Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Ice warning for Northamptonshire

Ice warning for Northamptonshire: Light snow is predicted for the county and the Met Office is warning of icy conditions on the roads. BBC News

Time to Change - national mental health campaign launched

Time to Change - national mental health campaign launched: A new national campaign has been launched to encourage people to talk about their mental health problems. Mental health problems affect one in four of us but nearly nine out of ten people who... Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Icy weather increases pressure on ambulance crews

Icy weather increases pressure on ambulance crews: Ambulance bosses say the recent freezing conditions mean East Midlands Ambulance Service crews have dealt with 900 more calls than during the same period last year. Evening Telegraph

Shifting care closer to home: slogan or solution?

Shifting care closer to home: slogan or solution?: As The King's Fund argued in Transforming the delivery of health and social care: the case for fundamental change, any discussion about developing new models of care must focus on shifting care closer to home. However, there is a danger of 'shifting care closer to home' becoming just a slogan and consequently not being examined sufficiently. It is not a step forward to relocate an activity that should really be stopped or redesigned, or to move care closer to home when this is less convenient for the patient or leads to a reduction in the quality of care.

VIDEO: Will telehealth improve NHS care?

VIDEO: Will telehealth improve NHS care?: A major challenge facing the NHS is how to care for people with long-term illnesses, so could telehealth be the answer? BBC News

VIDEO: Birth rate boom 'a strain on NHS'

VIDEO: Birth rate boom 'a strain on NHS': England is seeing a massive increase in its birth rate which is putting a strain on the NHS, midwives warn. BBC News

Shenley Hospital: Life under observation

Shenley Hospital: Life under observation: The hospital that wasn't afraid to try strange new treatments BBC News

The revolution will be digitised

The revolution will be digitised: The NHS Commissioning Board's director of patients and information argues that digital is the biggest single answer to the productivity, quality and efficiency challenges faced by the NHS. E-Health Insider

Fitness for work: the Government response to ‘Health at work – an independent review of sickness absence’

Fitness for work: the Government response to ‘Health at work – an independent review of sickness absence’: This publication outlines the Government's response to the independent review of the sickness absence system. It highlights the support that healthcare professionals and GPs in particular, require in helping individuals back to work. It supports the recommendations of the review that fit note guidance is in need of revision and GP knowledge and awareness of the benefit system requires improvement.

The other care crisis: making social care funding work or disabled adults in England

The other care crisis: making social care funding work or disabled adults in England: This report highlights the improvements needed in adult social care for disabled people, with a £1.2 billion funding gap for social care
support for disabled people under 65 being revealed. It aims to add to the ongoing debate surrounding the funding of adult social care in England and urges the Government to address the funding gap.

Child asthma hospital admissions fell after smoking ban, study shows

Child asthma hospital admissions fell after smoking ban, study shows: Admissions fell by 12.3% in first year and more than 3% in each of the next two years, according to analysis of NHS figures
The number of children admitted to hospital after serious asthma attacks has fallen steeply in England since smoking was banned in public places such as bars, restaurants and offices.

Sir Ian Kennedy: Patients at risk from Mid-Staffs care failings across NHS

Sir Ian Kennedy: Patients at risk from Mid-Staffs care failings across NHS: Patients are being put at risk across the NHS by the same kind of poor care uncovered at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust, yet the new health care regulator is not equipped to identify the failings, an expert has said. The Daily Telegraph

Interactive calculator: do you win or lose with the new BMI?

Interactive calculator: do you win or lose with the new BMI?: Researchers at Oxford University have updated the body mass index with a new formula that they say more accurately estimates body fat. Use the interactive tool to see how your BMI is different under their proposal for a new system. The Daily Telegraph

Monday, 21 January 2013

Debbie Thomason sues Northampton Hospital over late diagnosis - BBC News

Debbie Thomason sues Northampton Hospital over late diagnosis - BBC News:

BBC News
Debbie Thomason sues Northampton Hospital over late diagnosis
BBC News
Debbie Thomason was taken to Northampton General Hospital in May 2011 in "excruciating pain" after she had sneezed. Her lawyers say the hospital failed to diagnose cauda equina syndrome, a spine condition, and operate before it was "too late to prevent ...

VIDEO: NHS reform to improve standards?

VIDEO: NHS reform to improve standards?: The NHS is about to undergo its biggest overhaul since its creation 65 years ago, but what will the government's changes mean for patients? BBC News

Why bed sores matter more than reforms

Why bed sores matter more than reforms: What they tell us about the state of the NHS BBC News

Integration is about patient benefits, not organisational processes, says Don Redding

Integration is about patient benefits, not organisational processes, says Don Redding: Last year, when the NHS Confederation asked you, its members, what major changes were required to meet future challenges, the vast majority of you (77 per cent) cited the integration of care – more than any other change. With rapidly decreasing budgets, local authorities and health and wellbeing boards too are acutely aware of the … Continue reading » NHS Voices

Medical management of people who use illegal drugs: new report from the BMA

Medical management of people who use illegal drugs: new report from the BMA: There has been a great deal of debate about illicit drugs in recent weeks. Just before Christmas, we had the House Affairs Committee report, which highlighted the downward trend in recorded drug use over recent years. Earlier this week the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform published their report on legal highs, which recommended a [read the full story...] The Mental Elf

The future of health and social care timeline

The future of health and social care timeline: This timeline picks out some of the key trends - from changes in
population make-up to advances in technology - that will affect how health and social care is delivered over the next 20 years.

Nationwide review of A&E



Nationwide review of A&E:
A review of A&E services across the NHS is set to take place.
With concerns over a “fragmented” service and rising patient numbers, the NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh has announced he will lead a review of the model of urgent and services.
Senior medical professionals fear the level of care – particularly at nights and weekends – is becoming unsafe and one way to address this... Healthcare Today