Northampton General Hospital stroke patients' initiative shortlisted for top national award

Northampton General Hospital stroke patients' initiative shortlisted for top national award A team from Northampton General Hospital is in the finals of a top innovation award for the way they have involved patients in shaping future care.

The NGH Community Stroke Team is among 10 shortlisted for the Innovate Awards 2022 for their “putting the patient at the centre of all we do – living a meaningful and fulfilling life after stroke” initiative. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

If integrated care cannot tackle inclusion health, we should all be worried

If integrated care cannot tackle inclusion health, we should all be worried This summer a huge restructure created 42 new NHS integrated care boards to plan and fund NHS services, and to deliver improvements on population health across an integrated care system. This is not a renaming of current ways of working but is intended use the new structures to work in new ways. Looking to next year, now is the time for the ‘so what?’ of system change – as the start-up focus on terms of reference subsides. The King's Fund

It’s not just about speed of access: we must ensure patients with the greatest needs can see a GP

It’s not just about speed of access: we must ensure patients with the greatest needs can see a GP Rebecca Rosen argues that, until we have enough GPs to meet demand for appointments, we have to make sure that patients with the greatest needs can see a doctor. She discusses the importance of triage in general practice and describes five policy approaches that could improve access. Nuffield Trust

Digital transformation in the NHS

Digital transformation in the NHS This document contains views from across the NHS about progress on digital innovation and what more is needed to facilitate full digital transformation. NHS Confederation

2021–2022 healthcare professional regulators’ whistleblowing report published

2021–2022 healthcare professional regulators’ whistleblowing report published The joint whistleblowing disclosures report published today is part of a coordinated effort with seven other regulators to address serious issues that health and care professionals in the UK have raised.

We publish this joint report because we’re committed to being transparent about how we handle whistleblowing disclosures, highlighting the actions we’ve taken about them, and improving our collaboration with partners across the health sector. Nursing and Midwifery Council

Contacting the Patient Safety Commissioner for England

Contacting the Patient Safety Commissioner for England Dr Henrietta Hughes was appointed as the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner for England in July. She began her role on 12 September.

Dr Hughes is an independent point of contact for patients so that patients’ voices are heard and acted upon. She will use patients’ insight to help the government and the healthcare system in England listen and respond to patients’ views and promote patient safety, specifically with regard to medicines and medical devices. Department of Health and Social Care

'Toxic culture' of abuse at mental health hospital revealed by BBC secret filming

'Toxic culture' of abuse at mental health hospital revealed by BBC secret filming Humiliated, abused and isolated for weeks - patients were put at risk due to a "toxic culture" at one of the UK's biggest mental health hospitals, BBC Panorama can reveal.

An undercover reporter at the Edenfield Centre filmed staff using restraint inappropriately and patients enduring long seclusions in small, bare rooms.

Staff swore at patients and were seen slapping or pinching them on occasion.

Hospital bosses said they have taken immediate action to protect patients. BBC News

See also:

• Undercover Hospital: Patients at Risk BBC Panorama
• Hospital seclusion: ‘I’ve been treated like an animal’ BBC News
• Years of scandal and promises as patients suffer BBC News
• I went undercover to expose abuse at a mental health hospital BBC News
• Police opens investigation into abuse at mental health hospital revealed by BBC Community care
• Damning investigation uncovers 'toxic culture' at mental health hospital The Daily Mail
• NHS mental health hospital staff filmed ‘mocking and slapping’ patients The Guardian
• NHS trust suspends staff after alleged mistreatment of patients in mental health unit Manchester Evening News
• Response to Panorama Nursing and Midwifery Council

NHS app hits 30 million downloads in England

NHS app hits 30 million downloads in England The NHS app has been downloaded 30 million times, with many people using it to spell out their preferences on organ donation.

The app for NHS England patients was first piloted in 2018.

Among other things, it can be used to make GP appointments, order prescriptions and download NHS Covid passes for international travel.

The NHS said 448,000 people had used it to make organ-donation decisions between September 2021 and August 2022. BBC News

Alzheimer's-slowing drug labelled historic

Alzheimer's-slowing drug labelled historic Trial results of a drug appearing to slow Alzheimer's disease represent a "historic moment", experts say.

Pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Biogen have said their drug works when given in the early stages of the disease.

The full details have yet to published, but it appears to slow the pace of the brain's decline.

And even the limited data has generated excitement among dementia scientists and charities. BBC News

Austerity cuts ahead could mean 'end of NHS', warns ex-Bank of England deputy

Austerity cuts ahead could mean 'end of NHS', warns ex-Bank of England deputy The scale of the austerity cuts looming if the Liz Truss government does not reverse course on the economy could result in the end of the NHS, the Bank of England’s former deputy governor has warned. The Independent

See also:

• Spending cuts made necessary by mini-Budget ‘could spell end of NHS’, top economist warns Evening Standard
• Don't make NHS and public services pay the bill for tax cuts, Kwarteng told The Independent
• NHS merger to drastically shrink workforce reveals Conservative MP National Health Executive
• Spending cuts made necessary by mini-budget 'could finish NHS', former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Charlie Bean says Sky News

Coroner criticises NHS trust’s treatment of family of woman who killed herself

Coroner criticises NHS trust’s treatment of family of woman who killed herself An NHS trust has “not covered itself in glory” in its dealings with the family of a vulnerable young woman who killed herself after being refused admission to hospital, a coroner has found.

The three-day hearing looked at evidence withheld from the original inquest into the death of Sally Mays, who killed herself in 2014 after being turned away from a mental health unit. The Guardian

Dangerous NHS England hospital roofs ‘will not be fixed until 2035’

Dangerous NHS England hospital roofs ‘will not be fixed until 2035’ FoI request reveals long wait to repair roofs at risk of collapse, including those affecting Truss and Coffey constituents

Dangerous roofs which could collapse at any time at hospitals across England will not be fixed until 2035, NHS bosses have admitted.

The disclosure came in NHS England’s response to a freedom of information request from the Liberal Democrats about hospitals which have roofs at risk of falling down on to staff, patients and equipment. The Guardian

Another health warning over anti-depressants

Another health warning over anti-depressants Long-term antidepressant use could raise the risk of suffering and dying from heart disease, scientists say.

University of Bristol researchers discovered patients who had been taking the drugs for more than 10 years were up to twice as likely to be diagnosed with and die from heart disease.

Around one in six adults in England and one in five in the US take the drugs, which are thought to raise levels of chemicals in the brain that boost mood. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Antidepressant use and risk of adverse outcomes: population-based cohort study (open access) BJPsych Open
• Common antidepressants may increase the risk of heart disease and early death The Daily Telegraph

Northamptonshire hospitals plan to give thousands of staff £250 cost-of-living payment

Northamptonshire hospitals plan to give thousands of staff £250 cost-of-living payment Thousands of workers at Northamptonshire’s two general hospitals are in line for a £250 payment to help them with the cost-of-living crisis.

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire group – which runs KGH and NGH – is planning a £1m scheme to help those on the lowest wages with rising food and energy costs. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Facing up to long Covid

Facing up to long Covid Long Covid is politically problematic, medically uncertain, and personally scary. It is too easy to look away.  

In media narratives this summer the Covid-19 pandemic was eclipsed by the cost of living and climate crises. But in practice these crises co-exist and interact. Long Covid makes heatwaves and price hikes a whole lot harder to bear. The King's Fund

What people have told us about Urgent and Emergency Care services

What people have told us about Urgent and Emergency Care services The pressure on urgent and emergency care services has been a big story recently, with significant press coverage of ambulance delays and long waits in accident and emergency departments (A&E). 

This is backed up by the official performance statistics, which paint a grim picture as we head into winter. 

To understand how the pressures have affected patients, we looked back at the experiences of urgent and emergency care services people shared with us between December 2020 and August 2022 in a new report. Healthwatch

See also:

• NMC statement in response to Healthwatch England report on emergency care Nursing and Midwifery Council

New legal guidance for NHS staff working remotely overseas

New legal guidance for NHS staff working remotely overseas NHS Employers has commissioned legal firm Capsticks LLP (and partners) to produce a guidance document on employing staff working remotely from outside of the UK. This is in response to questions raised from NHS workforce leaders about the legalities and practicalities of overseas remote working arrangements.

Autistic people’s healthcare information strategy for England

Autistic people’s healthcare information strategy for England This document sets out an initial strategy for the development of information about the health of, and healthcare received by autistic people in England, from sources already collected or in the process of being established. NHS England

Research: Monkeypox outbreak: epidemiological overview

Research: Monkeypox outbreak: epidemiological overview Overview of the current monkeypox outbreak in the UK. UK Health Security Agency

Flu and Covid could make this a hard winter for UK

Flu and Covid could make this a hard winter for UK The UK must prepare for a big, early wave of flu, experts warn, based on what Australia has just experienced during its winter.

Many Southern Hemisphere nations have had their most rampant flu season for years.

It is largely because people mixed more once Covid restrictions had eased, but had little immunity to the influenza virus after a break from the disease.

Health experts are urging anyone who is eligible for a flu shot to get one. BBC News

See also:

• Covid vaccine: 'Get the jab' says woman who nearly died while pregnant BBC News
• Prepare for the twindemic! Health chiefs warn Covid will strike at same time as flu this winter The Daily Mail
• Winter flu could kill 20000: Perfect storm of seasonal virus and Covid may overwhelm NHS The Daily Mail
• UK faces serious threat from flu and COVID-19 'twindemic' this winter GPonline
• Millions urged to get flu and Covid jabs amid fears of winter ‘twindemic’ in UK The Guardian
• Millions urged to get flu and Covid jabs as experts predict ‘difficult winter’ The Independent
• Build reserve testing capacity to tackle next pandemic, UK researchers urge The Independent
• Why the UK could be heading for a flu-covid 'twindemic' this winter New Scientist