Tuesday, 5 April 2016

New social enterprise will be ‘a first’ for Northamptonshire

New social enterprise will be ‘a first’ for Northamptonshire New social enterprise First for Wellbeing has been officially launched in the county and it aims to bring an integrated health and wellbeing service to Northamptonshire.

The company is a partnership between Northamptonshire County Council, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Northampton, and is considered to be the first of its kind for delivering such a diverse range of services for an entire county. Northants Herald and Post

Funding worth £9m agreed for three scanners and two tumour-destroying devices at Northampton General Hospital

Funding worth £9m agreed for three scanners and two tumour-destroying devices at Northampton General Hospital The Government has agreed to pay for upgrades to expensive cancer treatment and diagnosis machines at Northampton General Hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Campaign launch calls for more people to donate blood in Northamptonshire

Campaign launch calls for more people to donate blood in Northamptonshire A new campaign to urge people to sign up as blood donors has been launched in Northamptonshire.

NHS Blood and Transplant says it needs first-time donors and, in particular, more donors from black and Asian communities. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Terminally ill Northampton woman denied benefits to have case reviewed by the Government

Terminally ill Northampton woman denied benefits to have case reviewed by the Government A terminally ill cancer patient from Northampton who was refused a disability benefit is to have her case reviewed by the Department for Work and Pensions. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Co-commissioning one year on: any progress?

Co-commissioning one year on: any progress? It is a year since most clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) took on a greater role in commissioning primary care services. NHS England reports that over this time, co-commissioning arrangements have helped to support local decision-making, enabled a more joined-up vision for primary care, increased clinical leadership and improved relationships between CCGs and local GP practices. The King's Fund

Challenges ahead for the newly established NHS Improvement

Challenges ahead for the newly established NHS Improvement The creation of NHS Improvement comes at a critical time for the NHS. In the next few months the service in general – and providers in particular – will be attempting to reverse the steep rise in deficits and, at the same time, stop the downward drift in performance in key areas such as A&E.

Beyond this, the NHS and its partners are also busy re-designing care through the vanguards and other initiatives, and re-thinking how the health and care systems work together as areas create their place-based sustainability and transformation plans – all working towards the vision of theNHS five year forward view. The King's Fund

Independent report: Dementia advisers survey

Independent report: Dementia advisers survey The report, from Age UK and IpsosMORI, contains findings from a survey into the provision of dementia adviser services throughout England.

Dementia advisers provide a single identifiable point of contact for people with dementia and their carers following a diagnosis. They have knowledge of and direct access to the whole range of available local services, providing advice, information about where to get care and enabling contact with other services.

Having a single point of contact was highlighted as being an essential element of effective post-diagnostic care in the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2020. Department of Health

Statutory guidance: Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation

Statutory guidance: Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation This multi-agency guidance on female genital mutilation (FGM) should be read and followed by all persons and bodies in England and Wales who are under statutory duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. It replaces female genital mutilation: guidelines to protect children and women (2014). Department of Health

Galvanising the NHS to adopt innovation

Galvanising the NHS to adopt innovation The Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust, in co-operation with NHS England, asked RAND Europe to conduct a limited consultation with key stakeholders about the practicality of measures and incentives proposed as part of the NHS Accelerated Access Review (AAR), which aims to assess the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. Through a focused engagement exercise with key healthcare stakeholders this project explored the implications of selected interim AAR propositions and feasibility of implementation for key actors, in primary and secondary care as well as commissioners and academia. Rand Corporation

Britain's top psychiatrist Simon Wessely challenges Government to ring-fence mental health spending

Britain's top psychiatrist Simon Wessely challenges Government to ring-fence mental health spending Britain’s top psychiatrist has challenged the Government to ring-fence spending for a comprehensive set of new waiting times targets that experts believe could finally achieve equality for mental health patients in the NHS.

Professor Sir Simon Wessely, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), said that claims from a former health minister that the new standards – the core recommendation of a recent landmark report – have no funding to back them up, were “crushingly disappointing”. The Independent

Seeing how the NHS handles attempted child suicide scares me

Seeing how the NHS handles attempted child suicide scares me The attitude of medical staff is a big problem, but it’s the system and lack of adolescent mental health beds that causes me the greatest stress.

Sometimes when I look into a child’s eyes I see anxiety as they decide to tell me they want to kill themselves. They might be worried at my possible reaction; will I show disapproval, be upset? Instead, I feel a deep sadness; how can somebody so young have reached the point in their lives when they think this is the only option left?

I am an outreach child and adolescent mental health nurse in the north of England. I act as the first response following a suicide attempt in a young person. I carry out a risk assessment, arrange follow up support, then decide if a young person is safe to go home, or needs a place of safety. Continue reading... The Guardian

Health charities urge talks to halt junior doctors' strikes

Health charities urge talks to halt junior doctors' strikes Coalition of 36 charities says contract dispute could cause long-term damage to public trust and confidence in NHS

Health charities have made a last-ditch appeal to Jeremy Hunt and the doctors’ union to resume peace talks in order to halt this week’s strike by junior medics.

A coalition of 36 charities have written to the health secretary and the British Medical Association warning that walkouts by junior doctors are now so common that they are becoming “normalised”. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

Patients going blind - because the NHS delays vital follow-up appointments 

Patients going blind - because the NHS delays vital follow-up appointments  Malcolm Johnson, 70, from Shropshire began seeing the first signs of an eye condition which, if not treated quickly, can permanently destroy central vision in the affected eye. The Daily Mail

Friday, 1 April 2016

More beds 'would save hospital money'

More beds 'would save hospital money'

Northampton Hospital chief executive Sonia Swart says more beds will address deficit and help staff facing a 'battle every single day'. 
BBC News

Temporary changes to access at KGH to allow for extension to A&E department

Temporary changes to access at KGH to allow for extension to A&E department

Kettering General Hospital is putting in place a new extension to its A&E department to improve urgent care facilities. 
Northampton Telegraph

Fit for purpose: workforce policy in the English NHS

Fit for purpose: workforce policy in the English NHS


As modern health care becomes ever more complex, designing effective ‘workforce policy’ - how the health service plans, trains, regulates, pays and supports its people to ensure affordable, good quality care - is one of the central challenges facing the system today. This report gives an overview of the components of workforce policy in the English NHS and the bodies which shape it. It argues that government and national leaders need a radical new approach to inspire an NHS workforce that is too often stressed, stretched and disaffected. Health Foundation
Report
Press release

NHS England publishes Business Plan 2016/17

NHS England publishes Business Plan 2016/17


Today (31 March) we published our Business Plan for 2016/17 which builds on three guiding principles which will shape our work in the year ahead:
Constancy of purpose and priorities
Coherent national support for locally led improvement
Solve today’s issues by accelerating tomorrow’s solutions
NHS Commissioning

Bringing together physical and mental health: A new frontier for integrated care

Bringing together physical and mental health: A new frontier for integrated care



The report identifies 10 areas where there is particular scope for improvement. These span the full range of health system activities, illustrating that change is needed across the system. Commissioners and providers can use these 10 areas as a guide to identify where some of the most significant opportunities for quality improvement and cost control lie. QIPP Alert

Bringing together physical and mental health: A new frontier for integrated care
C Naylor, P Das, S Ross, M Honeyman, J Thompson, H GilburtThe King's Fund March 2016 Read more here.

Ministers 'letting down mentally ill people' by not collecting data

Ministers 'letting down mentally ill people' by not collecting data


Shadow mental health minister accuses government of negligence in failing to record waiting times, suicides and deaths

Ministers have been accused of letting down mentally ill people by failing to collect basic data about waiting times, suicides and deaths, which would allow them to secure more funding to tackle the crisis in mental health.

Luciana Berger, the shadow mental health minister, has accused the government of “negligence” after having more than 50 freedom of information requests dismissed with the response that the data is “not collected centrally”.

The number of questions ​​ministers cannot answer is staggering. 

BMA launches legal action against junior doctors' contract

BMA launches legal action against junior doctors' contract


Doctors are challenging legality of decision by Jeremy Hunt to impose new terms and conditions on 45,000 medics

Junior doctors have begun legal action against the government to try and stop it imposing its unpopular new contract on 45,000 medics working in the NHS.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has launched a judicial review which challenges the legality of the decision by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to force the new terms and conditions on all junior doctors in England.