Almost 100 people in Northants have died in past decade while waiting for an organ transplant

Almost 100 people in Northants have died in past decade while waiting for an organ transplant New figures show 89 people in Northamptonshire have died on the waiting list for an organ transplant over the past 10 years.

NHS Blood and Transplant revealed the tragic number of deaths to mark Organ Donation Week (September 4 to 10) and is now urging people to tell their families they want to become donors. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Over 450 patients miss out on organs that could save lives The Daily Mail

CCG reveals options for future of Corby’s Urgent Care Centre

CCG reveals options for future of Corby’s Urgent Care Centre Corby CCG has revealed the options for the future of the town’s urgent care centre, which it will decide upon next week.

An extraordinary meeting has been called for Tuesday (August 8) where health officials will make a decision on provision at the site in Cottingham Road beyond September 30. The current contract with operators Lakeside+ ends then, with Lakeside declining to take on a new contract because it says the CCG is not offering enough money and no other bidders coming forward.

Now the options for October 1 onwards have been revealed. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Negotiations continuing over future of Corby’s Urgent Care Centre Northamptonshire Telegraph

Getting serious about public mental health

Getting serious about public mental health Ten years ago, as a student of public health, I remember feeling surprised that mental health didn’t feature more prominently on the syllabus. It struck me then, as it does now, that many of the big issues in public health can be seen to some extent as visible symptoms of deeper causes related to psychological wellbeing. Obesity, smoking, and alcohol and substance abuse are all strongly associated with poor mental health. And yet public mental health appeared to be considered a niche interest. The King's Fund

Patient safety will be risked this winter without immediate funding and capacity boost for the NHS

Patient safety will be risked this winter without immediate funding and capacity boost for the NHS Time is running out for local health services to be given the extra funding and capacity to fully protect patients this winter.

As the NHS faces up to another tough winter, NHS Providers, the organisation that represents 97% of hospital, mental health, community and ambulance service trusts in England, is calling for an immediate emergency cash injection of between £200 and £350 million to enable the NHS to manage patient safety risk this winter.

Failure to make this investment will lead to lengthening waiting times for patients in A&E and other services and will also put the safety of patients at risk as local trusts have insufficient capacity to meet extra expected demand. The extra funding is needed to complement other work currently being undertaken to improve the NHS’ state of readiness for this winter. NHS Providers

See also:

• Managing risk in health and care this winter- update NHS Providers
• Time is running out to avoid a winter worse than last NHS Providers
• The worst is yet to come for the NHS - hospital chiefs BBC News
• NHS wants another £350m to avoid 'winter crisis' The Daily Mail
• NHS faces 'worst winter in recent history' without £350m emergency bailout, warn hospital chiefs The Daily Telegraph
• NHS warns of ‘dangerous’ beds shortage this winter The Guardian
• The NHS needs more money now or the country will face another winter of discontent The Guardian
• NHS 'must be given emergency cash boost of up to £350m or face worst winter in recent history' The Independent

Press release: 1 in 10 men aged 50 have a heart age 10 years older than they are

Press release: 1 in 10 men aged 50 have a heart age 10 years older than they are Heart Age Test is the only known way of measuring our heart age, which shows how many years we can expect to live healthily without a heart attack or stroke. The higher our heart age, the higher our risk.

Analysis of 1.2 million tesr results shows the majority of people (64%) with a heart 10 years older than their actual age are male.

Every month, 7,400 people die from heart disease or stroke. A quarter of deaths are of people under 75 and most of these can be prevented.

Public Health England’s campaign is leading the way in addressing how people think about their heart health, encouraging them to be as familiar with their heart age as they are with their weight or height.

Market shaping in adult social care

Market shaping in adult social care The last five years have seen a reduction in the number of residential and nursing homes operating in England resulting in 1,400 fewer homes. The long-term trend of increasing numbers of nursing home beds and decreasing numbers of residential home beds has come to a halt. This analysis highlights the fragility of the care home market, although the home care market is equally under pressure. It argues that local authorities must be prepared to be bolder and do things differently in order to shape the market. Institute of Public Care

Organ donors should let family know of intensions, says NHS

Organ donors should let family know of intensions, says NHS More than 450 relatives of organ donors declined permission to donate as they were unsure of their relatives' wishes in 2016, figures have shown.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) says families are reluctant to give their loved one's organs to patients.

Last year, 457 people died while on the active transplant waiting list, and currently there are 6,414 patients waiting for organs.

NHSBT says donors should ensure they have told relatives of their wishes. BBC News

Is it any wonder the NHS is struggling to recruit homegrown GPs when their job has been reduced to little more than delivering bad news?

Is it any wonder the NHS is struggling to recruit homegrown GPs when their job has been reduced to little more than delivering bad news? As the NHS launches a £100m drive to recruit foreign GPs, it’s hard to know what to think. Perhaps we should feel hopeful that a seemingly positive step has been taken to help with the current GP crisis in the UK. Maybe it will instil some hope in the smiling Jeremy Hunt who has appeared, of late, to be far busier arguing with one of the world’s most respected scientific minds than doing what we are desperate for him to do – fix the NHS.

Or perhaps, conversely, the latest step by the NHS to try to plug one of its many gaps serves to remind us of exactly how dire the situation is. So dire that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to recruit GPs to the thankless, underfunded task they face. The Independent

Let's fight the stigma around ageing and frailtyman

Let's fight the stigma around ageing and frailty Focusing on the physical deficits of old age means we are not paying enough attention to other aspects of health and wellbeing

There needs to be a radical shift in how frailty is presented as a health and social care issue. Last year, a senior NHS clinician wrote the following on the importance of diagnosing frailty:

Frailty remains an easy condition to recognise. Today, however, there are far greater numbers of older people than ever before, and while frailty can develop throughout adult life the numbers of older people living with the condition has increased substantially. With a highly developed healthcare system supporting us to later life, we should not be surprised when frailty declares itself as a health or social care crisis.

By pursuing an over-medicalised approach to frailty, we are in danger of ignoring other aspects of a person’s wellbeing. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• What providers should do to improve long-term care for frail older people The Guardian
• Who are you calling old? Let’s ditch ageist stereotypes The Guardian

Antidepressants work, so why do we shame people for taking them?

Antidepressants work, so why do we shame people for taking them? A new mega-analysis has found in favour of SSRIs. Time to give people who take them a break

British society just cannot get comfortable with the reality of medication for depression. Despite widespread use, they still attract disapproval. New research appears to strike a decisive blow against widely publicised claims that antidepressant medications such as Prozac, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) are no better than sugar pills for people with depression.

Elias Eriksson, professor of pharmacology at the University of Gothenburg and one of the authors of the new paper, said: “I think, once and for all, we’ve answered the SSRI question. SSRIs work. They may not work for every patient, but they work for most patients. And it’s a pity if their use is discouraged because of newspaper reports.”

We are invested in the idea of a grand conspiracy … an industry dampening human responses to reality for profit Continue reading... The Guardian

Expert demands urgent probe into 'avoidable' fatalities

Expert demands urgent probe into 'avoidable' fatalities The NHS has covered up thousands of ‘suspect’ deaths in hospitals across England, sparking calls for an urgent inquiry, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

According to the expert who helped to expose the Mid-Staffordshire hospitals scandal – where hundreds died due to poor care – health chiefs have systematically excluded up to 19,000 ‘unexpected’ deaths from official statistics over the past five years.

Professor Sir Brian Jarman says his shocking findings mean there are dozens of ‘potentially unsafe’ hospitals that should be investigated over high death rates, but which are being overlooked.

Last night, Liberal Democrat Health spokesman Norman Lamb demanded that Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt look into the claims as a matter of urgency. The Daily Mail

Mental health and behavioural conditions account for nearly one-in-three known fit notes

Mental health and behavioural conditions account for nearly one-in-three known fit notes  Mental health and behavioural conditions have accounted for 31% of all fit notes, where the diagnosis was known, written in England between December 2014 and March 2017.

This was the most common known reason for issuing a fit note, new experimental figures from NHS Digital have revealed.

Anonymised information covering GP practices has been collected for the first time. These practices are responsible for around two-thirds of working age patients registered with a GP in England.

See also:

• Society-wide approach towards parity of esteem between mental and physical health needed, says College Royal College of General Practitioners 
• One in three sick notes are for mental health problems, 'alarming' report shows The Daily Telegraph
• One in three GP fit notes relate to mental health conditions GPonline

Flu vaccine 'very effective' in children

Flu vaccine 'very effective' in children Last winter's vaccine reduced the risk of flu by 66% in children, according to Public Health England, up 8% on last year.

It's the best result since 2013, when children first received flu vaccinations.

In adults aged 18-64 years, the vaccine reduced the risk of flu by about 40%.

The UK plans to offer the flu vaccine to all children aged two-11 years. This can have widespread benefits, as children "spread flu more than others".

The vaccine, however, did not work in those aged over 65. BBC News

See also:

• Research and analysis: Influenza vaccine effectiveness: 2016 to 2017 estimates Public Health England

Labour calls on Jeremy Hunt to take 'urgent' action over NHS cyber security after alarming leaked report

Labour calls on Jeremy Hunt to take 'urgent' action over NHS cyber security after alarming leaked report Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, has been told to take “urgent” action to prevent another devastating cyber attack on the NHSafter a leaked internal report revealed a string of digital security failings in the health service.

The report, by NHS Digital’s head of security operations, Chris Flynn, said there was a “false sense of security” among staff over cyber threats and highlighted a range of security failings, including weak passwords and poorly protected patient data.

Mr Flynn said many NHS trusts, GP practices and clinical commissioning groups had good security policies but that they were not being properly implemented. The Independent

As a GP, I’ve seen how vetting hospital referrals can help patients

As a GP, I’ve seen how vetting hospital referrals can help patients The NHS is rolling out a scheme that makes non-urgent hospital referrals subject to approval. With safeguards, it can make for a fairer, more efficient system

The latest scare story about the NHS suggests that GP referrals to hospital will be increasingly vetted by a panel of other doctors who will have the power to refuse or allow patients access to specialist services. The NHS is rolling out a scheme that requires all family doctors in England to seek approval from a medical panel for all non-urgent hospital referrals, including hip and knee surgery, cataract removals, X-rays and scans. The “peer review” scheme is being expanded nationwide from next week following a pilot in two regions in the north-east.

The referral management system represents an excellent way to ensure efficient and equitable use of specialist resources Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Secret NHS cost-cutting drive to reduce hospital referrals revealed The Guardian

NHS to spend £100m bringing in up to 3,000 GPs from abroad

NHS to spend £100m bringing in up to 3,000 GPs from abroad Recruiters will earn about £20,000 for each new GP as part of the NHS England initiative to alleviate cripping shortages

The NHS plans to spend £100m bringing in up to 3,000 GPs from abroad to help alleviate serious shortages that have left surgeries struggling to run properly.

Recruitment agencies will earn about £20,000 for each GP they succeed in placing in a family doctor practice in England as part of the NHS England initiative. Continue reading... Recruiters will earn about £20,000 for each new GP as part of the NHS England initiative to alleviate cripping shortages

The NHS plans to spend £100m bringing in up to 3,000 GPs from abroad to help alleviate serious shortages that have left surgeries struggling to run properly.

Recruitment agencies will earn about £20,000 for each GP they succeed in placing in a family doctor practice in England as part of the NHS England initiative. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• International recruitment could make a real difference to GP workforce shortage Royal College of General Practitioners 
• NHS launches £100m drive to recruit foreign GPs BBC News
• NHS will pay £100 million to agencies to recruit GPs The Daily Mail
• NHS England offers £100m to firms to recruit 3,000 overseas GPs GPonline

UN panel criticises UK failure to uphold disabled people's rights

UN panel criticises UK failure to uphold disabled people's rights Charities say report is grim reality check and Labour says it highlights how disabled people are bearing brunt of austerity

The UK government is failing to uphold disabled people’s rights across a range of areas from education, work and housing to health, transport and social security, a UN inquiry has found.

The UN committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities examined the government’s progress in fulfilling its commitments to the UN convention on disabled people’s rights, to which the UK has been a signatory since 2007. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS rationing bodies refuse to fund treatment which stalls breast cancer

NHS rationing bodies refuse to fund treatment which stalls breast cancer A breast cancer drug which stalls disease by three months has been rejected by NHS rationing bodies.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence said there was a lack of evidence to prove that the drug called fulvestrant extended lives.

Some trials have suggested it could extend survival by more than five months, for women whose cancer has spread.

But Nice said there were weaknesses in such research. While trials showed the drug stalls the cancer’s growth by around three months, there was a lack of good evidence that this extended survival, they said.

The drug costs £500 a month, compared to costs of just pennies for anastrozole, and letrozole, which are currently prescribed for such cases. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Jab to halt breast cancer rejected by NHS watchdog The Daily Mail

NHS no longer uses post-it notes for heart transplants

NHS no longer uses post-it notes for heart transplants The NHS no longer uses post-it notes and whiteboards to arrange life-saving heart transplants for patients, it has emerged.

Instead of relying on the traditional methods, it has adopted new digital technology which can match donors and recipients in just six seconds.

The pioneering system is 300 times faster, experts claim, and has removed around 40 lengthy steps from the matching process.

Experts have hailed the 'groundbreaking' technology used by the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and said it will 'ultimately save more lives'.

The world first system has already helped at least one patient get a new heart. It is expected to be rolled out across the board in the coming years. The Daily Mail

NHS hospitals deeper in the red than reported, new analysis shows

NHS hospitals deeper in the red than reported, new analysis shows NHS trusts ended last year with an underlying overspend almost £3 billion more than was reported in their official accounts, according to new analysis by the Nuffield Trust think tank. Without more funding for the NHS, hospitals are unlikely to recover any time soon from a mismatch between the money they receive and the cost of providing patient care, the research shows.

The briefing, is based on analysing the accounts and financial data published by NHS regulators. By stripping out temporary funding boosts and one-off savings, it finds that NHS trusts ended last year (2016/17) with an underlying overspend of £3.7 billion. This was far higher than the £791 million reported by NHS regulators.

See also:

• The bottom line: Understanding the NHS deficit and why it won’t go away Nuffield Trust
• The NHS deficit is here to stay Nuffield Trust
• Hospitals overspend by almost £4billion in 12 months The Daily Mail
• True scale of NHS overspending 'eye-watering', new report finds The Daily Telegraph
• NHS trusts' overspend is £3bn higher than reported, study claims The Guardian