Highest-ever number of A&E patients visit Northampton General Hospital... and half shouldn't have been there

Highest-ever number of A&E patients visit Northampton General Hospital... and half shouldn't have been there The accident and emergency department at NGH is currently seeing record numbers of patients with yet another increase this week. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Quality of care under threat as NHS enters watershed year

Quality of care under threat as NHS enters watershed year Nearly two-thirds of NHS trust finance directors and more than half of clinical commissioning groups (CCG) finance leads say the quality of patient care in their area has deteriorated over the past year, according to the latest Quarterly Monitoring Report from The King’s Fund.

The findings on the quality of care are the most worrying since The King’s Fund began tracking this question in 2012. Only 2 per cent of trust finance directors and 12 per cent of CCG finance leads said that patient care had improved over the past 12 months.

See also:

• New NHS inflation figures underline funding pressures facing the NHS The King's Fund
• NHS faces 'Herculean challenge' amid worsening care and finances The Daily Telegraph
• NHS trust finance directors critical of patient care quality The Guardian

Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: final report and recommendations

Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: final report and recommendations This report outlines the Review’s final recommendations. It first discusses the mounting problem of resistance and why action is needed to combat it and then provides an overview of the solutions that the Review thinks should be implemented to curtail unnecessary use and increase the supply of new antimicrobials. It then looks at the role of public awareness campaigns, the need to improve sanitation and hygiene, reduce pollution from agriculture and the environment, improve global surveillance, introduce rapid diagnostics and vaccines, the need to increase the number of people in this area, and use of market entry rewards and an innovation fund to generate more drugs. Finally the paper examines how these solutions can be funded and looks at ways to build political consensus around them. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance 

See also:

• RCGP response to Lord O'Neill's review of antibiotics resistance Royal College of General Practitioners
• Superbugs to 'kill every three seconds' BBC News
• Superbugs tsar urges crackdown over fears infections 'will kill more than cancer' The Daily Mail
• Antibiotics will soon stop working and cause major health treatments to be unsafe, major report warns The Independent

Failure to provide regular health checks and basic information about medication is still leaving people with mental illness at risk of a dramatically shortened life

Failure to provide regular health checks and basic information about medication is still leaving people with mental illness at risk of a dramatically shortened life A new survey launched, to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week, highlights that people with mental illness are being prescribed medication without understanding the risks and side effects, and going without vital health checks.

The survey was conducted with over 200 people who are on - or caring for someone on - anti-psychotic medication, commonly prescribed for conditions including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Nearly two thirds (62%) said the risks, benefits and side effects were not adequately explained to them. Rethink Mental Illness

See also:

• People with mental illness losing out on health checks OnMedica

NHS England sets out local NHS funding growth to 2020

NHS England sets out local NHS funding growth to 2020 NHS England today published indicative figures for how much each part of England could see its NHS budget grow by 2020, and the funding available for transformation. This will help local NHS and care leaders develop their Sustainability & Transformation plans. NHS England

New framework for nursing, midwifery and care staff

New framework for nursing, midwifery and care staff Jane Cummings, chief nursing officer for England, launches a new framework encouraging all nursing, midwifery and care staff to help transform the health and care sector. NHS Employers

See also:

• Nursing, midwifery and care staff should lead change, says England’s Chief Nursing Officer NHS England

Deal on junior doctor contract 'agreed'

Deal on junior doctor contract 'agreed' A deal has been agreed in the long-running dispute over a new junior doctors' contract in England after eight days of talks. BBC News

See also:

• Junior doctors' dispute ends as BMA and Government agree deal on new contract The Daily Telegraph
• BMA: New deal will see improvement for doctors, NHS and patients The Daily Telegraph
• BMA agrees junior doctor contract deal as emergency talks end GP Online
• Junior doctors and Jeremy Hunt agree deal to end contract dispute The Guardian
• Junior doctors' contract deal: what was agreed The Guardian

Bankers' bonus-style performance pay for GPs putting lives at risk, researchers warn

Bankers' bonus-style performance pay for GPs putting lives at risk, researchers warn The scheme reportedly costs £1 billion per year and was introduced by Labour under Tony Blair's premiership. The Independent

Have men been let down over mental health?

Have men been let down over mental health? Suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 49 in the UK, and stereotypes of masculinity make it hard for men to discuss their problems

‘He was the life and soul of the party, but inside he was battling serious demons. He was a 25-year-old man who looked to have everything going for him, but he couldn’t vocalise his problems.” That is how Rowland Bennett describes his best friend Charlie Berry, who took his own life a year ago.

Suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 49 in the UK, and men are three times more likely to take their own lives than women. According to campaigners, most men thinking about suicide never talk to anyone about the problems that have brought them to crisis point. Continue reading... The Guardian

Mental health beds shouldn't be so hard to find

Mental health beds shouldn't be so hard to find The practice of transferring patients with mental health issues long distances for acute care needs to end, demands report led by former NHS chief Nigel Crisp

Every month, about 500 mentally ill people travel more than 30 miles for an inpatient bed: the long distances they are required to travel is usually due to a lack of local provision. This was outlined in a recent report from the independent commission into adult acute mental healthcare, supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and led by ex-NHS chief executive Nigel Crisp. The report demands include a deadline of October 2017 to stop the practice of sending severely ill patients miles from home.

“Transferring patients long distances for acute care is bad for patients and their families, bad for the system and very expensive,” Crisp says. “We met with trusts that had phased this out over a period of a year and improved services and staff morale as well as saved money while doing so. NHS England should accept our target.” Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Norman Lamb: Shunting people with mental illness across the country is utterly inhumane The Guardian
• Mental health and the NHS: a story of staff shortages and specialisms The Guardian

Zika expected to spread to Europe this summer, says WHO

Zika expected to spread to Europe this summer, says WHO The Zika virus is expected to spread to Europe in coming months, with some of the most popular holiday destinations for Britons likely to carry risks of disease transmission, the World Health Organisation has declared. The Daily Telegraph

Education, education, mental health: supporting secondary schools to play a central role in early intervention mental health services

Education, education, mental health: supporting secondary schools to play a central role in early intervention mental health services This report argues that early intervention mental health for children and young people needs to be 'rejuvenated' and that secondary schools should play a central role in this, complementing wider community and NHS provision. It identifies variation in the availability and quality of school-based early intervention provision and highlights the need for high-level national strategic leadership on the part of the government in leading the change on this. Institute for Public Policy Research

Stroke survivors ‘abandoned’ after treatment

Stroke survivors ‘abandoned’ after treatment Almost half (45%) of stroke survivors in England feel abandoned when they leave hospital, according to new figures published by the Stroke Association

See also:

• Stroke victims abandoned after they leave hospital as experts attack aftercare The Daily Mail
• Student criticises lack of support after having a third of her skull removed in stroke operation The Independent

Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report for 2014 Births

Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report for 2014 Births There has been slight fall in the rates of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in the UK compared with rates in 2013 which continues the downward trend in rates from 2003 onwards. However, the overall trend masks variations in rates across the UK. MBRRACE-UK

See also:

• Babies in some parts of Britain are much more likely to be stillborn or die in first month The Daily Mail

'Hidden army' of carers in their 80s

'Hidden army' of carers in their 80s The number of people in their 80s or older who are relied on as carers has rocketed in the last seven years, according to a charity. BBC News

See also:

• Invisible army of oldest carers saving state billions Age UK
• Commitment to Carers – improving carer health and wellbeing NHS England
• Care is where the home is – Dr Mahiben Maruthappu NHS England

Abortion rates 'fairly constant'

Abortion rates 'fairly constant' Department of Health figures suggest abortion rates for England and Wales have remained "fairly constant", with 184,571 abortions in 2015. BBC News

See also:

• National Statistics: Report on abortion statistics in England and Wales for 2015 Department of Health
• Rise in abortion rate among women with partners and over 30s The Daily Mail
• Record abortion levels among older women and those in relationships The Daily Telegraph

'Road rage' trust to review 10 killings

'Road rage' trust to review 10 killings Ten killings involving patients of a mental health trust will be reviewed after the conviction of a man who stabbed a motorist to death. BBC News

Poor CQC ratings linked to poor practice funding

Poor CQC ratings linked to poor practice funding NHS England must ensure that GP practices receive an uplift in funding that results in every practice in England getting the same high level of support, the BMA has insisted after research revealed a strong link between practices’ level of funding and their Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings. It said it was wrong to unfairly judge practices when they are not being properly resourced to provide good patient care. OnMedica

See also:

• Urgent prescription for general practice: Comparing CQC ratings with patient funding British Medical Association
• Comparing per patient funding levels with published CQC ratings of practices (download) British Medical Association

Deal on junior doctors' contracts 'nearly there' after progress in talks

Deal on junior doctors' contracts 'nearly there' after progress in talks Outline of revised contract expected to be published, which will be put to ballot of BMA members

Hopes are rising that the bitter NHS junior doctors dispute could soon be over, with an announcement expexted on Wednesday that peace talks have produced a compromise deal.


The Department of Health and British Medical Association believe that after what both privately describe as positive negotiations in the last 10 days, the outline of a revised contract for junior doctors in England will be published. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Junior Doctors' bitter contract dispute could be resolved within hours as talks enter final day The Daily Mail

Tackling underfunding in children’s mental health services

Tackling underfunding in children’s mental health services The government has promised a national network of crisis and home-treatment teams to cope with increasing demand for services

Ask anyone involved with children’s mental health services what the biggest problem facing them is, and they will say one of two things: funding and demand. “There is a historic legacy of underfunding and neglect,” says Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Claire Tyler, chair of the recent commission set up to look at how to improve mental health services for children and young people. There is also an unprecedented level of need: Wales alone witnessed a 100% increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health services between 2010 and 2014.

But the previous coalition and current Conservative governments have put a focus on improving services. In the March 2015 budget, just before the general election, the government promised an extra £250m a year for five years to mental health services for young people, pregnant women and new mothers. In February, the government endorsed the key targets for children and young people’s services proposed by the independent Mental Health Taskforce. These include a maximum two-week referral for a child or adolescent following their first psychotic episode, and the development of a national network of crisis and home-treatment teams which will offer young people intensive support at home rather than in hospital. It is hoped that these moves will help support at least 70,000 more young people a year with mental health issues by 2020-21. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Perinatal mental health should be a priority The Guardian