KGH placed into special measures

KGH placed into special measures Kettering General Hospital has been placed into special measures after being rated as ‘inadequate’ by health regulators.

The hospital has come under heavy criticism from the Care Quality Commission in a new report.

Two out of five areas rated – safe and well-led – were given the lowest score possible following the inspection in October last year, meaning the hospital is rated overall as ‘inadequate’. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Kettering General Hospital Care Quality Commission

(Elective) hips don’t lie: data reveals pressures on hip replacement services

(Elective) hips don’t lie: data reveals pressures on hip replacement services Our recent report illustrated how financial pressures in the health system are having a very different impact in four different service areas. Whereas genito-urinary medicine and district nursing services have seen an impact on access to, and quality of, their services, neonatal and elective hip replacement services were not affected to the same extent by the same pressures. However, for elective hip replacement services, despite having much to celebrate it appears the impact of financial pressures is beginning to show.

National data shows that the number of elective hip replacements increased by 90 per cent between 2000/1 and 2015/16. While some of this growth can be attributed to population increase, the growth in the rate of elective hip procedures is far higher than the rate of population growth in the elderly, who are the main recipients of such surgery. There have also been dramatic improvements in elective waiting times (for all patients), with average waits reducing by about nine weeks since 2007. All of which suggests an expanding service treating more patients. The King's Fund

Referral-to-treatment waiting times and forecasts

Referral-to-treatment waiting times and forecasts This report estimates that the number of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for planned operations could exceed 800,000 by 2020. The analysis finds that demand for elective operations is rising, with the number of people waiting for treatment forecast to hit 5 million in 2020. The report recommends that patients be made aware of their right to choose where they receive NHS treatment in order to help patients access care as quickly as possible. NHS Confederation

Quality Principles for NHS Apprenticeships

Quality Principles for NHS Apprenticeships A set of principles to help employers in health care organisations deliver quality apprenticeships have been developed by National Skills Academy for Health and Health Education England.

NHS complaints procedures in England

NHS complaints procedures in England This briefing paper provides information on the standard NHS complaints procedures and also the other options available to patients. House of Commons Library

Charlie Gard case: Doctors can withdraw baby's life support

Charlie Gard case: Doctors can withdraw baby's life support Doctors can withdraw life support from a sick baby with a rare genetic condition against his parents' wishes, a High Court judge has ruled.

Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital said eight-month-old Charlie Gard has irreversible brain damage and should be moved to palliative care.

His parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard, from London, had wanted to take him to the US for a treatment trial.

They said they were "devastated" by the decision but intended to appeal. BBC News

Tainted blood

Tainted blood Families of people infected with HIV and hepatitis by NHS treatments still seek a public inquiry. BBC News

Two in five GPs set to quit in next five years, study finds

Two in five GPs set to quit in next five years, study finds GP leaders have warned of an 'enormous crisis' after 40% of GPs in south west England said they would quit in the next five years. GPonline

See also:

• RCGP calls for urgent action to stop GPs leaving the profession Royal College of General Practitioners 
• Two in five NHS GPs ready to quit within five years The Daily Mail
• Two in five GPs could quit soon with money 'not worth' the workload The Daily Telegraph
• Two in five GPs in south-west of England plan to quit, survey finds The Guardian
• Almost half of GPs plan to quit NHS due to 'perilously' low morale, survey suggests The Independent

Why axeing 18-week surgery target won't create more capacity in A&E

Why axeing 18-week surgery target won't create more capacity in A&E Reducing elective surgery seriously hits trusts’ financial performance and is no substitute for extra emergency care

Press coverage of the recent Next steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View [pdf] concentrated heavily on the argument that a lower 18-week elective surgery target in 2017/18 will make it easier to recover performance against the four-hour accident and emergency target. But false linkages between the two targets are hiding the real risk for the NHS.

While the lower elective surgery target is a welcome, but painful, acceptance of reality, the linkage between the two targets is neither direct nor strong. And overemphasising that linkage underplays the serious risks the NHS faces next winter. Continue reading... The Guardian

What we need is a national social care service

What we need is a national social care service A centralised, free-at-the-point-of-use NHS and council-run, means-tested social care aren’t working together – and patients are paying the price

Neil Kinnock was on the radio at the weekend, talking about his hero Aneurin Bevan with the journalist Matthew Parris and one of Bevan’s biographers, John Campbell. Any conversation about Bevan’s life is mostly about the NHS and so it was this time, too. But it was a useful reminder of how, among all the battles fought over its creation, among the fiercest was the question of replacing a patchwork of local provision with a single centralised structure that tried to guarantee that everyone got the same level of care wherever they lived. At that the point the radical, big-government approach petered out. Social care was left where it always had been, with local councils.

Councils argue that keeping older people well is about much more than care homes and clearing hospital beds Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS to offer tracking apps to those at risk of suicide and self-harm

NHS to offer tracking apps to those at risk of suicide and self-harm People at risk of suicide or self-harm will be offered tracking apps allowing the NHS to monitor their texts and alert doctors to changes in their moods.

NHS England is to announce a £35m investment in digital technology aimed at slashing sucide rates and boosting mental health.

The plans include trials of an app which will monitor the content of texts, and the regularity of phone calls, to alert services to potential risks.

The prototype, developed with Stanford University, means that software would detect the use of “key words” associated with heightened risk, as well as highlighting changes in behaviour - such as an increase in late night phone calls. The Daily Telegraph

Hip implant maker was alerted to safety fears, as surgeon told them: ‘It borders on unethical to market’

Hip implant maker was alerted to safety fears, as surgeon told them: ‘It borders on unethical to market’ British patients were fitted with controversial hip implants despite the company behind them being warned by experts that the type of device was unsafe, secret documents reveal.

A senior engineer working for DePuy reported in 1995 that metal-on-metal constructions were “unpredictable” and parts prone to “catastrophic breakdown” five years before DePuy’s hips began to be implanted in Britons.

More than 20,000 patients were later fitted with the implants, which experts say can deposit toxic ions into the bloodstream as they wear. Thousands were left in agony and had to have costly operations to have them replaced with safer alternatives. The Daily Telegraph

The progress and outcomes of black and minority ethnic (BME) nurses and midwives through the Nursing and Midwifery Council's fitness to practise process

The progress and outcomes of black and minority ethnic (BME) nurses and midwives through the Nursing and Midwifery Council's fitness to practise process This research, carried out by the University of Greenwich, explores the progress and outcomes of BME nurses and midwives going through the NMC's fitness to practise process. The findings highlight that BME staff are more likely to be referred to the NMC than their white counterparts but that BME staff are less likely to be struck off or suspended. Nursing and Midwifery Council

Care worker suicides in England are on the rise, says ONS

Care worker suicides in England are on the rise, says ONS The number of care worker suicides in England is on the rise according to ONS research seen by BBC Breakfast.

It shows the rate has been steadily increasing for the last 15 years and that more female care workers take their own life than any other occupation.

The Department for Health in England says it has increased funding to support groups who are at higher risk of suicide. BBC News

'I could have been paralysed'

'I could have been paralysed' An emergency treatment for strokes is being rolled out in England which could decrease the risk of long-term disability.

Margaret Kirkland says she could have been paralysed if it wasn't for the thrombectomy doctors carried out on her. BBC News

Rise in hospital cyber attack reports

Rise in hospital cyber attack reports NHS hospital trusts in England reported 55 cyber attacks in 2016, according to data obtained by the BBC.

The figures come from NHS Digital, which oversees cyber security, and show an increase on 16 attacks in 2015.

NHS Digital said the figures showed a "rise in reporting, not necessarily a rise in cyber attacks".

But Oliver Farnan, from the Oxford Cyber Security Centre, said ransomware attacks had become more common. BBC News

928 carers in England quit a day as social care system 'starts to collapse'

928 carers in England quit a day as social care system 'starts to collapse' Figures analysed by the BBC come as homecare providers write letter to prime minister warning of crisis facing sector

More than 900 adult social care workers a day quit their job in England last year, figures reveal, as homecare providers warn the adult social care system has begun to collapse.

Analysis by the BBC of data released by a charity, Skills for Care, shows that in 2015-16 about 338,520 adult social care workers left their roles, equal to 928 people leaving their job every day. There were more than 1.3 million people employed in the adult social care sector in England in the period. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Social care system 'beginning to collapse' as 900 carers quit every day BBC News
• How we can start a social care revolution in seven easy steps The Guardian

Let’s put our NHS worries in perspective – and celebrate what we have

Let’s put our NHS worries in perspective – and celebrate what we have Yes, some GP surgeries have closed, but it’s unfair to paint an apocalyptic picture. The reality is that everyone who needs a doctor will get to see one

The latest GP story to scare us witless says that a “record number of GP practices closed last year, forcing thousands of patients to find a new surgery”. Pulse, the GP website, highlighted NHS England data that shows nearly 100 practices closed in 2016 – a 114% increase on 2014 – and that more than a quarter of a million people have had to change practice. Cue claims that GPs aren’t coping with increased demand, the NHS needs more cash and staff – and that the whole system is teetering on the brink of collapse. Continue reading... The Guardian

People at risk of HIV in Scotland to be given PrEP drug on NHS

People at risk of HIV in Scotland to be given PrEP drug on NHS Aids campaigners say move puts pressure on England to end delays in providing the medication despite two court rulings

People at risk of HIV in Scotland are to be given drugs on the NHS that will protect them from infection, it has been announced, in a move that Aids campaigners say will put pressure on the authorities in England to end delays in providing the same medication despite two major court rulings.

In a major victory for campaigners, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) said pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would be free on the NHS to those who need it because they are at risk – for instance, if they have a partner with HIV. Access to the drugs could begin within weeks. Continue reading... The Guardian

How the NHS won't give mother life extending cancer drug

How the NHS won't give mother life extending cancer drug Bonnie Fox was diagnosed with incurable cancer four months after giving birth but the NHS has says she cannot have Kadcyla because the price is 'too high. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Breast cancer drug approved for use in NHS in Scotland The Daily Mail