NHS to rank top 20 GP practices in Northamptonshire for sending people to A&E

NHS to rank top 20 GP practices in Northamptonshire for sending people to A&E GP practices in Northamptonshire are to be ranked for numbers of frequent A&E patients. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Special ambulance for frail Northamptonshire falls victims to be withdrawn by NHS

Special ambulance for frail Northamptonshire falls victims to be withdrawn by NHS A non-emergency ambulance service for frail people who have fallen is to be axed in Northamptonshire. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Social care budget cuts damaging the NHS, latest quarterly monitoring report finds

Social care budget cuts damaging the NHS, latest quarterly monitoring report finds This report examines the views of finance directors on the productivity challenge they face, as well as some key NHS performance data to see how the NHS is performing. Cuts in local authority social care budgets are adversely affecting health services, according to nearly 9 out of 10 (88 per cent) of NHS trust finance directors and 8 out of 10 (80 per cent) of clinical commissioning group finance leads surveyed for the report. The King's Fund

See also:

• Are we supporting or sacrificing NHS staff? The King's Fund
• Cutting social care budgets ‘devastating for individuals and puts more pressure on health services’ – RCN responds to King’s Fund quarterly report Royal College of Nursing
• Local authority cuts damaging NHS services, say CCGs GP Online

Report on selected summaries of investigations by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: February and March 2015

Report on selected summaries of investigations by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: February and March 2015 A new report has revealed the devastating impact that public service failures can have on individuals and how its investigations have resulted in the organisations putting things right for people.

The report is a snapshot of 192 case summaries of the 1,075 investigations of unresolved complaints the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) completed investigating in February and March 2015.

It includes cases about delayed asylum claims, nursing home patients being wrongly charged thousands of pounds for their nursing home care, delays in diagnosis which meant that one woman was left with unrelenting facial pain for more than a decade, poor end of life care and poor treatment of sepsis, commonly referred to as blood poisoning.

See also:

• It's just lady pains': Are doctors not taking women's agony seriously enough? The Daily Telegraph
• How an NHS hospital missed my broken back The Daily Telegraph
• Woman left in 'unrelenting pain' for 15 years after NHS failed to carry out simple scan The Daily Telegraph

Rapid Diagnostics: stopping unnecessary use of antibiotics

Rapid Diagnostics: stopping unnecessary use of antibiotics provides an overview of how diagnostics can play an important role in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, by reducing unnecessary use. It then looks at the problems with low uptake of diagnostics and how increase innovation. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance

See also:

• Rapid tests 'would cut antibiotic use' BBC News
• GPs hand out two thirds of antibiotics in error, Jim O'Neill finds The Daily Mail

Zero hours employment contracts - new guidance for employers

Zero hours employment contracts - new guidance for employers Read the latest government guidance for employers on zero hours employment contracts. NHS Employers

Latest statistics show a drop in sickness absence across the NHS

Latest statistics show a drop in sickness absence across the NHS The latest figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that NHS staff sickness absence has fallen for the first time in a year, from June 2014 where it was 3.95 per cent, to 3.94 per cent in June 2015. NHS Employers

Care pathways: guidance on appraising sustainability

Care pathways: guidance on appraising sustainability New guidance to enable sustainability to be considered when designing new models of care. The suite of documents will allow users to consistently appraise environmental impacts of health care pathways and can also be used when redesigning existing models or investigating the benefits of prevention. Sustainable Development Unit

• Guidance
• Summary
• Healthcare activity modules

First trial to prevent Alzheimer's

First trial to prevent Alzheimer's Most research into dementia is about finding treatments for people who are already affected by symptoms.

But a trial is under way in London which aims to prevent Alzheimer's in people at high risk, before they show any physical signs of the disease. BBC News

See also:

• Virtual reality 'predicts Alzheimer's' BBC News

NHS England backs 50,000-patient 'primary care home' pilots

NHS England backs 50,000-patient 'primary care home' pilots NHS England has endorsed a pilot programme to deliver care for populations of 30,000 to 50,000 patients under the 'primary care home' model championed by the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC). GP Online

League table reveals increase in NHS clinical research

League table reveals increase in NHS clinical research The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network has published its annual league table, revealing an increase in clinical research activity across the NHS in England.

The league table, now in its fifth year, details the number of clinical research studies undertaken by each individual trust, and the number of participants recruited into those studies. Continue reading... The Guardian

Radical action on childhood obesity will require political courage

Radical action on childhood obesity will require political courage PHE’s bold blueprint is a potential game-changer but past experience suggests the government’s response will be inadequate

Public Health England’s blueprint on how to get us all to eat less sugar is an important, detailed and necessarily bold document that could – if ministers act on it – change and extend lives. Having sifted the available international evidence on what works, its authors conclude that only truly radical action will make any real difference to the unfolding health disaster of our time.

Governments claim to want policymaking to be evidence-based. On obesity, and specifically sugar’s contribution to our expanding waistlines, here is the proof. It has been collated by the government’s own experts on public health; not campaigners or academics. As such it should be the roadmap that David Cameron tells the team of ministers and civil servants currently drawing up the government’s promised strategy on childhood obesity to follow. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Sugar reduction: the evidence for action Public Health England
• Sugar tax and offers ban 'would work' BBC News
• It's time for a sugar tax of TWENTY per cent, says official study The Daily Mail
• The Guardian view on obesity: there’s no way to sugar this pill. The UK government must act | Editorial The Guardian
• Public Health England obesity report: the key points The Guardian

Welfare cuts: Cancer patients face losing up to £120 a month in Government support, warns charity

Welfare cuts: Cancer patients face losing up to £120 a month in Government support, warns charity Macmillan's concerns come as George Osborne tells MPs that he is 'comfortable' with controversial tax credit cuts. The Independent

See also:

• At least 120,000 UK cancer patients depend on charity to cope financially in a year Macmillan Cancer Support

Visitors to Northampton General Hospital urged to stay away if family members have ‘flu-like’ symptoms

Visitors to Northampton General Hospital urged to stay away if family members have ‘flu-like’ symptoms Northampton General Hospital is asking anyone planning to visit the hospital to stay away if they or their family members have had diarrhoea, vomiting or ‘flu-like’ symptoms in the last four days. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Building healthier accountable communities

Building healthier accountable communities Over the past few decades England, like other countries, has worked hard to improve the health of its population largely by focusing on health care services – an approach that has not achieved better health for all. At our annual integrated care summit last week we heard from international and national speakers about how they are adopting a more systemic and integrated approach to improving population health. Three important messages emerged from the day. The King's Fund

Prevent, reduce, delay: are councils meeting their new duties to support unpaid carers?

Prevent, reduce, delay: are councils meeting their new duties to support unpaid carers? This research reveals that few councils in England have outlined how they are fulfilling the duties required of them under the Care Act 2014, which came into force this April. Under the Care Act local authorities have a duty to provide services to carers that prevent, reduce or delay them developing a need for support. But just 17 (13 per cent) of the 132 local authorities contacted by Carers Trust stated that they are working to identify carers and, of the 23 councils that mentioned having a prevention strategy in place, few provided details on the support they are providing specifically to help carers. The Carers Trust

Deaths data 'misrepresented by Hunt'

Deaths data 'misrepresented by Hunt' The health secretary has misrepresented a key study used to back the case for more seven-day NHS care, the editor of the British Medical Journal says. BBC News

See also:

• BMJ editor writes to Hunt over misuse of weekend mortality data  The BMJ
• Increased mortality associated with weekend hospital admission: a case for expanded seven day services? The BMJ
• Jeremy Hunt accused of skewing weekend hospital death rates The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt criticised for misrepresenting NHS weekend mortality facts The Independent

Mental health stigma campaign starts

Mental health stigma campaign starts A social media campaign to reduce the stigma around mental health in children has been launched by government. BBC News

Junior doctors to start strike ballot over hated Jeremy Hunt contract

Junior doctors to start strike ballot over hated Jeremy Hunt contract Vote on industrial action in protest at health secretary’s plan will start on Thursday, with strikes likely in December if motion passes

Junior doctors have moved closer to their first strike in decades as they decided to vote on industrial action in protest at Jeremy Hunt’s plan to impose a new contract on them.

The strike ballot will start on Thursday 5 November to see if young medics are prepared to take industrial action to force the health secretary to rethink his plan, which is part of the push for a seven-day NHS service. Continue reading. The Guardian

See also:

• Junior doctors to vote on strike action BBC News
• Junior doctors will vote over proposed strike action early next month: Move follows anger over cuts to pay on Saturdays and evenings  The Daily Mail
• England on brink of mass walkout by doctors, warns GP trainee's letter to MP GP Online

Spending review: the good, the bad and the ugly for the NHS

Spending review: the good, the bad and the ugly for the NHS The health service is getting more money but costs are rising faster and social care services also need help

Within the walls of the Treasury, a mountain of evidence is currently being studied to complete a comprehensive spending review (CSR) by 25 November. This will determine the budgets for each government department between now and 2019/20. To make their job ever-so-slightly easier the Health Foundation, an independent charity, has submitted its evidence highlighting the most critical issues on health and social care. This was necessarily a technical document with extensive use of numbers and supporting evidence. Here is a summary of the most crucial of the critical aspects. Continue reading... The Guardian