependency at record high but fewer being treated, data shows

Alcohol dependency at record high but fewer being treated, data shows One in seven of 605,688 people needing help in England received treatment in 2016-17. Fewer problem drinkers are receiving treatment even though record numbers need help, figures from the House of Commons library show.

Just 80,454 people in England were treated in 2016-17 for addiction to alcohol,about one in seven of the 605,688 people being deemed to be “alcohol dependent”. The Guardian

Whose Safety is it Anyway? Service user and carer involvement in mental health care safety #MHNR2018

Whose Safety is it Anyway? Service user and carer involvement in mental health care safety #MHNR2018 Alison Faulkner takes a recent study as the starting point for an exploration of mental health care safety, service user and carer involvement, raising concerns, risk, harm, power, relationships and much more. The Mental Elf

What will the NHS 10-year plan look like?

What will the NHS 10-year plan look like? Long-term planning is rare in Whitehall with the five-year election cycle driving most policy making.

But the NHS in England has a chance to break that mould with a 10-year plan.

That's what ministers have asked for - even though it will be a document which will possibly span the course of two future administrations, perhaps involving different political parties. BBC News - Health

Consultation on improving learning disabilities staff training

Consultation on improving learning disabilities staff training The government has announced a series of measures to address the inequality of life expectancy between people with learning disabilities and the wider population. NHS Networks

See also:

• Consultation announced to improve learning disabilities staff training Gov.UK
• The Government Response To The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme: Second Annual Report King's Fund - Health Management and Policy Alert
• Government response to the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme 2nd annual report Gov.UK

NHS opens international search for new innovations

NHS opens international search for new innovations NHS England is calling on the best innovators from across the world to apply to join two schemes that aim to ensure NHS patients benefit from new technology faster. NHS Networks

See also:

• NHS opens international search for new innovations NHS England