Labour demands health bosses hold meetings over possible cuts

Labour demands health bosses hold meetings over possible cuts Northamptonshire’s Labour Party says health bosses in the county have gone back on their pledge to hold public meetings over plans which could see a reduction in funding for services. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Hunt for Northampton General Hospital poster girl

Hunt for Northampton General Hospital poster girl A search has begun for a girl who appeared in a charity fund-raising film for Northampton General Hospital almost 80 years ago. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Do you recognise this girl - from an old 1935 photo? NGH News

The role of rules and regulation in patient safety

The role of rules and regulation in patient safety The concrete steps we should take in making progress towards Berwick’s noble vision are unlikely to involve dispensing with rules and regulation altogether, says Karen Yeung, the question is how to design them so that they promote behaviour deemed desirable without thwarting the very conduct we seek to encourage. The Health Foundation  

NHS electronic prescribing 'patchy'

NHS electronic prescribing 'patchy' Better use of electronic prescribing in NHS hospitals would improve patient safety, a study suggests. BBC News

A&Es get extra money as winter bites

A&Es get extra money as winter bites The government is expected to make an extra £150m available for A&E units in England as they gear up for what looks set to be a tough winter, the BBC understands. BBC News

See also:

• English A&Es get extra £150m winter funds The Guardian

Analysing your staff survey results

Analysing your staff survey results A useful analysis tool which can assess links between staff and patient experience. NHS Employers

Aspirin at bedtime 'cuts' morning heart attack risk

Aspirin at bedtime 'cuts' morning heart attack risk “Take aspirin before bed to cut morning heart risk,” is the advice in The Daily Telegraph today. It’s prompted by a presentation that explained research that found a night-time aspirin helped thin the blood in the morning.

Dementia carers ‘close to breaking point’

Dementia carers ‘close to breaking point’ Charities say better support will save costs in both short and long term. OnMedica

NHS doctors spend 10 hours a week on bureaucracy

NHS doctors spend 10 hours a week on bureaucracy NHS doctors and nurses spend up to 10 hours a week on bureaucracy - a third of which is unneccesary, a Government review has found. The Daily Telegraph

Patient care and choice is at risk, say senior NHS figures

Patient care and choice is at risk, say senior NHS figures The National Health Service is undergoing its biggest shake-up in decades, but its own directors and board members, as well as those across the health sector, are concerned that patient care is deteriorating, that the NHS is worse equipped to deliver value-for-money, and that patient choice and satisfaction is going to get worse. The Independent

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry: government response

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry: government response These documents build on the government’s initial response: Patients First and Foremost, which was published in March 2013. They explain the changes that have been put in place since the initial response was published, and set out how the whole health and care system will prioritise and build on this. Volume 2 outlines the responses to each of the 290 recommendations made by the public inquiry.

• Press release: New era for patients and NHS as Government accepts recommendations of Mid Staffordshire inquiry
• Volume one of response
• Volume two of response
• Equality analysis
• Government response to the House of Commons Health Committee third report of session 2013-14: After Francis: making a difference
• Department of Health - news

See also:

• NICE to guide the NHS on safe staffing levels NICE
• Staffing and accountability key parts of NHS shake-up OnMedica
• Hunt pledges to restore trust in NHS BBC News
• Hospitals could have to pay for errors that kill or cause injury, says Hunt The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt: NHS culture needs 'profound transformation' The Daily Telegraph 
• Hospital patients will be given a named nurse in wake of Mid-Staffs The Daily Telegraph 
• Patient safety crisis: Jeremy Hunt unveils plans for NHS 'culture of openness' in wake of Mid Staffs scandal The Independent

How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time: a guide to nursing, midwifery and care...

How to ensure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time: a guide to nursing, midwifery and care... this guidance, published by the National Quality Board, aims to support providers and commissioners to make the right decisions about nursing, midwifery and care staffing capacity and capability. It outlines expectations related to staffing; signposts tools and resources to support this; and explains what national organisations will do to underpin the expectations

• Guidance
• NHS England - news 

Hospital self-harm care 'lacking'

Hospital self-harm care 'lacking' Many hospitals in England are failing to provide adequate care for people who have self-harmed, despite a national drive to improve services, research suggests. BBC News

Challenging bureaucracy

Challenging bureaucracy In February 2013, the Secretary of State for Health commissioned the NHS Confederation to complete a review of the bureaucratic burdens on providers of NHS care from national bodies. NHS Confederation

General practice funding at a nine-year low

General practice funding at a nine-year low New figures published by the RCGP and the National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP) show funding for general practice at a nine-year low. Royal College of General Practitioners 

The cost of our health: the role of charging in healthcare

The cost of our health: the role of charging in healthcare This report examines the funding of health and care and the role of user charging in healthcare. It argues that new charges could raise nearly £3 billion per year to fund NHS services.

• Report
• Reform - publications

Evidence submission: Health Select Committee's inquiry into public expenditure on health and social care

Evidence submission: Health Select Committee's inquiry into public expenditure on health and social care This submission considers the financial pressures the NHS is currently under and will continue to face in the coming years. It analyses the progress being made in the attempt to meet the Nicholson Challenge target of making £20 billion of savings.

• Evidence submission
• The King's Fund - briefings and responses

NHS 'privatisation': what's the mood among independent providers?

NHS 'privatisation': what's the mood among independent providers?
Private sector providers continue to increase their presence, despite a widespread feeling that political support for them has expired.

Hospitals to publish staffing levels

Hospitals to publish staffing levels Hospitals in England will be made to publish monthly details of whether they have enough nurses working on their wards, from next April. BBC News

See also:

• Data showing hospitals' ratio of nurses to patients to be issued The Independent
• Patients will be told how many nurses should be on each ward The Daily Telegraph
• Hunt orders hospitals to publish ward staffing levels every month The Guardian

Call to raise prescriptions to £10

Call to raise prescriptions to £10 Prescription charges in England should be increased to £10 to fund cash-strapped NHS services, a centre-right think-tank says. BBC News