New guidance to help you with reflection

New guidance to help you with reflection New guidance has been published to support doctors to be ‘reflective practitioners’.

It has been developed in partnership with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMED), the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Medical Schools Council (MSC).

A reflective practice toolkit includes a number of templates and examples for use with the guidance.

Preventing suicide in community and custodial settings

Preventing suicide in community and custodial settings This guideline covers ways to reduce suicide and help people bereaved or affected by suicides. It aims to: help local services work more effectively together to prevent suicide; identify and help people at risk; prevent suicide in places where it is currently more likely. It does not cover national strategies, general mental wellbeing, or areas covered by other NICE guidance such as self-harm or mental health conditions. NICE

Private provision of publicly funded health care: the economics of ownership

Private provision of publicly funded health care: the economics of ownership This briefing aims to improve understanding of how economics can or cannot help to resolve the question of whether the private ownership of health care provision is good or bad. The economics literature that informs this overview includes: the theory of the organisation of production; theories of behaviour and motivation and the role of incentives and payments in influencing decisions. Office of Health Economics

Hiding my psychosis for 10 years from the age of 12

Hiding my psychosis for 10 years from the age of 12 Luke Watkin was in year eight at school and alone in a corridor when he first heard a strange noise.

"I heard what sounded like a train brake, followed by a metal on metal noise.

"It was just something completely out of the ordinary. It was a bit of a shock to the system, something I just couldn't understand or really process.

"My experience at the time was quite terrifying."

It was his first experience of the mental health condition, psychosis. Luke was 12 years old. BBC News

Targeted treatment for melanoma to be free on NHS

Targeted treatment for melanoma to be free on NHS Hundreds of patients with a type of aggressive skin cancer will be offered a targeted therapy on the NHS in England and Wales, which reduces the risk of it returning.

At present, they have to hope their cancer will not return after surgery.

The drug has been shown to improve the survival of people with stage III melanoma, with a particular mutation.

A skin cancer charity said making the treatment available on the NHS was "a huge step forward". BBC News

NHS smacks down hundreds of staffers for dodgy use of social media, messaging apps

NHS smacks down hundreds of staffers for dodgy use of social media, messaging apps More than a thousand NHS staffers have been slapped down for their use of social media and apps since 2013, with some even posting about patients.

According to figures released under Freedom of Information laws, at least 65 workers in the UK's National Health Service have lost their jobs because of the incidents.

The Times reported more than 1,200 employees had been disciplined for various unwise activities online, such as sharing patients' information, complaining about colleagues and gossiping about drinking. The Register

The government must be clearer with the public about how it shares NHS data

The government must be clearer with the public about how it shares NHS data Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, has established himself as a passionate advocate of technology in the National HEalth Service. In a series of speeches over the summer, he has shown his frustration at the fact that the NHS is “one of the largest purchasers of fax machines on the planet”. He has promised almost £700m for its neglected technology division and warned that where a new service challenges the system “the right response isn’t to reject the new service but to change the system”.

This is welcome news. But new technology alone is not enough. The rules on the handling of data in the NHS urgently need reform, too. They are arcane, outdated and not fit for purpose. iNews

UK heatwave caused hundreds of extra deaths this summer, figures suggest

UK heatwave caused hundreds of extra deaths this summer, figures suggest Hundreds of extra deaths were recorded in England as a result of a heatwave during spring and early summer, official statistics show.

In the last week of June, when temperatures rose above 30C, 382 more deaths occurred than the average.

During an earlier period of unseasonably warm spring temperatures in April, 243 more deaths were observed than the five-year average. The Independent

Early gender tests 'leading to selective abortions of girls in UK'

Early gender tests 'leading to selective abortions of girls in UK' Blood tests used to reveal a baby’s gender are leading to the abortion of unwanted girls in the UK, MPs and charities have warned.

Labour MP Naz Shah, shadow women and equalities minister, said the government must act now to stop the misuse of Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) to abort pregnancies based on gender. The Independent

See also:

• Call to ban early baby gender tests BBC News
• Labour calls for ban on early foetus sex test The Guardian

Health Secretary Matt Hancock backs 'second pension' plan for care

Health Secretary Matt Hancock backs 'second pension' plan for care Health Secretary Matt Hancock has endorsed proposals for every adult in England to pay into a second 'pension' that will be used for funding their old age care.

Mr Hancock said he wants people take more 'personal responsibility' for their health and care by regularly saving from their salary. The Daily Mail

Struggling ambulance trust will force patients to SHARE vehicles

Struggling ambulance trust will force patients to SHARE vehicles A struggling ambulance trust may get patients to share vehicles in a bid to improve response times under a controversial new policy.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAT), which looks after almost six million people, is one of the slowest at responding to emergencies.

In a desperate attempt to improve its performance statistics and drag it off the bottom of the league table, it implemented the new policy last month.

However, the scandal-hit trust's move has been branded 'crazy', 'desperate' and even a 'mess' by outraged politicians and senior staff. The Daily Mail

Corby health body manages to balance its books

Corby health body manages to balance its books Corby’s health chiefs have said they have managed to balance their £110m books with some spare change at the end of the last financial year.

Corby Clinical Commissioning Group - the country’s smallest CCG - had a spending budget of £110.097m with £2.002m of savings to make. They managed it with £71,000 to spare.

Although the full accounts have not yet been signed off so are not available to view, interim chief financial officer Stuart Rees who joined Corby CCG on April 1, said that there was lots of work to do to ensure the organisation stayed in the black. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northampton-based charity spent £4 million on failed projects

Northampton-based charity spent £4 million on failed projects St Andrew's Healthcare spent millions of pounds on two projects that brought no benefit to its patients or staff, its latest accounts show.

The registered charity that runs St Andrew's Hospital has disclosed in its 2017/2018 annual report that £2,1 million was spent looking into whether it should expand its Birmingham operation, a venture which never transpired. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Ambulance crews attacked 135 times in 12 months in Northamptonshire

Ambulance crews attacked 135 times in 12 months in Northamptonshire East Midlands Ambulance Service has welcomed the news that anyone who assault an ambulance crew member could face a doubled prison sentence.

It comes after frontline staff suffered 476 assaults since April, including five incidents involving spitting, five involving knives, two involving firearms and three involving racial abuse.

In Northamptonshire, there were 135 assaults in 2017/2018, eleven of which caused injury and 41 of which when the assailant was drunk. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Acute medical care in England: Findings from a survey of smaller acute hospitals

Acute medical care in England: Findings from a survey of smaller acute hospitals This profile of smaller hospitals in England finds trusts struggling to recruit and retain acute medical staff. Services across the country are configured in a wide variety of ways, with little evidence of an 'ideal' model for acute medical care emerging from our research. Nuffield Trust

Social care funding in England: call for evidence

Social care funding in England: call for evidence This inquiry will focus on the funding challenges faced by the social care system in England. The Committee is seeking to assess the effectiveness of different funding models, the shortfalls in delivery and to make recommendations on how future social care demands can be met in England. The deadline for submissions is 9 October 2018. House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee

Pathologists shortage 'delaying cancer diagnosis'

Pathologists shortage 'delaying cancer diagnosis' Patients are facing delays in diagnosis because of severe shortages among pathology staff, according to a report seen by the BBC.

A survey by the Royal College of Pathologists found only 3% of the NHS histopathology departments that responded had enough staff.

Histopathologists are doctors and scientists who diagnose and study diseases such as cancer.

Hundreds more pathologists are now working in the NHS, health chiefs said. BBC News

NHS bosses will be sacked if they fail to stamp out 'alarming' bullying of hospital staff

NHS bosses will be sacked if they fail to stamp out 'alarming' bullying of hospital staff NHS bosses will be sacked if they fail to stamp out what ministers admit are “alarming” levels of bullying of hospital staff, under a new crackdown.

A “fit and proper person” test is set to be toughened to include a legal duty to act on the victimisation of health workers by both patients and colleagues, The Independent has learnt.

The uncomfortable truth is that many psychiatric wards have a culture of sexual assault

The uncomfortable truth is that many psychiatric wards have a culture of sexual assault Sexual assault and harassment is “commonplace” on inpatient psychiatric wards, according to Dr Paul Lelliott, the deputy chief inspector of hospitals and mental health lead at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following the publication of an important, national report this week. This is not news to psychiatric patients, who have been raising the issue for more than 50 years. Will this report provide the #MeToo wake-up call on sexual violence that mental health services desperately need? Or will the currents of denial, avoidance, victim blaming and silencing that swirl around sexual assault, and which psychiatric discourse specifically enable, block progress as they have time and time again? The Independent

Matt Hancock, you need to hear what happened to my daughter during a mental health crisis

Matt Hancock, you need to hear what happened to my daughter during a mental health crisis My daughter has endured the most devastating lack of continuity of care during the past six years under a depleted mental health service. The Independent

See also:

• Out of Area Placements in Mental Health Services - June 2018 NHS Digital
• Mental health patients sent 300 miles from home due to lack of beds The Guardian