Recovering alcohol and drug users leading service planning

Recovering alcohol and drug users leading service planning A new guide showing the benefits of involving recovering alcohol and drug users in the design and development of their own, and others treatment and recovery.

PHE’s Service User Involvement guide describes 4 different levels of service user involvement, from co-developing one’s own care plan through to initiating and running recovery-focused enterprises. The guide showcases a number of examples of unique services from across the country that have been set-up by, or run by, former alcohol and drug users.

Through tailored and flexible approaches that aim to provide skills and training, these services promote and maintain long-term recovery often acting as a crucial step into employment. Their involvement in services at all levels increases confidence in, and suitability of the services, while seeing the successful stories of others in recovery motivates those still working to achieve recovery. Public Health England

New safety standards published for invasive procedures

New safety standards published for invasive procedures A set of new national safety standards have been published today to support NHS hospitals to provide safer surgical care.

The National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs) aim to reduce the number of patient safety incidents related to invasive procedures in which surgical Never Events could occur.

These new standards set out broad principles of safe practice and advise healthcare professionals on how they can implement best practice, such as through a series of standardised safety checks and education and training. The standards also support NHS providers to work with staff to develop and maintain their own, more detailed, local standards and encourage the sharing of best practice between organisations. NHS England

Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: country experience

Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: country experience The financial and economic crisis has had a visible but varied impact on many health systems in Europe, eliciting a wide range of responses from governments faced with increased financial and other pressures. This book maps health system responses by country, providing a detailed analysis of policy changes in nine countries and shorter overviews of policy responses in 47 countries. It draws on a large study involving over one hundred health system experts and academic researchers across Europe. World Health Organisation

See also:

• Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: impact and implications for policy World Health Organisation

Alcohol and the public purse: do drinkers pay their way?

Alcohol and the public purse: do drinkers pay their way? This report estimates that the direct costs of alcohol use to the government in England - including NHS, police, criminal justice and welfare costs - amount to just under £4 billion each year, whilst revenues from alcohol taxes amount to over £10 billion. Institute of Economic Affairs

Blood test for dementia claims are premature

Blood test for dementia claims are premature "Simple blood test … could predict if you'll suffer dementia," the Daily Mail reports.

This study aimed to identify a genetic score that could be used to indicate an individual's biological age. Using muscle and tissue samples from young and old adults, they identified the set of genetic markers that could best differentiate between the young and old samples.

They further tested this "healthy ageing gene score" using other tissue samples, including blood of people with and without Alzheimer's disease. They found that the score was lower in those with Alzheimer's. Overall, this score is suggested as a marker for healthy ageing.

However, it is important to realise this study is in the early experimental stages and the score has so far only been tested in small groups of people with known disease status. It is not known how well it could predict future disease development. NHS Choices

NICE guidance confirms U-turn over 10% statin threshold for GPs

NICE guidance confirms U-turn over 10% statin threshold for GPs Patients with a 10% cardiovascular risk should not automatically be prescribed statins, according to a NICE quality standard that backs down from an earlier statement that the QOF should 'mandate' GPs to offer the treatment at this threshold. GP Online

Charity warns world is running out of snake anti-venom

Charity warns world is running out of snake anti-venom MSF says 100,000 people die from snakebites every year in one of the world's most neglected public health emergencies. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Snakebite antidote is running out BBC News
• VIDEO: Inside a snake venom research lab BBC News

NHS patients to be given option of travelling to Calais for surgical procedures

NHS patients to be given option of travelling to Calais for surgical procedures NHS patients in Kent are set to be offered the choice of travelling to Calais for surgical treatments, local health commissioners have confirmed. The Independent

See also:

• NHS 'to send patients to France' BBC News

Tests to diagnose cancer underfunded and staff overstretched

Tests to diagnose cancer underfunded and staff overstretched NHS services for diagnosing cancer are underfunded, understaffed, and key waiting time targets are being missed, according to two new reports from Cancer Research UK

See also:

• Scoping the future: an evaluation of endoscopy capacity across the NHS in England Cancer Research UK
• Horizon scanning: an evaluation of imaging capacity across the NHS in England Cancer Research UK
• NHS cancer services lagging behind rest of Europe The Daily Telegraph
• GPs denied access to cancer diagnostic tools due to NHS underfunding GP Online
• NHS cancer diagnosis services understaffed and need a cash injection to meet rising demand, say experts The Independent

Poor Beginnings: Health Inequalities among young children across England

Poor Beginnings: Health Inequalities among young children across England Simply by growing up in a certain part of England a child under five is more likely to have poor health that will impact the rest of their lives

The first five years of a child's life are critical to their future development. This new report is based on official data published by Public Health England. It looks at four key measures of young children's health and well-being - obesity, tooth decay, accidental injury and 'school readiness'. The report provides a clear picture of the health of children under five years old living in England and shows how growing up in different areas of the country has a dramatic effect on their lives. National Children's Bureau

See also:

• Child health data 'shows regional gaps' BBC News
• VIDEO: 'Every child needs best start in life' BBC News
• Child health subject to 'shocking' postcode lottery, says charity The Guardian

Action demanded on weekend NHS risk

Action demanded on weekend NHS risk The case for improving hospital care at weekends is "simply unassailable", medical chiefs say, as new figures on death rates are published. BBC News

See also:

• Increased mortality associated with weekend hospital admission: a case for expanded seven day services? The BMJ
• Seven day care - our view Royal College of Surgeons
• VIDEO: Weekend death figures explained BBC News
• VIDEO: Following a consultant working weekends BBC News
• Is there a Monday to Friday culture in the NHS? BBC News
• NHS weekend: 7-day services explained BBC News
• 11,000 people die annually because they go to hospital on weekend The Daily Mail
• 'The weekend effect' means 11,000 extra NHS deaths a year The Daily Telegraph
• Hospital patients admitted at weekends ‘15% more likely to die’ The Guardian
• NHS hospitals must share staff and resources to reduce deaths of patients admitted on weekends, says top doctor The Independent

Seven-day GP opening 'unachievable'

Seven-day GP opening 'unachievable' The goal of seven-day GP opening is unachievable in this Parliament and risks destabilising services, the Royal College of Surgeons says. BBC News

See also:

• GP access a top priority for NHS NHS England
• More than one in 10 GP roles in England vacant Royal College of General Practitioners 
• VIDEO: 'It's impossible being a GP' BBC News
• Plans for seven day practices are 'pie-in-the-sky', GPs warn The Daily Telegraph

Update on the current Cancer Drugs Fund list

Update on the current Cancer Drugs Fund list The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) has today completed a further review of the effectiveness of treatments it funds to ensure it delivers the best outcomes for patients.

Professor Peter Clark, Chair of the Cancer Drugs Fund and an oncologist, said: “There is no escaping the fact that we face a difficult set of choices, but it is our duty to ensure we get maximum value from every penny available on behalf of patients. We must ensure we invest in those treatments that offer the most benefit, based on rigorous evidence-based clinical analysis and an assessment of the cost of those treatments.”

NHS 'had no mental health beds left'

NHS 'had no mental health beds left' An NHS trust was told there were no mental health beds available across England for its patients, its medical director says. BBC News

High rise in indemnity costs for GPs, survey shows

High rise in indemnity costs for GPs, survey shows ‘Frightening figures’ may fuel recruitment crisis OnMedica

Breast cancer care quality threatened by lack of specialist nurses

Breast cancer care quality threatened by lack of specialist nursesA near 20% rise in cases of breast cancer in UK in last decade has not been matched by increase in specially trained staff

A shortage of specialist nurses to help people with breast cancer is threatening the quality of care, a charity has said.

A near 20% rise in newly diagnosed cases in England over the last decade has not been matched by increases in nurses, according to Breast Cancer Care. Continue reading... The Guardian

Tattoos to 3D printing: five inventions that will revolutionise healthcare

Tattoos to 3D printing: five inventions that will revolutionise healthcare People know more about their car than their own health. With these technologies, that is about to change

Most people know they are sick or their health is at risk because of symptoms – pain, temperature, swelling, rash etc. These are the alarm bells that drive people to doctors. However, new epidemics like obesity and type 2 diabetes can start causing damage a long time before symptoms appear, and no alarms go off.

Today we can meet these challenges with new allies. Beyond the health and fitness uses, the new world of wearables (external surface sensors) and, in time, digestibles (nanoparticle sensors that can transmit information from within), offer the opportunity to restore control back to us. Advances in biotechnology as well as material science offer us alternatives never before dreamed possible. Continue reading... The Guardian

Nurse returns to Kettering General Hospital after helping people with Ebola in Sierra Leone

Nurse returns to Kettering General Hospital after helping people with Ebola in Sierra Leone A nurse from Kettering General Hospital has described the importance of the international aid effort to prevent the spread of Ebola. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northampton war veteran with Alzheimer’s told he’s ‘too ill’ for care home ‘not ill enough’ for specialist care fund

Northampton war veteran with Alzheimer’s told he’s ‘too ill’ for care home ‘not ill enough’ for specialist care fund A war veteran from Northampton has been left with no nursing care despite having Alzheimer’s after a disagreement between social services and care home bosses. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

We need to step into the world of digital innovation

We need to step into the world of digital innovation The NHS mantra should be: “Every patient needs a barcode”.

That was the revolutionary thought outlined by Tim Kelsey, NHS England’s National Director for Patients and Information and Chair of the National Information Board, as he opened day two of the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2015 conference in Manchester.

He told delegates: “Hospitals across the country are spending more than one million pounds a year carting around records with staff driving around trucks of paper. Fax machines, treasury tags…these are entrails, the legacy of a dead world that we need to put behind us.

“Not so long ago I met a doctor who said that patients didn’t want computers and neither did he. We in the NHS have a moral responsibility to tell the story of why change is needed.

“If doctors have digital tools to remind them to get the right medication to the right patients at the right time, errors are halved. NHS England

See also:

• Speech: Using technology to improve delivery of health and care services Department of Health
• Securing public confidence is key to unlocking the power of technology to transform healthcare NHS England
• Failing to innovate would be a disservice to patients – Sir Bruce Keogh NHS England