Why changing NHS culture must be at the heart of responding to Berwick

Why changing NHS culture must be at the heart of responding to Berwick The Berwick report asks the NHS change its culture and continuously improve patient safety but can the NHS rise to the challenge asks Professor Stephen Singleton. The Health Foundation

Rights of mentally ill 'violated'

Rights of mentally ill 'violated' The basic rights of some mental health patients in England are being "violated" because of a shortage of beds in psychiatric units, MPs say. BBC News

See also:

• Patients sectioned unnecessarily just to get a hospital bed The Independent

Virtual ward 'better for patients'

Virtual ward 'better for patients' A solution to overstretched emergency departments? BBC News

Shingles and childhood seasonal influenza vaccination programme FAQs

Shingles and childhood seasonal influenza vaccination programme FAQs NHS Employers, in agreement with the General Practitioners Committee of the BMA and NHS England have published a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the shingles and shingles catch-up vaccination programmes and also for the childhood seasonal influenza vaccination programme. 

NHS hospital complaints

NHS hospital complaints Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman - 

These three pieces of research aim to support the government review into how NHS hospitals deal with complaints. The first analyses the evidence from example cases and explores the themes underlying patient’s experience of complaint handling. The second gathers evidence of how NHS trust boards use information from complaints to put things right and to learn. The third outlines feedback from patients, complainants, carers and NHS staff who participated in a two-day workshop on the NHS hospital complaints system.

• The NHS hospital complaints system: a case for urgent treatment?
• NHS governance of complaints handling 
• Designing good together: transforming hospital complaint handling
• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman - publications

An uncertain age: reimagining long term care in the 21st century

An uncertain age: reimagining long term care in the 21st century This report, commissioned by the Lien Foundation, aims to inform and stimulate the global dialogue on long term elderly care. It includes selected comments and opinions from 46 thought leaders, professionals and practitioners in the aged care sector in selected countries, gained through a series of interviews. Interviewees were asked to offer their views on current and emerging demand and supply trends and to identify innovative approaches and models of long term elderly care delivery from around the world.

• Report
• Case studies
• KPMG - publications

Eleven arrests over care home death

Eleven arrests over care home death Eleven people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the death of a woman shortly after she was moved from a care home in Nottingham.The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Eleven arrested over care home death BBC News

GP practices and hospital to host internet training sessions for NHS patients

GP practices and hospital to host internet training sessions for NHS patients Thousands of NHS patients in England will be taught to use the internet at their local GP surgery or hospital, under new plans aiming at improving access to healthcare. The Independent

See also:

• £2m to get patients online E-Health Insider

‘Dirty and unsafe’: Whipps Cross hospital told it must make urgent changes

‘Dirty and unsafe’: Whipps Cross hospital told it must make urgent changes

Babies and mothers were exposed to infection risk at an east London maternity ward that was described in a damning report by the NHS watchdog as “dirty and unsafe”. The Independen

See also:

• Whipps Cross hospital had 'systematic failings', finds NHS watchdog The Guardian
• NHS trust warned over filthy maternity wards and uncaring staff The Daily Telegraph
• 'Catalogue of failings' at hospital BBC News

Shaping healthcare services in Corby

Shaping healthcare services in Corby NHS Corby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has published its prospectus for 2013/14, ‘Shaping healthcare services in Corby'. NHFT News

ADHD drug use 'up 50% in six years'

ADHD drug use 'up 50% in six years' The number of prescriptions for drugs such as Ritalin to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has risen sharply, official figures show. BBC News

'Toxic cocktail' in NHS care plans

'Toxic cocktail' in NHS care plans Patients who suffer from poor care in hospitals are being failed by a "toxic cocktail" inside the NHS, the health service watchdog for England says. BBC New

See also:

• Ombudsman: Patients suffer from a 'toxic cocktail' in NHS  The Daily Telegraph

New to managing doctors? A guide for HR practitioners

New to managing doctors? A guide for HR practitioners If you're an HR practitioner managing doctors for the first time, our handy guide will signpost you to all the information you need. NHS Employers

Treating people with compassion is a by-product of organisational cohesiveness, says Angela McNab

Treating people with compassion is a by-product of organisational cohesiveness, says Angela McNab Am I the only NHS chief executive who goes cold in response to the daily directive to “build a culture of compassion in the NHS”? Don’t misunderstand me; it’s not the belief that compassion should be at the heart of healthcare that I disagree with, although I do struggle with the presumption that the majority … Continue reading » NHS Voices

‘Care left undone’ during nursing shifts: associations with workload and perceived quality of care

‘Care left undone’ during nursing shifts: associations with workload and perceived quality of care This report aims to examine the nature and prevalence of care left undone by nurses in English National Health Service hospitals and to assess whether the number of missed care episodes is associated with nurse staffing levels and nurse ratings of the quality of nursing care and patient safety environment. It recommends that hospitals could use a nurse-rated assessment of ‘missed care’ as an early warning measure to identify wards with inadequate nurse staffing.

• Report
• BMJ Quality and Safety - abstract

Exclusive: GP practices pressured to house private AQP providers

Exclusive: GP practices pressured to house private AQP providers GP practices have been warned not to be pressured into letting any qualified provider (AQP) firms use their premises because they may not be able to charge them for it. GP Online

Raise taxes to fund NHS, say patients

Raise taxes to fund NHS, say patients

Patients overwhelmingly believe that health and social care should be funded by the Government, and more than half are willing to see taxes rise in order to pay for it, according to a new survey. The Independent

Unhealthy lifestyles will see British children die before their parents

Unhealthy lifestyles will see British children die before their parents

The unhealthy lifestyles of today’s children could see them die younger than their parents because of heart disease, diabetes and other medical conditions, a new study has shown. The Independent

Private ambulance surge defended

Private ambulance surge defended East Midlands Ambulance Service, which covers Northamptonshire, defends using private ambulances for emergencies 246 times in the last financial year. BBC Northamptonshire

Town puts new cottage hospital on wish list for development - Buckingham Advertiser

Town puts new cottage hospital on wish list for development As Towcester prepares to almost double in size, talks over the potential for a cottage hospital have emerged. Bicester Advertiser