Hospital forced to spend £129k replacing every single lock after disgruntled employee stole masterkey and began crime spree

Hospital forced to spend £129k replacing every single lock after disgruntled employee stole masterkey and began crime spree A hospital has been forced to spend almost £129,000 on changing all of its 1,500 locks after a thief with "inside knowledge" stole a master key to commit break-ins.

Gareth Parkin knew the Royal Derby Hospital "like the back of his hand" after working there as a gardener and maintenance worker for four years.

He then "abused his knowledge" to carry out his spate of offending, Derby Crown Court prosecutor Joey Kwong said. The Daily Telegraph

Hospitals treat 1,000 dementia patients a day because basic social care is so poor

Hospitals treat 1,000 dementia patients a day because basic social care is so poor Poor social care has driven up emergency admissions of dementia sufferers to nearly 1,000 a day.

The number of dementia patients admitted to hospital in an emergency has soared by a third in four years, official NHS figures reveal.

Experts said many patients were ending up in hospital ‘in crisis’ as a result of basic failings in social care. The Daily Mail

Making local government finance even more local

Making local government finance even more local A welcome change in recent years has been NHS voices speaking out for more funding for local government. Aside from the key question about how much funding is available, there are important developments afoot in local government about its distribution that merit understanding from NHS colleagues too. The outcome of these reforms will have real impact whether resources available in local areas match local need – getting this right or wrong matters for the local system’s ability to deliver on our collective ambitions for improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities. The King's Fund

Papworth marks first 'successful' UK heart transplant

Papworth marks first 'successful' UK heart transplant The son of the UK's first "successful" heart transplant patient 40 years ago has spoken about how his father "became a celebrity overnight".

Keith Castle, then aged 52, lived for more than five years after surgery at Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire in August 1979.

His son, Keith Jnr, is meeting the surgeon Sir Terence English, 86, to mark the anniversary. BBC News

Candida auris: The new superbug on the block

Candida auris: The new superbug on the block The drug-resistant fungus, Candida auris, was only discovered 10 years ago, but is now one of the world's most feared hospital microbes.

There have been outbreaks across the world, and new research shows higher temperatures may have led to an increase in infections.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called for better understanding of who is most vulnerable to reduce risk.

Here is everything you need to know about this new superbug. BBC News

The NHS Is Slowly Cancelling Free IVF – And This Is The Impact It's Having

The NHS Is Slowly Cancelling Free IVF – And This Is The Impact It's Having Amber Izzo had been trying for a baby for two years when her doctors diagnosed her with two blocked fallopian tubes, and told her she would need to use IVF to conceive.

But a year later, the 24-year-old is no closer to becoming a parent – and not for medical reasons. Instead, it’s because her local NHS fertility clinic has cancelled services, after the funding was cut by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Huffington Post UK

Work visa delays prove costly to foreign doctors, and the NHS

Work visa delays prove costly to foreign doctors, and the NHS Complex immigration rules are putting patients at risk as hospitals struggle to fill vacancies, campaigners say

Foreign doctors are being prevented from starting work in the NHS by visa delays that risk putting further stress on hospitals and can land medics with significant bills.

Dozens of doctors have raised concerns about the “complicated and increasingly costly” process, with some warning they will lead to staff shortages and potential risks to patients. Problems have arisen this month as many doctors start jobs or switch to new roles in August. The Guardian

NHS says sepsis monitoring system has saved hundreds of lives

NHS says sepsis monitoring system has saved hundreds of lives Trials of digital alert technology had ‘major impact’ on deadly form of blood poisoning

Trials of new digital alert technology to monitor hospital patients with sepsis have saved hundreds of lives, the NHS has said.

Plans to roll out the “action and alert” technology across England as part of the NHS Long Term Plan are under way after trials at three hospitals. The Guardian

See also:

• Hundreds of lives saved through new tech to spot sepsis NHS England

PM say social media firms must share responsibility for rising spread of Measles in UK as he attacks antivaxx misinformation

PM say social media firms must share responsibility for rising spread of Measles in UK as he attacks antivaxx misinformation The Prime Minister has said social media firms must share the responsibility for the rising spread of measles in the UK as he attacked antivax misinformation.

Boris Johnson will on Monday set out plans to improve vaccination rates on a visit to a hospital in the South West, following a rise in cases of measles.

In the first quarter of 2019 there were 231 confirmed cases of measles, just three years after the World Health Organisation declared the UK measles-free. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Prime Minister orders urgent action to improve vaccination uptake Department of Health and Social Care
• Britain loses its 'measles free' status, but Boris Johnson vows to tackle 'antivaxx' scare stories The Daily Mail
• Johnson urges social media firms to block anti-vaccine messages The Guardian
• Boris Johnson declares war on anti-vaxx movement with campaign to counter vaccine scaremongering The Independent

Doctors ordered to stop half-day closing at surgeries and threatened with £40k funding axe

Doctors ordered to stop half-day closing at surgeries and threatened with £40k funding axe The NHS is launching a major crackdown on GP surgeries which close for half-days during the week, the Mail can reveal.

Officials have identified 722 practices in England – a tenth of the total – which regularly close their doors for at least four hours at a time, including lengthy lunch breaks or midweek afternoons off.

They say that if these surgeries remained open, an additional 287,000 appointments would be available every year. The Daily Mail

Shifting responsibilities: who cares?

Shifting responsibilities: who cares? Following a recent survey of adult carers in England, Lucina Rolewicz examines what's behind the findings and argues what might help matters in future. Nuffield Trust

International migration and the healthcare workforce

International migration and the healthcare workforce This analysis draws on all currently available data to set out how many migrants work in health care in the UK and explore their age structure, location and changes over time. It also presents data on specific health workers in England, such as hospital nurses and general practitioners. Office for National Statistics

Children's oral health: position statement

Children's oral health: position statement New analysis has found that more than 100,000 hospital admissions for children under the age of ten in England due to tooth decay over a three year period. This statement calls on the new government to stand by previous commitments in the Childhood Obesity Plan and Prevention Green Paper to improve children's oral health in England. Royal College of Surgeons

NHS trust IT spend up more than £150m since WannaCry

NHS trust IT spend up more than £150m since WannaCry NHS trusts have upped their IT spending by at least £152 million since 2017’s WannaCry ransomware attack, according to figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Research by government policy think tank, Parliament Street, revealed that 65 NHS trusts spent a total of £612m on IT in the 2018/19 financial year, compared to a spend of £495m in the previous year and £460m in the year directly preceding WannaCry. Digital Health

'Hundreds' seek private clinics for medical cannabis

'Hundreds' seek private clinics for medical cannabis Hundreds of people in the UK are turning to private clinics for medical cannabis, BBC News has been told.

Since its legalisation in November 2018, there have been very few, if any, prescriptions for medical cannabis containing THC on the NHS.

And this has led some patients, with conditions such as epilepsy and MS, to pay up to £800 a month privately.

Patients who cannot eat food 'fear for lives'

Patients who cannot eat food 'fear for lives' Patients who cannot eat have told BBC News they are petrified and fear for their lives after problems making their replacement nutrition.

They are completely dependent on bags filled with a liquid that contains everything their body needs and is infused directly into the bloodstream.

The NHS in England has described the issue as a national emergency.

NHS bill for private out-of-area mental health care rises to £100m

NHS bill for private out-of-area mental health care rises to £100m Labour calls for investment in public provision rather than lining companies’ pockets

NHS spending on private firms nursing people with mental health problems outside their local authority area has risen by almost 30% in a year to £100m.

Adults in mental health crises were sent as far as 300 miles from home last year – a situation NHS chiefs have admitted reduces the chances of recovery because vulnerable people are separated from their loved ones. The Guardian

NHS mobile cancer screening unit charged £1,500 for parking by council

NHS mobile cancer screening unit charged £1,500 for parking by council A council has faced a backlash for charging a mobile NHS breast cancer screening unit £1,500 for parking, with patients saying the fees are "disgusting".

Cornwall Council issued the bill after a lorry used to offer routine mammograms to women aged 50-71 stayed in a car park in Liskeard for six months last year. The Daily Telegraph

Drug deaths at record high as cocaine deaths double in three years

Drug deaths at record high as cocaine deaths double in three years Drug-related deaths in England and Wales are the highest they have been since records began more than a quarter of a century ago, official figures show.

There were 4,359 deaths from drug poisoning recorded in England and Wales in 2018 - the highest number since records began in 1993, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2018 registrations Office for National Statistics
• Drug deaths in Northampton rise by nearly 50 per cent in just five years Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Drug deaths soar to highest level on record BBC News
• Drug deaths in England and Wales at highest level since records began, figures show The Independent

Ministers are to scrap 'one-size-fits-all' NHS health MOTs

Ministers are to scrap 'one-size-fits-all' NHS health MOTs Ministers are to scrap 'one-size-fits-all' health MOTs for the middle aged and replace them with finely tailored medical checks.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the revamped NHS Health Checks scheme – which is offered to anyone aged 40 to 74 – will harness modern technology such as genetic testing to create a personalised programme to prevent disease later in life. The Daily Mail

See also:

• More targeted approach to health checks welcome, but method needs careful consideration, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
• NHS to scrap standard health MOTs for over 40s  The Daily Telegraph