Small conversations about grief to be held in Northampton this summer

Small conversations about grief to be held in Northampton this summer Delapré Abbey and Fevered Sleep have partnered for the second year running on a project that will invite people to think, talk and learn about grief. The project, titled "This Grief Thing," aims to make grief visible and encourage conversations about the topic, which is often considered taboo. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Realising the potential of virtual wards: Exploring the critical success factors for realising the ambitions of virtual wards.

Realising the potential of virtual wards: Exploring the critical success factors for realising the ambitions of virtual wards. Virtual wards are increasingly being used by the NHS to provide care to patients where they live, whether in a care setting or at home. The NHS has been set a target of 40–50 virtual wards per 100,000 people and, more immediately, to scale up capacity ahead of next winter, to above 10,000 beds by this autumn. 

This report sets out the critical factors needed to enable the NHS to succeed in achieving these targets and to make virtual wards a sustainable model in the longer term, where patient demand and satisfaction are met, as well as better productivity. NHS Confederation

More, more, more: do we have more NHS staff than ever before?

More, more, more: do we have more NHS staff than ever before? On the face of it, the NHS has more funding and more staff than ever before. Lucina Rolewicz takes a closer look at the trends of staff working in different services, professions and regions, and outlines the possible explanations as to why patients are not reaping the benefits of an increased NHS workforce. Nuffield Trust

Building an inclusive workplace: our experience of using benchmarking tools to support change

Building an inclusive workplace: our experience of using benchmarking tools to support change Back in 2019, a small group of colleagues – from the LGBT+ community and allies – came together to start The King’s Fund’s work on LGBT+ Equality. At the time, there was no outward sign that the Fund was LGBT friendly – no staff network or mentions in the diversity and inclusion (D&I) priorities or on the intranet, queer staff often quiet about their relationships or identity. Through starting to have more open conversations we found some of our queer colleagues, and started to build our network.

Prevention is better than cure: three solutions to delayed hospital discharge

Prevention is better than cure: three solutions to delayed hospital discharge The challenge of discharging patients who are fit to leave hospital in a timely manner has been widely documented. Throughout last winter, official statistics highlighted the startlingly high numbers of people who remained in hospital despite being well enough to leave.

Over the past six months, an average of 13,531 patients remained in hospital longer than required each month – an increase of more than 1,000 on the six months before.

The factors contributing to delays are multi-faceted. Solving them will require a shift in the way services are delivered, as well as cross-organisational collaboration. NHS Providers

On the day briefing: Labour's Health Mission

On the day briefing: Labour's Health Mission On 22 May 2023, the leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, delivered a speech announcing the party’s mission to “build an NHS fit for the future”. This is one part of Labour’s 5 Missions for a Better Britain, which will form the basis of its general election manifesto.

This briefing summarises the key announcements from the speech, Labour’s accompanying technical document and NHS Providers’ response. NHS Providers

See also:

• Labour's NHS plan is promising but more detail is needed BMA
• Health Foundation comment on Keir Starmer's NHS mission The Health Foundation
• Funding needed to deliver Labour’s ambition health plans Healthcare Financial Management Association
• NHS Confederation responds to the launch of the Labour Party’s mission for health NHS Confederation
• Success of ambitious Labour NHS pledges will require further funding than planned Nuffield Trust

35,000 cases of sexual misconduct or violence in NHS in five years

35,000 cases of sexual misconduct or violence in NHS in five years More than 35,000 incidents of sexual misconduct or sexual violence - ranging from derogatory remarks to rape - were recorded on NHS premises in England between 2017 and 2022.

Rape, sexual assault or being touched without consent accounted for more than one in five cases.

Most incidents - 58% - involved patients abusing staff. BBC News

See also:

• Medical colleges and unions call for inquiry over “shocking” levels of sexual assault in the NHS The BMJ
• England hospitals under-reporting sexual misconduct, say experts The Guardian
• NHS staff report 20,000 claims of patient sexual misconduct over five years The Guardian
• Approach to tackling violence raises concern among NHS England staff The Guardian

Junior doctors in England to strike for three days in June

Junior doctors in England to strike for three days in June Junior doctors in England have announced a new 72-hour walkout in June after the latest round of government pay talks broke down.

The strike will take place between 07:00 on Wednesday 14 June and 07:00 on Saturday 17 June.

The British Medical Association (BMA) union, which represents doctors and medical students, said a government offer of a 5% rise was not "credible".

Ministers said pay talks could only continue if the strike was called off. BBC News

See also:

• Junior doctors in England announce June strike action after Government fails to make credible pay offer BMA
• Junior doctors in Scotland offered 14.5% pay rise BBC News
• Junior doctors to strike for three more days in June after demanding 49 PER CENT pay rise The Daily Mail
• Junior doctors announce three more days of strikes The Daily Telegraph
• Junior doctors in England to strike for three further days in June The Guardian
• Junior doctors in Scotland offered cumulative 14.5% pay rise The Guardian
• Junior doctors to stage new 72 hour strike in ongoing dispute over pay The Independent
• Junior doctors to stage 72-hour strike after rejecting pay offer ITV News
• Junior doctors' union announces new three-day strike in June Sky News
• 'Unfinished business': Nurses among hundreds of thousands of workers to vote on further strike action Sky News

Vaping: High lead and nickel found in illegal vapes

Vaping: High lead and nickel found in illegal vapes Vapes confiscated from school pupils contain high levels of lead, nickel and chromium, BBC News has found.

Used vapes gathered at Baxter College in Kidderminster were tested in a laboratory.

The results showed children using them could be inhaling more than twice the daily safe amount of lead, and nine times the safe amount of nickel.

Some vapes also contained harmful chemicals like those in cigarette smoke.

Eight out of 10 adults support ban on advertising junk food to children

 Eight out of 10 adults support ban on advertising junk food to children on TV and online, new research for the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) suggests.

The collection of charities and health organisations, which includes the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Association of Directors of Public Health, Diabetes UK, Cancer Research UK, the British Medical Association and the Faculty of Public Health, is calling on the Government to increase its commitment to tackling obesity. The Independent

See also:

• Voters Feel Let Down by Lack of Action on Childhood Obesity Obesity Health Alliance
• Brits WANT controversial soft drink levy widened: Two-thirds think sin taxes should be slapped on other junk food to combat kid obesity epidemic The Daily Mail

NHS to deliver world first blood-matching test to aid sickle-cell and thalassemia patients

NHS to deliver world first blood-matching test to aid sickle-cell and thalassemia patients A blood test that could help alleviate the suffering of thousands of people with sickle cell disease and thalassemia is to be introduced by the NHS in what will be a world first. Sky News

England's worst-performing hospitals REVEALED: Interactive map lays bare state of all 268 sites

England's worst-performing hospitals REVEALED: Interactive map lays bare state of all 268 sites All of England's worst-performing hospitals are today named and shamed by our damning analysis.

MailOnline's huge audit — laid bare in an interactive map that allows you to search your own area — reveals that 268 NHS and private-run sites are giving patients sub-standard care.

Twenty-three sites, highlighted as red, were ranked 'inadequate' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which regulates all hospitals in the country. The Daily Mail

More patient misery as the NHS loses 700 dentists

More patient misery as the NHS loses 700 dentists Patients have been warned they are likely to face continued long waits for care as the NHS is 'haemorrhaging' dentists.

Figures show 23,577 dentists took on NHS work in England in 2022-23, down from 24,272 in the previous financial year – a drop of 695.

The last time levels fell below 24,000 – apart from during the Covid pandemic when some services were halted – was in 2014-15, suggests the data obtained by the British Dental Association. The Daily Mail

See also:

• NHS dentistry: PM must drop the spin and accept the facts British Dental Association
• NHS dentist numbers in England at lowest level in a decade The Guardian

NHS England says all NHS trusts to get own FDP

NHS England says all NHS trusts to get own FDP Every hospital trust and integrated care system (ICS) may get its own local version of the proposed new Federated Data Platform (FDP) that can connect and collaborate with other data platforms, locally and nationally. 

This is the approach described in a paper on technology and innovation in the NHS quoted in minutes from NHS England’s (NHSE) May 18 board meeting. Digital Health

Digital technologies: unlocking collective knowledge and expertise in health and care

Digital technologies: unlocking collective knowledge and expertise in health and care Digital technologies can change how health and care organisations are structured and how they work. They can have an impact on who leaders or staff can reach and hear from: staff can be engaged over longer periods of time and across wider groups of colleagues, and leaders can quantify perceptions of services and reduce their dependency on anecdotal information. The King's Fund

Reliance on international nurse recruitment during a workforce crisis

Reliance on international nurse recruitment during a workforce crisis A cover story in The Times expressed concern at the increasing reliance in the UK on overseas nurses to staff the NHS. The story featured a short piece of exclusive analysis by Dr Billy Palmer drawing on NMC data looking at trends in nurses and midwives joining the UK register from overseas since 2019. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• NHS's reliance on foreign nurses has reached 'unsustainable level', experts warn The Daily Mail

Parks and green spaces should feel safe to bolster mental health - University of York

Parks and green spaces should feel safe to bolster mental health Researchers have co-produced a series of short films with people who have experienced mental illness to show the benefits of outdoor spaces.

The researchers were able to show that being outdoors has significant health benefits, but only if the participants feel safe and the spaces were well maintained. 

The team at the University of York aimed to highlight the benefits, but also the barriers that restrict people, especially those with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia, from accessing natural outdoor green and blue spaces.

£39 million for AMR research as UK launches Global Health Framework

£39 million for AMR research as UK launches Global Health Framework Cutting-edge research initiatives to develop new treatments to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – known as the “silent killer” – will receive a cash injection of up to £39 million from the UK government’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF). Department of Health and Social Care

Supply update: Hormone Replacement Therapy medication Utrogestan®

Supply update: Hormone Replacement Therapy medication Utrogestan® A Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) has been issued across the United Kingdom for Utrogestan® 100mg capsules today. This will allow pharmacists to dispense a maximum of two months’ supply per prescription to help ensure continued access for women who use this popular medicine to help manage symptoms of the menopause. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Utrogestan: Menopause pill supply restricted over shortages BBC News

New Chief Midwifery Officer for England announced

New Chief Midwifery Officer for England announced We are pleased to announce that Kate Brintworth has been appointed to the role of Chief Midwifery Officer for England. This follows a rigorous recruitment process, which included contributions from colleagues at NHS England and other key stakeholders including the Royal College of Midwives and a family voices panel. NHS England