Merger proposed for Northamptonshire's two health commissioning groups

Merger proposed for Northamptonshire's two health commissioning groups The two organisations that commission Northamptonshire’s health services could join together.

The move has been put to the governing bodies of both the Nene Clinical Commissioning Group and the Corby Clinical Commissioning Group by their joint chief executive Toby Sanders who joined the trusts in November.

Corby is the smallest CCG in the country and commissions services specifically for the Corby area. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Parity of esteem: delivering physical health equality for those with serious mental health needs

Parity of esteem: delivering physical health equality for those with serious mental health needs This report gives an overview of the work the RCN is doing to address the mortality gap between people with serious mental illness and the rest of the population as well as our work towards establishing parity of esteem between mental and physical health. Royal College of Nursing

Interim report: Review of restraint, prolonged seclusion and segregation for people with a mental health problem, a learning disability and or autism

Interim report: Review of restraint, prolonged seclusion and segregation for people with a mental health problem, a learning disability and or autism This report gives the interim findings from our review of the use of restrictive interventions in places that provide care for people with mental health problems, a learning disability and/or autism. Care Quality Commission

See also:

• 'Broken' care system for most vulnerable BBC News
• Autism scandal: children as young as 11 locked in isolation for years on end The Daily Telegraph

15-minute minimum consultations, continuity of care through 'micro-teams', and an end to isolated working: this is the future of general practice

15-minute minimum consultations, continuity of care through 'micro-teams', and an end to isolated working: this is the future of general practice It states that by 2030 face-to-face GP consultations will be at least 15 minutes, with longer for those patients who need it.

Recent research showed that the UK offers some of the shortest GP consultations amongst economically-advanced nations at 9.2 minutes – with another study finding that the average GP consultation involved discussion of two and a half health problems.

It's estimated that the number of people with a single chronic condition increased by 4%, and with multiple chronic conditions by 8% per year between 2003/4-2015/16 – and that patients with long-term conditions account for around 50% of all GP appointments.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "It is abundantly clear that the standard 10-minute appointment is unfit for purpose. It's increasingly rare for a patient to present with a just single health condition, and we cannot deal with this adequately in 10 minutes. Royal College of General Practitioners

See also:

• GPs call for end of the 10-minute consultation amid warnings slots among shortest in western world The Daily Telegraph
• GPs say 10-minute appointment with doctor is too short The Guardian
• Ten-minute appointments too short to be useful and must be phased out by 2030, say GPs The Independent

The hospital helping families with baby loss

The hospital helping families with baby loss Losing a baby is devastating enough, without having to go through this experience just feet away from people giving birth. A hospital in the Midlands now hopes to take action by building a safe haven for families enduring the loss of their babies. BBC News

Stress from poverty 'over-medicalised'

Stress from poverty 'over-medicalised' More than 70 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were issued in England in 2018 - and low-income areas had some of some of the highest prescription rates.

BBC Radio 4's PM programme meets some of those interviewed for a new study, Poverty, Pathology and Pills, warning against "over-medicalising poverty". BBC News

Artificial intelligence diagnoses lung cancer

Artificial intelligence diagnoses lung cancer Artificial intelligence is better than specialist doctors at diagnosing lung cancer, a US study suggests.

The researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois and Google hope the technology could boost the effectiveness of cancer screening.

Finding tumours at an earlier stage should make them easier to treat. BBC News

See also:

• End-to-end lung cancer screening with three-dimensional deep learning on low-dose chest computed tomography (abstract) Nature Medicine

MPs call for action over medicinal cannabis on NHS

MPs call for action over medicinal cannabis on NHS MPs have expressed frustration over the NHS failure to issue prescriptions to patients in need of medicinal cannabis, despite the law being changed six months ago.

In a lengthy backbench debate last night, Conservative MP Sir Mike Penning called for urgent action in the case of severely epileptic children, for whom medicinal cannabis has helped to reduce their seizures. iNews

More than 500 people told to get HIV tests after visiting dentist in Hertfordshire town

More than 500 people told to get HIV tests after visiting dentist in Hertfordshire town Hundreds of patients at a Hertfordshire dental surgery have been told to take HIVtests after their appointments.

The Dentality @ Hoddesdon practice sent letters to 563 patients who underwent dental scaling practice warning them about exposure “to a blood-borne virus such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV”.

Public Health England (PHE) said a dedicated phone line has been set up to help patients access further information and book a blood test. The Independent

When survival is a popularity contest: the heartbreak of crowdfunding healthcare

When survival is a popularity contest: the heartbreak of crowdfunding healthcare A growing number of Britons are turning to online fundraising for essential treatment in a desperate, ‘Dickensian’ attempt to get around NHS shortfalls. But does it work?

Heather Bellamy’s March appointment at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn didn’t go well. She had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia five years before, in December 2014; now, her doctor explained gently, she had run out of options on the NHS. Bellamy, 48, would be starting a chemotherapy drug called azacitidine that could extend her life expectancy from two months to six. Her doctor asked if she had a bucket list. “I felt crushed,” she remembers.

Speaking one month on, Bellamy – a senior practice nurse and a mother of four from Downham Market in Norfolk – isn’t chasing her dreams of bungee jumping or swimming with dolphins. Instead, she is fundraising online for an experimental cancer drug, enasidenib, which has been approved by the US authorities but is not available on the NHS.

It’s normalising the idea that, to get essential health services, you need to compete with all these other people. The Guardian

Nurses say too many patients are being subjected to 'do not resuscitate' orders without families being told

Nurses say too many patients are being subjected to 'do not resuscitate' orders without families being told Nurses have warned that too many hospital patients are being subjected to “do not resuscitate orders” without relatives being told - with one describing finding her own great-aunt in such circumstances.

The Royal College of Nursing yesterday heard repeated warnings that “failures to communicate” meant families were left shocked to discover such decisions had been taken about their loved ones. The Daily Telegraph

Nurses call for prostitution to be decriminalised, after RCN vote

Nurses call for prostitution to be decriminalised, after RCN vote Nurses are calling for prostitution to be decriminalised, saying it is a matter of “fundamental human rights”.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is to start actively lobbying the Government to change the law following a vote at the union's conference in Liverpool.

Members said it would help protect women and give them more rights, saying prohibition only served to isolate vulnerable people. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Decriminalise prostitution, say nurses BBC News
• Royal College of Nursing votes to support decriminalising prostitution The Guardian

33 trusts have excess deaths, eminent professor claims

33 trusts have excess deaths, eminent professor claims More than 30 NHS trusts recorded more deaths than expected last year, an eminent hospital death rates professor has claimed.

Official data last week named the 11 health service-ran organisations across England that recorded excess deaths in 2018.

But Professor Sir Brian Jarman, who helped expose the Mid-Staffordshire hospital scandal, has claimed the true figure is much higher.

He recalculated the NHS Digital data for MailOnline and found a further 22 trusts run by the health service fall into the excess deaths category. The Daily Mail

Northamptonshire health chief takes on additional role

Northamptonshire health chief takes on additional role The chief executive of the county’s mental health trust is taking on an additional leadership role at a Leicestershire NHS Trust.

Angela Hillery, who has led Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to an outstanding CQC grading, says her new role as chief executive of Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust will not impact on her commitment to NHFT. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Northamptonshire Healthcare and Leicestershire Partnership to share a chief executive Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

23 Northampton GP surgeries with 'unsafe' levels of air pollution

23 Northampton GP surgeries with 'unsafe' levels of air pollution A new report was released into the pollution levels on the doorstep of the UK's GPs and Hospitals.

Listed here are all of the Northampton GPs and Hospitals that recorded a higher than recommended level of "fine matter particulate", which WHO says should not be above 10ug/m3 (micrograms per metre cubed). Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Clicks and mortar: Technology and the NHS estate

Clicks and mortar: Technology and the NHS estate Developments in technology are affecting the NHS estate in different ways. In future, these changes could lead to an estate that is better for patients and staff, smarter and more integrated.

Technology is likely to result in a different NHS estate, rather than a smaller one, with space being used or configured in different ways. 

To maximise their impact, technology and the estate should be brought together as part of wider plans for change. This means developing an overarching vision for how health and care will be delivered in the future and being clear about the role of technology and the estate in delivering it. The King's Fund

Many vulnerable children with learning disabilities are stuck in mental health hospitals for too long in poor conditions

Many vulnerable children with learning disabilities are stuck in mental health hospitals for too long in poor conditions Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England, is today publishing a new report, ‘Far less than they deserve: Children with learning disabilities or autism living in mental health hospitals’. The report shows how too many children are being admitted to secure hospitals unnecessarily – in some cases are spending months and years of their childhood in institutions when they should be in their community. It warns that the current system of support for those with learning disabilities or autism is letting down some of the most vulnerable children in the country.

The report also finds shocking evidence of poor and restrictive practices and sedation, with some children telling the Children’s Commissioner of how their stay in mental health hospital has been traumatic, and parents too often left feeling powerless to do anything to intervene.

See also:

• Too many children in mental health hospitals, says report BBC News
• Too many children in England’s mental health hospitals unnecessarily – report The Guardian

Improving children and young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing

Improving children and young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing The LGA's Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Peer Learning Programme looked at how to prioritise early help and free up acute care for the most vulnerable in order to achieve change; supporting councils and their local partners to learn from each other, and from other councils across the country. Eight councils and their partners took part in two learning days and a visit to another council, gaining further knowledge and understanding on how to tackle their local issue. Local Government Association

The prevalence and persistence of ethnic and racial harassment and its impact on health: a longitudinal analysis

The prevalence and persistence of ethnic and racial harassment and its impact on health: a longitudinal analysis Around one in ten ethnic minorities in England has reported experiencing ethnic and racial harassment in a public place and almost double this number has reported feeling unsafe or avoiding public places, both of which are associated with poorer mental health, according to this report. It highlights the need to consider harassment and discrimination in the provision of mental health services. Institute for Social and Economic Research

Staff shortages 'abusing good will of nurses'

Staff shortages 'abusing good will of nurses' The good will of nurses in England is being abused by politicians who have failed to get to grips with a desperate shortage of staff, nurse leaders say.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair will call for safe staffing levels to be enshrined in law in a speech on Monday.

There are currently nearly 40,000 nurse vacancies - one in nine posts.

However, the government says it is committed to increasing the number of nurses in training. BBC News