Rising spend on NHS medicines could jeopardise patients’ access to drugs, warns The King's Fund

Rising spend on NHS medicines could jeopardise patients’ access to drugs, warns The King's Fund NHS funding levels are failing to keep pace with growth in NHS spending on medicines, potentially compromising patients’ access to drugs, according to a new report from The King's Fund.

See also:

• Drugs spending rising faster than NHS can afford The Daily Telegraph

New NMC figures continue to highlight ‘major concern’ as more EU nurses leave the UK

New NMC figures continue to highlight ‘major concern’ as more EU nurses leave the UK New figures from the NMC register which show a significant rise in the number of EU nurses and midwives leaving the register.

Between April 2017 and March 2018, 3,962 people left – an increase of 29 percent.

There continues to be a dramatic drop in those joining the register from the EU. Over the same period 805 EU nurses and midwives joined the register compared with 6,382 the year before – a drop of 87 percent.

Following a period of sustained decline the number of UK trained nurses and midwives registered to work appears to be stabilising. Those joining the register for the first time is at its highest level for four years while 4,034 fewer people left the register. Nursing and Midwifery Council

See also:

• Latest figures from the NMC show a continued increase in the number of EU nurses and midwives leaving the register. Royal College of Nursing
• Brexit blamed as record number of EU nurses give up on Britain The Guardian
• 'Botched Brexit' causing thousands of EU nurses to quit NHS as workforce shrinks for second year running  The Independent

Resources to support the safe adoption of the revised National Early Warning Score (NEWS2)

Resources to support the safe adoption of the revised National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) Failure to recognise or act on signs that a patient is deteriorating is a key patient safety issue. It can result in missed opportunities to provide the necessary care to give the best possible chance of survival.

Recognising and responding to patient deterioration relies on a whole systems approach and the revised National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), published by the Royal College of Physicians in December 2017, reliably detects deterioration in adults, triggering review, treatment and escalation of care. NHS Improvement

See also:

• Patients dying because staff missing signs of sepsis The Daily Telegraph
• NHS England hospitals told to spot dying patients sooner The Guardian

Mental health counselling in primary schools could offer a six-fold return on investment, benefiting children’s economic future and creating savings for taxpayers

Mental health counselling in primary schools could offer a six-fold return on investment, benefiting children’s economic future and creating savings for taxpayers Mental health counselling in primary schools could offer a six-fold return on investment, benefiting children’s economic future and creating savings for taxpayers

With a one-year investment of £4.2 million1, charity Place2Be delivers one-to-one counselling to 4,548 children across 251 schools, generating a potential societal benefit of £25.9 million, says new report by Pro Bono Economics for Place2Be

See also:

• Primary school mental health counselling may help economy, study says BBC News

NHS needs '£50bn extra by 2030'

NHS needs '£50bn extra by 2030' The NHS needs £50bn more by 2030 in England, a former health minister and leading surgeon says.

The prediction, by Labour's Lord Darzi, comes after Prime Minister Theresa May said the government planned to devise a long-term funding plan for the health service.

There is speculation this will be unveiled during the 70th anniversary of the creation of the NHS in July.

Lord Darzi's report has been supported by both Tory and Lib Dem politicians. BBC News

See also:

• The Lord Darzi Review of Health and Care: Interim report IPPR
• NHS will need £50bn year-on-year increase to survive, says former health minister iNews
• NHS to require extra £50bn a year by 2030, warns Lord Darzi Pulse

New prostate therapy recommended on NHS

New prostate therapy recommended on NHS A new treatment for non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, a very common condition in older men, has been recommended for use by the NHS.

It's called prostate artery embolisation. And it blocks some of the blood supply to the prostate using tiny synthetic beads, causing the troublesome tissue to shrink and die.

Officials say there is good evidence that the non-invasive treatment works.

And it can spare men surgery and side-effects, such as impotence. BBC News

Thousands of pre-NHS healthcare photographs discovered

Thousands of pre-NHS healthcare photographs discovered Thousands of photographs documenting healthcare in Britain before the NHS was founded have been discovered.

The 4,050 images, taken between 1938 and 1943, were uncovered by staff at Historic England's archive in Swindon.

The images show blood transfusions and sterilising equipment, as well as healthcare staff enjoying time off.

Abigail Coats, from Historic England, said the photographs show "how far some medical developments have come" and "what has stayed unchanged". BBC News

Party leaders urge Theresa May to act on childhood obesity

Party leaders urge Theresa May to act on childhood obesity Jeremy Corbyn among those seeking curbs on TV advertising for junk food and discount deals

A ban on buy-one-get-one-free offers on junk food, as well as strict new rules on how and when it can be advertised, are among a host of measures aimed at tackling childhood obesity proposed by the leaders of the main opposition parties in a letter to the prime minister on Wednesday.

The letter, coordinated by the celebrity chef and healthy eating campaigner Jamie Oliver, also calls for action that would make healthier foods cheaper and easier to recognise, adding that the NHS is struggling to cope with the burgeoning obesity crisis. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Official Statistics: Child obesity and excess weight: small area level data Public Health England
• How much sugar in cereal do children eat? BBC News
• Where are you on the UK fat scale? BBC News
• Ministers urged to ban fast food outlets from opening near schools The Guardian

Alfie Evans's father threatened private murder prosecution against doctors treating the toddler

Alfie Evans's father threatened private murder prosecution against doctors treating the toddler The father of Alfie Evans, the critically ill child at the centre of a bitter life-support dispute, threatened to take out a private prosecution for murder against doctors treating his son, it has emerged.

The Appeal Court heard on Wednesday that Tom Evans had talked of taking out the private prosecutions against three doctors for "conspiracy for murder".

Mr Justice Hayden decided at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester on Tuesday, that Alfie should not be allowed to leave Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool and travel to a hospital in Italy. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Alfie Evans: When are parents denied the final say? BBC Reality Check
• Alfie Evans: Parents and doctors to discuss sending toddler home BBC News
• Alfie Evans parents cannot take sick toddler to Italy BBC News
• Alfie Evans: Father says family now want 'struggling' baby to be allowed home The Daily Telegraph
• Alfie Evans' parents lose legal appeal for Vatican treatment The Guardian
• US conservatives use case of terminally ill child Alfie Evans to criticize NHS The Guardian
• Alfie Evans: The significance of terminally ill boy being able to breathe on his own The Independent

Homes of elderly should be used to fund social care, NHS head says

Homes of elderly should be used to fund social care, NHS head says Pensioners’ homes should be used to fund social care instead of major tax rises on those of working age, the head of the NHS has said.

Simon Stevens said the “accumulated housing wealth” held by older generations should be used to pay for their care, saying they were in a “relatively advantaged position” compared to younger generations.

The comments to MPs are set to spark a fierce political debate about how to tackle a growing crisis in elderly care. The Daily Telegraph

Patients are overdosing on paracetamol due to a shortage of dentists

Patients are overdosing on paracetamol due to a shortage of dentists Patients with dental pain are overdosing on painkillers because they are unable to access professional treatment, claims a new report.

The two-year study found that 38 per cent of emergency admissions for paracetamol overdose were a direct result of dental pain.

Paracetamol overdosing can occur after taking too much paracetamol over a number of hours or days, leading to liver failure, which may be fatal.

The study comes as Britain is gripped by a dental crisis, which has meant charities, normally assisting third world countries, have been forced to step in and help British patients as dentists are too busy to treat them. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Dental pain management – a cause of significant morbidity due to paracetamol overdose (abstract) British Dental Journal

Nursing in the digital age

Nursing in the digital age The Queen’s Nursing Institute has launched a major new report on the use of digital and information technology at its conference for Queen’s Nurses on 23rd of April.

The new report, ‘Nursing in the Digital Age – Using Technology to Support Patients at Home’is based on a survey of over 500 nurses working in the community, the document revisits a subject first analysed by the QNI in its 2012 publication, ‘Smart New World’.

The new report seeks to determine how far new healthcare information technology has changed in the previous six years and how skills and attitudes within community services have adapted.

NHS staff deliver more than 50 million babies

NHS staff deliver more than 50 million babies England’s top midwife says NHS staff have delivered more than 50 million babies over the last seven decades and is urging young people to consider the “uniquely rewarding” career. NHS England

Six things you should expect from social care support

Six things you should expect from social care support People have told us they want to feel listened to and involved in decisions about their social care. Here are six things you should expect from care services, according to new guidelines. HealthWatch

Parents facing 'unfair child abuse claims' over bruising

Parents facing 'unfair child abuse claims' over bruising Parents are being investigated for possible child abuse because of the misinterpretation of guidelines on bruising in babies, it's claimed.

Official guidelines from health watchdog NICE for hospital workers suggest such bruising is very uncommon.

University of Central Lancashire research suggested the guidelines mean social services are investigating parents too often.

Its research said more than a quarter of babies are bruised accidentally. BBC News

US soldier gets world's first penis and scrotum transplant

US soldier gets world's first penis and scrotum transplant A team of US doctors has successfully carried out the world's first total transplant of a penis and scrotum.

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, performed the operation on a soldier who had been wounded by a bomb in Afghanistan.

They used a penis, scrotum and partial abdominal wall transplanted from a deceased donor.

They say the soldier should be able to regain sexual function, which is impossible with penis reconstructions.

The team of 11 surgeons performed the transplant over 14 hours on 26 March. BBC News

NHS reorganisation could "threaten patient safety"

NHS reorganisation could "threaten patient safety" NHS England says Accountable Care Organisations will target funds and services more effectively.

Proposed changes to the way NHS services are provided in England will be challenged at the High Court in Leeds.

Campaigners are bringing a judicial review of plans to create new regional Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs) to oversee healthcare.

ACOs are part of emerging plans across the country intended to help integrate NHS services, encouraging hospital and ambulance trusts, GPs, local authorities, social care providers and health commissioning groups working more closely together.

NHS England, backed by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, says they will help meet soaring demand in the health service, ease pressure on hospitals and provide care in appropriate and cost-efficient settings. Sky News

A separate NHS tax would only further its fragmentation

A separate NHS tax would only further its fragmentation This ‘cross-party’ campaign to address the health service crisis will do nothing to cure the ills of privatisation

When MPs from different parties put aside their differences to work together, it’s worth listening to what they have to say – especially when it comes to protecting our crisis-ridden NHS. So when Liz Kendall, Norman Lamb and Nick Boles took to the airwaves this morning proposing a cross-party solution to our healthcare crisis, I understand why many people will have listened with interest.

I agree with a number of the proposals, including a commitment to keeping the NHS free at the point of use, integration of social care and increasing funding above inflation. But sadly – and I don’t doubt these MPs care about the NHS – I believe that the sum total of their “ten principles of long-term funding for NHS and social care” ​risk undermining healthcare in this country. Continue reading... The Guardian

VIP lab tours for child patients is healthcare innovation of the year

VIP lab tours for child patients is healthcare innovation of the year Malcolm Robinson, scientist and founder of charity Harvey’s Gang, named overall winner at Advancing Healthcare awards

A biomedical scientist has scooped top honours in the annual awards for therapists and health scientists for his idea of giving child patients VIP tours of the laboratories where their blood samples are analysed.

Malcolm Robinson, from Western Sussex hospitals NHS foundation trust, came up with the scheme when Harvey Buster Baldwin, then aged six, kept asking questions about the process. Robinson gave him an explanatory tour and arranged for him to have a child-size lab coat, cardboard security pass and goody bag. Continue reading... The Guardian

Talking about the ‘return on investment of public health’: why it’s important to get it right

Talking about the ‘return on investment of public health’: why it’s important to get it right The increasingly common misunderstanding and misuse of the term ‘return on investment’ and its conflation with ‘cost saving’ to public services – usually the NHS – are a cause for concern. The King's Fund