Plans launched for seven day hospital pharmacy services

Plans launched for seven day hospital pharmacy services “Transformation of Seven Day Clinical Pharmacy Services in Acute Hospitals” sets out a vision where hospital pharmacy services could operate more efficiently and safely, and 13 key recommendations of how clinical pharmacy services in hospitals can be strengthened – particularly at weekends – to benefit patients. NHS England

Doctors' strike in September called off

Doctors' strike in September called off The British Medical Association has called off the junior doctors' strike due to take place in England next week amid concerns about patient safety.

The BMA said it was not backing down in the fight over a new contract and further strikes would go ahead unless the government negotiates a new deal.

Medical leaders had warned the short notice meant care would be put at risk. BBC News

See also:

• Junior doctor contracts (statement) British Medical Association 
• NHS Employers response to industrial action being cancelled in September NHS Employers
• Junior doctors' strikes suspended The Daily Telegraph
• Five-day junior doctor strike suspended after NHS England talks GP Online
• Junior doctors suspend planned five-day strike in September The Guardian
• BMA call off junior doctors strike action planned for next week Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Next week’s industrial action cancelled due to safety concerns OnMedica

Doctors urged to offer 'exercise outdoors' prescriptions

Doctors urged to offer 'exercise outdoors' prescriptions Doctors in England and Wales should offer overweight patients "green space" prescriptions to get them exercising outdoors, says the Local Government Association.

The prescriptions could provide free visits to national parks or gardening sessions at National Trust properties, for example.

A small number of GPs already do this.

The LGA says it needs to become universal policy to tackle the nation's obesity crisis. BBC News

See also:

• Prescribing exercise outdoors could reduce obesity, say councils Local Government Association
• Social prescribing can benefit patients but extra workload must not fall to GPs, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners

Three people die every day due to organ donor shortage

Three people die every day due to organ donor shortage Three people die every day in the UK due to the shortage of people willing to donate an organ. With over 6,500 people currently on the transplant waiting list to mark to the start of Organ Donation Week, NHS Blood and Transplant is encouraging the public to start a conversation with family and friends about signing up to the organ donor register. OnMedica

I'm a better doctor for accepting that I have a mental health problem

I'm a better doctor for accepting that I have a mental health problem I denied I was struggling with my workload as a GP until depression hit and I resigned.

I didn’t realise I had a mental health problem. I’m a GP and it’s a common misconception that we don’t get them. We get stressed, of course. We get burnout – yes. But we don’t get mental health problems.

When I found myself working in a practice hit, like so many others, by the lack of GPs and nurses of course it was difficult. Spending days as the only doctor for 8,500 patients was horrific. On-call days started early with visits that were left over from earlier in the week because we hadn’t had enough doctors to go out. There was a list of patients to call back before the phone lines even opened, booked in by the receptionists because they had nowhere else to put them. Blood results to look at. Medication queries to answer. Letters to read and file. Repeat prescriptions to sign. Complaints letters to respond to. Care Quality Commission boxes to tick. Continue reading... The Guardian

How toothache is costing GPs £26m a year

How toothache is costing GPs £26m a year Doctors have warned that such visits have led to increased waiting times for those who need genuine medical treatment, saying that they are in ‘no position’ to treat dental problems. The Daily Mail

3,000 NHS bosses receive £100,000 redundancy deals since 2010 health reforms

3,000 NHS bosses receive £100,000 redundancy deals since 2010 health reforms More than 3,000 NHS bosses have been paid more than £100,000 in redundancy payments, with a further 500 receiving more than twice that amount, Department of Health figures reveal. The Daily Mail

Thousands of rural chemists saved from closure next month after government U-turn

Thousands of rural chemists saved from closure next month after government U-turn Thousands of local chemists threatened by closure have been given a temporary reprieve after the Government said it would not axe a vital subsidy next month after an outcry from rural and elderly campaign groups.

One in four local pharmacies had been threatened with closure after ministers said they wanted to withdraw a £170million subsidy for community chemists.

This meant that up to 3,000 out of the 12,000 pharmacies in the UK – many of which are in rural areas - faced closure. The Daily Telegraph

Men B vaccine has halved number of cases in babies, lab tests show

Men B vaccine has halved number of cases in babies, lab tests show The number of babies suffering from meningitis B and related infections has almost halved since a new vaccine was introduced, research shows.

Since last autumn, all newborn babies have been offered the jab.Those aged under one are at greatest risk of the infection, which can prove deadly. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Vaccine cuts cases of meningitis and septicaemia in UK infants Public Health England

KGH working around the clock to clear scan results backlog

KGH working around the clock to clear scan results backlog Kettering General Hospital says it is working additional weekend hours in an attempt to clear a backlog of people waiting for scan results. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NGH to announce cancelled appointments caused by upcoming doctors strikes

NGH to announce cancelled appointments caused by upcoming doctors strikes Northampton General Hospital is planning to cancel some operations as a result of the planned strikes by junior doctors. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Compassionate leadership in health and social care

Compassionate leadership in health and social care If you were to ask any member of the public what they want from health and social care, it’s likely that compassion from the staff who provide care would be high on their wish list. But in order to establish compassionate cultures that manifest on the front line, we need to begin with compassionate leadership. The King's Fund

GMC says patients will suffer if junior doctors' strikes go ahead

GMC says patients will suffer if junior doctors' strikes go ahead The body that regulates the medical profession has warned that patients will suffer if junior doctors in England go ahead with a series of five one-day strikes next week.

The General Medical Council said the scale of the action, planned at such short notice, could not be justified.

The first of four five-day walkouts is due to begin from 12 to 16 September, with the last being in mid-December.

Junior doctors are striking over a new contract which is being imposed.

The GMC has set out advice to doctors before next week's series of one-day strikes. BBC News

See also:

• Junior doctor contract negotiations Department of Health
• Junior doctors row: Medical leaders condemn strikes BBC News
• Theresa May tells junior doctors the Government is not backing down as BMA plans strikes The Daily Mail
• Only one in three doctors support strike reveals leaked document The Daily Mail
• Junior Doctors plan 15 days of more strikes before Christmas The Daily Mail
• Junior doctors are going to war with their patients The Daily Telegraph
• Head of GMC pleads with doctors' union to call off strike, warning hospitals can't provide 'safe service' The Daily Telegraph
• Junior doctors will harm our patients and our NHS if they back the BMA's unethical strikes The Daily Telegraph
• Impact of junior doctors' strikes will be even worse than predicted The Daily Telegraph
• The junior doctors' row overshadows the real danger of an unfunded seven-day NHS The Daily Telegraph
• Junior doctors will betray patients and the NHS by striking more. They should listen to the grown-ups The Daily Telegraph
• Junior doctors could be struck off over industrial action, warns GMC The Guardian
The Observer view on the BMA and the junior doctors’ dispute | Observer editorial The Guardian
• Junior doctors may desert NHS over contract, says union boss The Guardian
• Patients' groups criticise five-day junior doctors strike The Guardian
• Jeremy Hunt has got it wrong: junior doctors are not the enemy within The Guardian
• Labour defends junior doctors against 'militant and overpaid' portrayal The Guardian
• So, junior doctors, what exactly is it you’re striking for? The Guardian
• Unite doctors dismayed at decision not to ballot GPs on industrial action OnMedica
• Senior doctors query ramping up of juniors’ strike action OnMedica

No understanding'

No understanding' A culture of shame among South Asians is a barrier to members of the community with mental illness accessing help, says cricketer Monty Panesar. BBC News

Jeremy Hunt said 'what will the Daily Mail say?' when told about funding of HIV prevention drug

Jeremy Hunt said 'what will the Daily Mail say?' when told about funding of HIV prevention drug Fear of a public and right-wing media backlash could be holding back the funding of a new “game-changing” preventative HIV treatment, according to the leader of the drug's clinical trial.

The High Court last month overturned NHS England’s claim that it did not have the power to fund the prescription of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) pills to people at high risk of HIV infection.

NHS England is appealing the ruling, which sparked angry criticism from right-wing politicians and commentators – with some dubbing the new treatment a “lifestyle drug” and “promiscuity pill”, reported the Daily Mail.


In an interview with The Independent, Professor Sheena McCormack said the Government risks being influenced by public outrage instead of making a “straightforward, everyday business decision” according to clinical evidence and costs. The Independent

Welsh 'deemed consent' organ donation system shows promising results

Welsh 'deemed consent' organ donation system shows promising results Health officials encouraged by rise in organ donation consent rate from 49% to 59%, which may signal change in attitude

The number of families agreeing that their loved ones’ organs can be donated for transplantation may be rising more quickly in Wales than other parts of the UK following the introduction of agroundbreaking new consent system, new figures suggest.

Health officials and ministers in Wales are encouraged by how the so-called “deemed consent” system is working and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has said the picture in Wales is promising. Continue reading... The Guardian

Plans to deny surgery to obese patients and smokers put on hold

Plans to deny surgery to obese patients and smokers put on hold Vale of York NHS group to review policy that would mean overweight patients and smokers waiting up to a year for elective surgery

A health authority that suggested it would deny non-life-threatening surgery to the obese and smokers has said it will put its proposals on hold.

The plans by Vale of York clinical commissioning group (CCG) could have meant that patients who exceed a body mass index (BMI) of 30 would face delays in receiving some NHS surgery for up to a year.Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Obese patients 'surgery ban' in York to be reviewed BBC News
• Obese patients and smokers banned from all routine operations by hospital in 'most severe' rationing ever The Daily Telegraph
• Hospitals to cut costs by denying surgery to smokers and the obese The Guardian
• Obese people and smokers 'banned from routine surgery' as NHS attempts to cut spending costs The Independent

Zika could infect 2.5 BILLION: World Health Organisation warns virus remains an 'international health emergency' as it spreads to new countries

Zika could infect 2.5 BILLION: World Health Organisation warns virus remains an 'international health emergency' as it spreads to new countries New analysis of travel, climate and mosquito patters in parts of Asia and Africa found people in these regions were particularly at risk as Malaysia reported its first case of the virus. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Billions at potential risk from Zika virus in Africa and Asia NHS Choices
• No Zika cases from Olympics, says WHO BBC News
• Zika: Two billion at risk in Africa and Asia, study says BBC News
• In the race for a Zika cure, politics may not be working – but science is The Guardian
• Zika: More than two billion people at risk of catching virus around the world, study shows The Independent

NHS accused of delaying giving free running blades to amputee children

NHS accused of delaying giving free running blades to amputee children The National Health Service has been accused of delaying giving free running blades to amputee children on the eve of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

George Osborne, the former Chancellor, unveiled a £1.5million fund to pay for new running blades in his Budget five months ago in March.

However, with the Paralympics starting next week, the Department of Health has admitted that the cash has still not been spent. The Daily Telegraph

New complaints about KGH staff smoking near people’s houses

New complaints about KGH staff smoking near people’s houses

Hospital bosses have said they are continuing to work with residents to iron out any problems following a smoking ban across the site.
Evening Telegraph