Tuesday, 20 December 2022

Care workers paid £8,000 less than NHS equivalents in England - study

Care workers paid £8,000 less than NHS equivalents in England - study A care worker in England is paid on average £8,000 a year less than NHS staff with the same skills, research for a care provider suggests.

The charity, Community Integrated Care, also told BBC News it was having to provide food parcels for some staff who were struggling to pay their bills.

Separate research shows low pay is the most common reason why care staff quit. BBC News

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Government to sue Mone-linked PPE firm for £122m

Government to sue Mone-linked PPE firm for £122m The government is suing a company that supplied it with personal protective equipment (PPE) for £122m plus costs.

PPE Medpro won contracts through the so-called VIP lane in 2020, after being recommended by Tory peer Baroness Mone.

The government is attempting to get its money back on one of the deals in the High Court, claiming the medical gowns supplied "did not comply with the specification in the contract". BBC News

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Revealed: Mental health patients who reported ‘abuse’ ignored by NHS and regulator

Revealed: Mental health patients who reported ‘abuse’ ignored by NHS and regulator Patients and their families who reported allegations of abuse at a chain of mental health units did not even receive responses from the regulator and the NHS, The Independent can reveal.

An investigation by The Independent and Sky News last month exposed how “systemic abuse” went unchecked at hospitals run by The Huntercombe Group over a number of years.

Now more patients have come forward – bringing the total number of cases past 50 – and shown how they tried to raise the alarm to the health service and Care Quality Commission, but say they were ignored while abuse continued.

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Breakthrough new NHS drug can delay spread of breast cancer

Breakthrough new NHS drug can delay spread of breast cancer Breast cancer sufferers will be granted extra months of life thanks to a new drug that has been approved for NHS use.

Enhertu, or trastuzumab deruxtecan, will be rolled out to 600 women a year in England. Trials have shown that that drug improves the survival of recipients by halting the spread of tumours.

It gives patients an extra 22 months of life, on average, before the cancer progresses. The Independent

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NHS hopes new artificial intelligence software will be able to spot damage in heart scans in seconds

NHS hopes new artificial intelligence software will be able to spot damage in heart scans in seconds Artificial intelligence software is poised to drastically slash NHS cardiology waiting lists and give heart patients a faster diagnosis.

The program can carry out complicated measurements in less than a minute that normally take doctors about 20 minutes. The Daily Mail

Monday, 19 December 2022

Man charged with murders of nurse and her two children

Man charged with murders of nurse and her two children A man has been charged with murdering an NHS nurse and her two young children.

Saju Chelavalel, 52, was arrested after police were called to his home at Petherton Court in Kettering, Northamptonshire, on Thursday morning.

Anju Asok, 35, her son Jeeva Saju, 6, and daughter Janvi Saju, 4, were found at the property with serious injuries. BBC Northampton

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The costs of Brexit make severe challenges even harder for the NHS and social care

The costs of Brexit make severe challenges even harder for the NHS and social care The seismic changes to the relationship with our nearest neighbours and the impact of Brexit have only added fuel to the fire of severe challenges facing health and social care in the UK today, making people less healthy and widening health inequalities.

The warning comes from the Nuffield Trust think tank, which has published the most up to date look at the impact of Brexit on the UK’s health and care services.

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Chart of the week: Pay has fallen in real terms for most NHS staff groups since 2010

Chart of the week: Pay has fallen in real terms for most NHS staff groups since 2010 Strike action is affecting a number of sectors across the UK this month, including within the NHS. With widespread discontent over pay and conditions, Lucina Rolewicz, Mark Dayan and Billy Palmer have expanded on our previous staff pay analysis to include other NHS staff groups. Nuffield Trust

Double vision: a roadmap to double medical school places

Double vision: a roadmap to double medical school places This report develops a detailed and costed roadmap to enable 15,000 medical students a year to enrol on courses in England by 2029. It identifies seven pathways to enable this, with recommendations including the opening of 12-15 new medical schools over the coming decade; expanding and diversifying the talent pool, including an expansion of graduate entry places; expanding the role of innovation including the use of simulation-based learning and ‘virtual placements’; and to improve alignment between placement providers, medical schools and the wider health system through the development of Placement Planning Boards. Policy Exchange

    Government response to the independent inquiry report into the issues raised by former surgeon Ian Paterson: 12-month implementation progress update

    Government response to the independent inquiry report into the issues raised by former surgeon Ian Paterson: 12-month implementation progress update The report of the independent inquiry into the issues raised by Paterson was published on 4 February 2020. This report details the government’s progress in implementing its response to the report of the independent inquiry into the issues raised by former surgeon Ian Paterson. It also includes details on how these actions have impacted the health system and where there remains ongoing activity. It is organised under four themes: patient-centred information; making challenge heard; ensuring accountability; and putting things right. Department of Health and Social Care

      Nasal flu vaccine may help reduce cases of group A strep

      Nasal flu vaccine may help reduce cases of group A strep Analysis by UKHSA suggests a nasal spray vaccine that offers protection to children against flu may also help reduce the rate of group A strep infections. UK Health Security Agency

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      NHS visits every care home to offer life-saving jabs ahead of Christmas

      NHS visits every care home to offer life-saving jabs ahead of Christmas NHS vaccination teams have visited every care home across the country to offer life-saving covid boosters and flu jabs ahead of the festive period.

      Every care home in England has been visited by NHS staff ensuring residents have maximum protection from winter viruses and allowing them to spend time with families and friends during Christmas and the New Year. NHS England

      Ambulance strike cover must be sufficient, says health secretary

      Ambulance strike cover must be sufficient, says health secretary Unions must ensure there will be "sufficient" staffing during this week's ambulance strike to protect patients, the health secretary says.

      Workers in England and Wales will walk out on Wednesday in a dispute over pay, but life-threatening emergencies will be responded to.

      Unions say discussions were still taking place with ambulance trusts to draw up detailed plans for cover.

      Steve Barclay said there is a lack of clarity about what is being offered. BBC News

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      Wes Streeting: I won't pretend NHS is envy of world

      Wes Streeting: I won't pretend NHS is envy of world Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has said he would not "pretend the NHS is the envy of the world" as he promised reforms under a Labour government.

      He gave a speech setting out Labour's plan to fix the NHS in England, which he said was in "existential" crisis.

      Labour would train more staff and use the private sector to bring down waiting lists, he said. BBC News

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      'Exhausted NHS staff anxious about delivering care', says NHS Confederation director

      'Exhausted NHS staff anxious about delivering care', says NHS Confederation director We were joined by Layla McCay, Policy Director at the NHS Confederation – the organisation that represents the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Channel 4 News

      The mental health patients dying on NHS wards from starvation and neglect

      The mental health patients dying on NHS wards from starvation and neglect A systemic failure to provide basic physical care on NHS mental health wards is killing patients across the country, despite scores of warnings from coroners over the past decade, The Independent can reveal.

      An investigation has uncovered at least 50 “prevention of future death” reports – used by coroners to warn health services of widespread failures – since 2012, involving 26 NHS trusts and private healthcare providers.

      Patients forced to wait months for vital NHS diagnostic tests

      Patients forced to wait months for vital NHS diagnostic tests Medical teams have warned that some diagnostic services in the NHS are “close to failure”, with more than 184,000 patients in England waiting three months or longer for key tests.

      Children in some specialist hospitals are among those waiting several weeks for diagnostic procedures, in breach of government targets. The Guardian

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      Hospital stays sending patients' dementia into 'fast forward' amid NHS and social care gridlock, say families

      Hospital stays sending patients' dementia into 'fast forward' amid NHS and social care gridlock, say families People with dementia are six times more likely to experience delirium in hospital than patients who don't have the condition. Some studies suggest delirium can be linked to accelerated cognitive decline. Sky News

      Covid-19 UK: Winter wave picks up pace as hospital admissions soar by a third

      Covid-19 UK: Winter wave picks up pace as hospital admissions soar by a third England's Covid hospitalisations have surged by a third in a week, official figures revealed today amid warnings that the NHS will be battered by flu.

      UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show 965 coronavirus patients were admitted on Monday, up from 724 the week before.

      And separate Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures today showed there were 1.1million infected with the virus on any given day in the week up to December 5.  The Daily Mail

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      Nearly seven in ten men are overweight or obese - up from 58 per cent in 1993, survey reveals

      Nearly seven in ten men are overweight or obese - up from 58 per cent in 1993, survey reveals More than two-thirds of men are now overweight or obese, with men particularly prone to middle-aged spread.

      A new public health survey for 2021, released yesterday, vividly illustrates England's obesity epidemic.

      While just 13 per cent of men were obese in 1993, when records began, now 25 per cent are obese. The Daily Mail