NHFT Libraries Health News

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Care home claims it ‘did not cut staffing levels’

Care home claims it ‘did not cut staffing levels’ A care home which suffered an outbreak of norovirus last month has refuted suggestions it did not have enough staff to cope. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Protecting and promoting patients’ interests: licence exemptions: guidance for providers

Protecting and promoting patients’ interests: licence exemptions: guidance for providers All providers of NHS healthcare services in England will need a licence from Monitor from April 2014, unless they are exempt. The licence will set out the conditions that licence holders will have to meet in order to provide NHS services. Department of Health

Millions wait a week to see a GP

Millions wait a week to see a GP Millions of patients in England are waiting a week or longer for a GP appointment, figures reveal. BBC News

See also:

VIDEO: Millions wait a week to see a GP BBC News
27m patients to wait a week or more to see GP in 2014 due to diversion of doctor posts to hospitals Royal College of General Practitioners

Updated guidance on the use of settlement agreements and the process for making severance payments

Updated guidance on the use of settlement agreements and the process for making severance payments Following changes to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 we have updated the guidance on the use of settlement agreements and confidentiality clauses and the NHS employers guidance on the process for making severance payments. NHS Employers

Can frankincense really fight cancer?

Can frankincense really fight cancer? “Frankincense ‘fights cancer’,” is the festive health headline from the Mail Online. The “aromatic substance from the Nativity story could help treat ovarian tumours,” it says.

The news is based on a University of Leicester press release entitled “Christmas gift brings treatment hope for cancer patients”. Unfortunately, many more Christmases are likely to pass before anyone is treated with frankincense for ovarian cancer.

CCG budget set to top £100bn

CCG budget set to top £100bn NHS England says new funding allocations will not punish most deprived areas. OnMedica

How organ donation is getting nudge in the right direction: trial could pave way for 100,000 extra donors each year

More than 100,000 extra people every year would sign up to become organ donors if they were asked to do so in the right way, a pioneering government trial has found. The Independent

Monday, 23 December 2013

Public views invited as NGH welcomes CQC inspection

Public views invited as NGH welcomes CQC inspection NGH response in respect of CQC inspection announcement.

Wellingborough most obese town in England

Wellingborough most obese town in England A report claims that Wellingborough is the most obese town in England. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Hunt 'crazy' to call hospital bosses

Hunt 'crazy' to call hospital bosses It is "crazy" for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to personally call hospital bosses who miss A&E targets, the health regulator for England says. BBC News

See also:

NHS chief admits to anger at Jeremy Hunt's 'meddling' The Guardian

NHS 'was too powerful to criticise'

NHS 'was too powerful to criticise' The NHS "became too powerful to criticise" despite many patients receiving a "wholly unsatisfactory" service, the health regulator says. BBC News

See also:

NHS on brink of crisis because it became 'too powerful' to criticise The Daily Telegraph

Good practice guide to major service change published

Good practice guide to major service change published NHS England has today published a good practice guide for commissioners, to assist clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) should they choose to develop proposals for major service changes and reconfiguration.

This guidance builds on earlier best practice guidance developed prior to the new commissioning system, but has been brought up to date, reflecting the roles and responsibilities of commissioners to deliver improvements in services for patients and local communities.

The new guidance provides a one stop resource for the principles and processes for building proposals for major service change, including how to develop the business case, assess proposals against the Government’s ‘four tests’, as well as how to assure patient and public engagement is at the heart of the process. The guidance will supplemented by an assurance toolkit which sets out how NHS England will support and assure local commissioning proposals.

Liaison psychiatry for every acute hospital: integrated mental and physical healthcare

Liaison psychiatry for every acute hospital: integrated mental and physical healthcare This report summarises existing evidence of need for liaison psychiatry services in all acute hospitals and then provides evidence for the range of problems addressed, and range of interventions required, to meet core mental health demands in acute hospitals. It also contains case examples that demonstrate the benefit of services; provide detailed considerations for service design, including principle organisational standards, access and response standards, hours of operation, remit and staffing; governance is addressed as a range of clinical and organisational risks and how these can be reduced by liaison psychiatry services are described. Lastly, key considerations required to set local standards for common mental health-related problems that occur in acute hospitals are provided. Royal College of Psychiatrists

Beating the effects of winter pressures

Beating the effects of winter pressures This briefing paper aims to help explain why there is increased pressure on the NHS in winter, the impact this has on NHS services, and sets out why a longer term solution is needed. British Medical Association

NHS services, seven days a week - costing seven day services

NHS services, seven days a week - costing seven day services This report looks at the financial implications of seven day services for acute emergency and urgent services and supporting diagnostics. Healthcare Financial Management Association

Using clinical communities to improve quality

Using clinical communities to improve quality This report introduces the concept of the clinical community approach which comprises a core team that supports site teams to make change happen locally. It presents 10 key lessons from the programme about when to use a clinical community, how to make it work, and how to avoid potential pitfalls. The Health Foundation