NHS leadership: to err is human, to stay still is unforgivable

NHS leadership: to err is human, to stay still is unforgivable‘Leadership is the moral energy to move people’. We are perhaps used to the refrain that ‘leadership is all about people’, but the word ‘move’ caused my ears to prick up when I heard this phrase at the recent Future of NHS Leadership Summit.

With many acknowledging the case for change in our health system, a call for leadership to ‘move people’, or prompt them into action, seemed apt. This is especially relevant when interpreted in the context of The King’s Fund’s work on collective leadership, which highlights the importance of everyone taking collective responsibility for the success of their organisation.

Gender gap in psychosis treatment

Gender gap in psychosis treatment Men who display symptoms of psychosis are recorded as being untreated for fifty per cent longer than women, based on those where information recorded. This is according to figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre

Exploring the cost of care at the end of life

Exploring the cost of care at the end of life This analysis estimates the hospital and non-hospital costs for people in the last 90 days of life. It also explores whether reduced hospital activity and costs at the end of life were likely to be offset by increased care costs in other health and social care settings using the Marie Curie home-based palliative care nursing service. The results suggest that cost savings might be available if community-based support were made more widely available to help people to die in their own homes, where that was their preference. Nuffield Trust

• Research report
• Press release

Antibiotic treatments 'fail' 15% of the time

Antibiotic treatments 'fail' 15% of the time “Antibiotic treatments from GPs 'fail 15% of the time’,'' BBC News reports. In one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers estimated that just under one in seven antibiotic prescriptions in 2011 "failed".

This study examined the failure rates of antibiotics prescribed by GPs in the UK for common infections over a 21-year period – from 1991 to 2012. Most of the failures (94%) were cases where a different antibiotic needed to be prescribed within 30 days, suggesting that the first antibiotic had not worked.

In general, the overall failure rate remained fairly static over the course of three decades; 13.9% in 1991 only increased to 15.4% by 2012.

When considering specific types of infection in combination with specific classes of antibiotics, there were notable changes in failure rates. For example, when the antibiotic trimethoprim was prescribed for an upper respiratory tract infection, failure rates increased from 25% in 1991 to 56% in 2012. Reassuringly, failure rates with commonly prescribed antibiotics (such as amoxicillin) currently remain fairly low.

Single national licensing exam for all doctors to come on stream

Single national licensing exam for all doctors to come on stream GMC says ‘passport to practice’ will be fairer and more reassuring for the public. OnMedica

Too many care homes are 'truly awful,' watchdog chief warns

Too many care homes are 'truly awful,' watchdog chief warns Heartbreaking failings to care for the elderly must be consigned to history, says the chief inspector of adult social care, as a new system of regulation is introduced. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Care ratings to target 'shocking lack of respect' The Daily Telegraph
• Vulnerable pensioner, 88, died after care home nurses lowered her into a scalding hot bath and she died from her burns  Daily Mail

Alcohol-related mental health problems are a huge issue for older people

Alcohol-related mental health problems are a huge issue for older people Tony Rao, a community psychiatrist, spends his days managing vulnerable older people who may be at risk of self-harm.

The first thing that I do when I wake up is take a look at my BlackBerry. We have patients under the home-treatment team, which means that there can be a crisis at any time of the day or night that requires urgent attention. Once Ive finished that, I plan my travel for the morning, looking at bus routes to home visits. These visits can take far longer than other medical assessments. Assessments of older people with mental health problems generally take between 60 and 90 minutes, as aspects of both mental and physical health need to be covered.

Once back at my community mental health team, I check my caseload using an electronic patient record system, to check on the progress of patients currently on in-patient wards and to update myself on events for community patients within the past 12 hours. Continue reading... The Guardian

The only NHS hospital run by private firm provides ‘poor’ care, inspectors say

The only NHS hospital run by private firm provides ‘poor’ care, inspectors say The only NHS hospital run by a private company has come under fierce criticism from inspectors for a catalogue of alleged failings, including incidents of patients being treated in an “undignified and emotionally abusive manner”. Hinchingbrooke Hospital, in Cambridgeshire, was taken over by Circle Health in a £1bn deal in 2011, in an arrangement hailed by a Conservative health minister at the time as a “good deal for patients and staff”. The Independent

See also:

• Patients neglected at privately-run NHS hospital, watchdog finds The Guardian

Hospitals asking GPs to send fewer patients on to overstretched A&E departments

Hospitals asking GPs to send fewer patients on to overstretched A&E departments GPs throughout England are receiving emails from their local hospitals warning that A&E departments are under severe pressure and urging family doctors not to send so many patients on. The Independent

Wither quality?

Wither quality? To close the gap between the quality of care the NHS should provide, compared to what it does provide, requires improvement at a hitherto unseen scale. Improvers of the NHS, your time is now, says Richard Taunt. The Health Foundation

CQC sets out new plans for inspecting substance misuse services

CQC sets out new plans for inspecting substance misuse services At the heart of the new approach is a commitment to tailor inspections to the issues that matter to people using substance misuse services. More ..... Care Quality Commission

Staff friends and family test results published

Staff friends and family test results published NHS England has today published the first quarter national results for the Staff Friends and Family Test. Read our highlights. NHS Employers

Ebola-hit nations may 'face collapse'

Ebola-hit nations may 'face collapse' The Ebola outbreak threatens to become a political crisis that could unravel years of effort to stabilise West Africa, a think tank has warned. BBC News

See also:

• VIDEO: US: Ebola 'threat to global security' BBC News
• Sierra Leone widens Ebola quarantine  BBC News
• Ebola virus outbreak: 'Just two doctors' available to treat 85,000 people in Liberia county The Independent
• Ebola outbreak: We’re not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus, President Obama warns UN General Assembly The Independent
• Ebola outbreak: On the frontline of the fight against the epidemic in Liberia The Daily Telegraph

Chlorine contamination at NHS flagship sparks investigation

Chlorine contamination at NHS flagship sparks investigation Police were called in to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham after the discovery of high levels of chlorine in water and concerns of a possible link to the deaths of two patients. Channel 4 News

Skirt size increase ups breast cancer risk

Skirt size increase ups breast cancer risk “Skirt size increase linked to breast cancer risk,” BBC News reports. The story comes from a UK study of nearly 93,000 postmenopausal women that looked at whether changes in skirt size since their twenties was associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

It found that going up a skirt size every 10 years was associated with a 33% increased risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause. As an example, this could be going from a size 8 at 25 years old to a size 16 at 65 years old.

It's important to stress that the initial risk of developing breast cancer, the baseline risk, is small, with only 1.2% of women involved in the study going on to develop breast cancer.

This large study used skirt size as a proxy measure for “central obesity” – the accumulation of excess fat around the waist and stomach. While overweight and obesity is known to be a risk factor for several cancers, this study suggests that a thickening waist may be an independent measure of increased breast cancer risk.

The good news is that the “skirt size effect" appears to be reversible, as losing weight and trimming your waist size may help reduce your breast cancer risk.

Exclusive: Practices could merge into hospital-led organisations under Labour plans

Exclusive: Practices could merge into hospital-led organisations under Labour plans GP practices could be swallowed up by hospital-led integrated care organisations under Labour's plans to transform the NHS, according to shadow health secretary Andy Burnham. GP Online

See also:

• Labour's NHS plans threaten existence of general practice, warns RCGP GP Online

Its time to stop bullying in the NHS for the sake of patients

Its time to stop bullying in the NHS for the sake of patients Bullying whistleblowers has damaged staff health and cost employers sick pay and turnover

Bullying in the NHS is a serious problem. Robert Franciss 2010 report into the Mid Staffordshire hospital scandal said an explanation for staffs reluctance to come forward with concerns was that they were scared, witnesses described an endemic culture of bullying, and the report provides graphic examples of the victimisation of those who did raise concerns.

The omission of bullying from the 290 recommendations in his 2013 report was a serious mistake that Robert Francis could remedy in his current independent review into whistleblowing in the NHS. Since 2010, NHS bullying has further increased. According to the NHS national staff survey, the proportion of staff reporting being bullied, harassed and abused by colleagues and managers rose from 14% in 2010 to 22% in 2013. Staff surveyed said under half of these cases were reported while the proportion of cases being reported fell from 54% in 2004 to 44% last year. Continue reading... The Guardian

Patients waiting times on NHS a national disgrace GP leader

Patients waiting times on NHS a national disgrace GP leader Royal College of GPs chair speaks out as NHS figures show one in six patients has to wait at least a week before they see a GP

Intolerably long waiting times to see a GP have become a national disgrace that could endanger peoples health, the leader of Britains family doctors has warned.

Increasingly unacceptable waits for an appointment risk illnesses not being spotted quickly enough and chances to prevent them being missed, said Dr Maureen Baker. Continue reading... The Guardian

Cancer sufferers want more help from GPs

Cancer sufferers want more help from GPs One in ten cancer sufferers sees GPs five times before being referred to hospital, amid growing patient dissatisfaction. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Third of cancer patients unhappy with GP support OnMedica

MMR uptake at highest level ever but remain below WHO targets

MMR uptake at highest level ever but remain below WHO targets  The MMR vaccine is being given to more children than ever before but uptake rates still remain below World Health Organisation targets. The Daily Telegraph