Scale of avoidable loss of life by suicide is unacceptable

Scale of avoidable loss of life by suicide is unacceptable The Government must prioritise a clear implementation strategy and increase support for public mental health and early intervention services if it is to bring down the unacceptable suicide rate, says the Health Select Committee in its interim report into suicide prevention.

See also:

• Scale of suicide unacceptable, say MPs BBC News
• Suicide: We must end isolation, says campaigner BBC News
• One in three suicide victims sees GP before taking their own life The Daily Telegraph
• MPs urge government to do more to combat 'unacceptable' UK suicide rates The Guardian

Doing justice to mental health in STPs

Doing justice to mental health in STPs Claire Murdoch, the national director for mental health in England, recently argued that some sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) are failing to do ‘justice’ to mental health. Following on from this, we might ask what justice would look like if we had it. For me, the answer would have to include making mental health central to work on new models of care and also part of the approach taken in STPs towards improving population health.

Ignoring the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing leads to some of the grossest inefficiencies in the health and care system. For example, we have estimated that in England, poor mental health drives up the annual cost of long-term physical health conditions by between £8 billion and £13 billion. The fact is – and it should hardly surprise us – that when people are struggling to deal with the social and emotional pressures in their lives, their physical health often deteriorates – and the impact of that is felt strongly in general practice, A&E and elsewhere. And yet all too often we act as if these issues should be of concern only to mental health professionals. The King's Fund

Policy paper: Impact of the spending review on health and social care: government response

Policy paper: Impact of the spending review on health and social care: government response This document sets out the government’s response to the 29 conclusions and recommendations made in the House of Commons Health Select Committee report. Department of Health

Policy paper: Public health post-2013 report: government response

Policy paper: Public health post-2013 report: government response The government’s response to the House of Commons Health Committee Report on public health post-2013 responds to each of its recommendations on subjects such as funding, improving public health, politics and evidence, boundary issues and fragmentation and leadership.

This response was prepared by the Department of Health in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England.

Improving care for people with long-term conditions

Improving care for people with long-term conditions This report, published by the RPS in Scotland, argues that pharmacist led care of people with long term conditions could deliver better results and be more cost effective. It focuses on the role of the pharmacist as part of a multidisciplinary approach to tackling the challenges facing the NHS in providing the highest quality care and support for people with long term conditions. Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Is air pollution really a public health crisis?

Is air pollution really a public health crisis? It could lead to a ban on diesel cars, prevent the building of a third runway at Heathrow and will certainly make it more expensive to drive in towns and cities.

Air pollution has been called the "public health crisis of a generation" - but just how serious is the problem? BBC News

Locums claim up to £155 an hour to fill NHS gaps

Locums claim up to £155 an hour to fill NHS gaps Staff shortages leave cash-strapped hospitals reliant on costly cover

Locum doctors are holding the NHS to ransom by demanding “excessive” rates of pay from cash-strapped hospitals, the service’s financial regulator has warned.

Some stand-in doctors are earning as much as £155 an hour for covering shifts in hospitals that are facing serious staff shortages, or in medical specialties in which rota gaps are common, such as A&E and radiology. The soaring pay rates have emerged through an analysis undertaken by NHS Improvement (NHSI), the health service’s financial regulator. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS cashes in on private payers as waiting lists soar

NHS cashes in on private payers as waiting lists soar Hospitals’ income from ‘queue jumpers’ rises while 360,000 non-payers face delays beyond 18 weeks

Income received by NHS hospital trusts from private patients has risen by 23% in the last four years, as waiting lists for non-paying patients have soared.

Under the government’s reforms, hospitals have been given the right to raise 49% of their funds through non-NHS work, often from patients seeking to avoid waiting for surgery. Prior to this, there had been a 2% cap on income that could be raised from private patients. Continue reading... The Guardian

The social care crisis is pulling NHS trusts further underwater

The social care crisis is pulling NHS trusts further underwater Managers tell of the equivalent of several wards of patients stuck in hospitals for want of social services

The government’s refusal to find any new money for social care will inflict significant and lasting damage on the NHS and the lives of its patients.

The local government finance settlement announced by the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, this week did virtually nothing to alleviate the growing social care crisis. He simply allowed local authorities to bring forward council tax increases and shifted £240m from housing.

Safe occupancy levels are now breached routinely, increasing the risk of hospital-acquired infections Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Do not wash your hands of NHS and social care problems, MPs told The Guardian
• Social care spending falling below £554 minimum in most areas The Guardian

Out of puff: UK becomes of the most successful nationals in Europe for cutting down on smoking

Out of puff: UK becomes of the most successful nationals in Europe for cutting down on smoking Men and women in the UK are both down overall in smoking with Sweden being the only country in Europe to have a lower proportion of smokers, according to a recent survey bu Eurostat. The Daily Mail

Social care needs force 50,000 pensioners to sell their homes

Social care needs force 50,000 pensioners to sell their homes Fifty thousand pensioners have been forced to sell their homes to pay for social care in the last year, despite a Government pledge that nobody would have to use their house to pay.

House of Commons library figures show that tens of thousands of older people have put their properties on the market to cover care costs, amid fears that the trend may continue because councils do not have enough money for social care. The Daily Telegraph

Hospitals ordered to stop vast majority of operations in crisis move

Hospitals ordered to stop vast majority of operations in crisis move Hospitals have been ordered to stop carrying out the vast majority of operations in a desperate bid to attempt to fend off a growing NHS crisis.

Health regulators have stepped in to order the extreme measures amid rising panic about how services will cope with mounting strain.

In an average month, the health service carries out about 600,000 planned operations, as well as urgent procedures.

Now hospitals have been told to stop carrying out most planned surgery, to focus on treating emergency cases. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Hospitals ordered to cancel the most 'non-urgent' operations until next year over winter fears The Daily Mail
• Hospitals ordered to divert patients from overstretched A&Es The Daily Telegraph
• Hospitals in England told to put operations on hold to free up beds The Guardian

'We just don't know how we will cope' says relative of patient at Northampton day care centre after council axes its contract

'We just don't know how we will cope' says relative of patient at Northampton day care centre after council axes its contract Northamptonshire County Council is to press ahead with plans to end its contract with a popular day care centre in Northampton, despite "hundreds" signing a petition against it and heartfelt pleas from the relatives of patients. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The Winter Insight: beds pressures

The Winter Insight: beds pressures Chief Economist Prof John Appleby presents the findings of a new analysis of bed occupancy levels from NHS England situation reports for last winter. The analysis suggests that the NHS could be on track for a very difficult winter this year.

The 25th of January this year – a Monday – was a particularly difficult day for the NHS in England. One in seven trusts reported that all their acute beds were full, and for nearly four out of 10, 98 per cent of their beds were occupied. And this was after opening nearly 4,200 more beds to accommodate extra patients.

On the following day, the number of extra beds trusts had to make available reached its highest level for the whole of last winter, when 4,390 extra beds were opened. That’s equivalent to opening up at least seven entire extra hospitals that day.

There was no respite during the rest of the week. University Hospitals Birmingham, Bolton, Northampton General, the North Middlesex, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, the Great Western in Swindon, Basildon & Thurrock, Epsom & St Helier and Kettering were all full every day that week with 100 per cent of their acute beds – including extra beds brought in temporarily – occupied. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• Hospital beds shortage in England 'an infection risk' BBC News
• Patients at risk in crowded wards over winter, researchers warn iNews

Policy paper: NHS bursary reform

Policy paper: NHS bursary reform From 1 August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health students will no longer receive NHS bursaries. Instead, they will have access to the same student loans system as other students. This guidance explains the reforms. The Department of Health

NHS England announces £101 million of new funding for new care model vanguards

NHS England announces £101 million of new funding for new care model vanguards NHS England has today (15 December) announced £101 million of new funding to support and spread the work of the new care model vanguards. The vanguards are partnerships of NHS, local government, voluntary, community and other organisations that are implementing plans to improve the healthcare people receive, prevent ill health and save funds.

Shaping healthy cities and economies: the role of clinical commissioning

Shaping healthy cities and economies: the role of clinical commissioning This report showcases how clinical leaders in England’s core cities - the eight largest cities outside of London - are looking at how the services they commission can improve not only the health but social and economic wellbeing of their populations. The report finds that in these areas, clinical commissioners are working with a wide range of partners to go beyond traditional boundaries to combat health inequalities and social exclusion, increase skills and employment and to attract inward investment to help realise the potential of their local economies. NHS Clinical Commissioners

GPs face backlog of over 100,000 patient letters after data warehouse error

GPs face backlog of over 100,000 patient letters after data warehouse error GP practices across England will be forced to process potentially hundreds of thousands of patient letters and documents kept by mistake in a warehouse by a former provider of primary care support services, the BMA has said. GP Online

See also:

• GPs to be paid for work stemming from NHS SBS failure to redirect mail Pulse

Sugar tax on soft drinks could prevent tens of thousands from becoming obese, says new study

Sugar tax on soft drinks could prevent tens of thousands from becoming obese, says new study A sugar tax on soft drinks could result in thousands fewer British adults and children becoming obese, research suggests.

Experts said the proposed levy, due to be introduced in April 2018, was likely to have a “significant” impact on health and obesity rates. The Independent

See also:

• Sugary drinks tax 'will benefit children most' BBC News
• Sugar levy is set to slash child obesity rates by 10% The Daily Mail
• 'Health by stealth' sugar tax could slash rates of childhood obesity by 10 per cent The Daily Telegraph

Watchdog accuses Actavis of hiking price of lifesaving drug by 12,000%

Watchdog accuses Actavis of hiking price of lifesaving drug by 12,000% Pharmaceutical firm challenged over price rise for hydrocortisone tablets from 70p to £88 per tablet, costing NHS tens of millions of pounds extra each year

Pharmaceutical company Actavis is facing accusations from the competition watchdog that it hiked the price of life-saving hydrocortisone tablets by over 12,000%, sending the annual cost to the NHS spiralling from £522,000 before 2008 to £70m by 2015.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the price rises took place after the patent lapsed on the drug. About 943,000 packets of the tablets – prescribed to people whose adrenal glands do not produce enough steroid hormones, such as those suffering from Addison’s disease – were distributed over the last year. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Six pharmaceutical firms accused of price-fixing BBC News
• Australian court increases fine over 'misleading' Nurofen BBC News