The state of community health services in England Community health services help people to stay healthy and live independently at home, but it has proved difficult to realise a long-standing ambition to deliver more services out of hospital. In this explainer, Sarah Scobie and Stephanie Kumpunen describe what community services are, who uses and provides them, who pays for them, and some of the challenges they face. Nuffield Trust
The cost of living impacts access to prescription medicines The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has released the results of a survey showing that pharmacists say the cost of living is having an impact on whether people can afford prescription medicines in England.
Failure to root out abusers in ambulance service leaves vulnerable patients at risk, watchdog warns Emergency patients are being left open to abuse when they are at their most vulnerable because of a lack of vetting of ambulance workers, watchdog officials have warned.
One watchdog official warned that abusers would even seek out work as a paramedic because it provided an “attractive environment” for exploitation. The Independent
Join family event in Northamptonshire to celebrate autism pride People are invited to an event taking place in Northamptonshire celebrating Autism Pride.
Autism Pride Day takes place at Moulton Community Centre in the village of Moulton on Wednesday, March 29 from 10am to 2pm.
The event has been organised by Northamptonshire Autism Champion Network and the Autism Advisory Panel, with support from Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Northamptonshire Telegraph
Innovation is being squeezed out of the NHS The crisis in health and social care, alongside political pressure on waiting times, has spawned a scramble for new ideas and innovations that can help ‘save the NHS’. Yet there’s no escaping the fact that turning things around will require a sustained period of investment, and action to address staff shortages.
But while there are no quick fixes, there are things that could be done right now to make a difference. And although innovation remains important, many of the steps that could make a difference in the short term are in fact well known – such as better use of existing technology, or process improvements to speed up hospital discharge and improve patient flow. The challenge is that with staff and services stretched to the limit, many organisations are struggling to put these kinds of changes in place and achieve the impact needed. The Health Foundation
