NGH achieves international nursing quality award

NGH achieves international nursing quality award Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, visited Northampton General Hospital today to congratulate its nursing teams on achieving a fantastic international quality standard.

The hospital has achieved the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Pathway to Excellence reaccreditation after becoming the first hospital in England to achieve the standard in 2018. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Concerning pressures on NHS mental health staff causing vicious cycle of staff shortages

Concerning pressures on NHS mental health staff causing vicious cycle of staff shortages The Public Accounts Committee has heard concerning evidence of increasing pressures on NHS mental health staff at a time of spiking demand. In a report published today, it warns that increased workload is leading to burnout for remaining staff, which contributes to a higher rate of staff turnover and a resulting vicious cycle of more staff shortages.

17,000 staff (12%) left the NHS mental health workforce in 2021-22, up from pre-pandemic levels of around 14,000 a year. Those citing work-life balance reasons for leaving increased from 4% in 2012-13 to 14% in 2021-22, and the percentage of days lost from the workforce due to psychiatric reasons doubled in a decade. NHS England told the PAC that, in common with all NHS staff, mental health problems are one of the biggest drivers of sickness among staff.

New financial wellbeing guide calls for strategic employee support

New financial wellbeing guide calls for strategic employee support NHS Employers has worked with the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing at Work to contribute to a new financial wellbeing guide aimed at boosting support for employees.

The guide redefines the challenge of supporting employee financial wellbeing following the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of the current cost of living crisis.

The National Forum for Health and Wellbeing at Work is urging UK employers to take immediate action to tackle this increasingly important issue.

It recommends organisations take a strategic long-term approach to support the financial health of employees and stresses an urgent need for employers to break down social taboos around talking about money.

Government acts to boost the quality of care for mothers and babies

Government acts to boost the quality of care for mothers and babies Further action will be taken on a national level to improve safety for mothers and their babies within the NHS to ensure maternity and neonatal care everywhere is of the highest standard.

The government has published its full response to an independent review - led by former Regional Director of Public Health Dr Bill Kirkup CBE - into maternity failings at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust. The review was launched because of concerns about the quality of care being provided by the trust. Department of Health and Social Care

Some NHS temporary staff miss out on full pay deal

Some NHS temporary staff miss out on full pay deal Some NHS staff in England say they are not receiving an extra one-off payment awarded by the government as part of the latest pay deal for nurses and other workers such as ambulance crews.

The issue is affecting some "bank" staff, who provide temporary cover for hospital trusts to fill rota gaps.

Some say they have not received the lump sum, of at least £1,655.

It was part of the new pay agreement for more than a million NHS workers, in addition to a 5% rise. BBC News

NHS 'could save £635m by prescribing time in nature'

NHS 'could save £635m by prescribing time in nature' The NHS could save more than £635m a year by signing some patients up to nature-based health and wellbeing programmes, a report by The Wildlife Trusts says.

The study, published under the title, A Natural Health Service: Improving Lives and Saving Money, found that the amount of money saved in healthcare costs would be greater than the money invested. The Independent

See also: 

• New report proves nature-based health projects save NHS time and money The Wildlife Trusts

Concern about NHS is rising, survey suggests

Concern about NHS is rising, survey suggests Concern about the NHS is rising among the British public, a new survey has found.

The latest Ipsos Issues Index for July 2023 gathered the opinion of 1,008 adults across Britain.

Some 33% of people mentioned the health service as a concern, up six points from the previous snapshot in June. Evening Standard

Ministers urged to resolve NHS strikes that could cost ‘billions’

Ministers urged to resolve NHS strikes that could cost ‘billions’ The cost of the NHS strike action is “eye-watering” and could run into billions of pounds, a health boss has said as he urged ministers to resolve the row over pay.

Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said some NHS trusts were losing £500,000 for every day of industrial action. The Guardian

See also:

• Continued industrial action leaves the NHS adrift NS Confederation
• NHS England publishes data on latest junior doctors strike NHS England
• 'Pay restraint is having an impact on how patients receive care' Channel 4 News
• ‘Not just about pay’: NHS doctors say they are striking for future of profession The Guardian
• NHS strikes: What is happening to consultants' pay? Sky News

More than 250,000 dementia patients in England could miss new treatments

More than 250,000 dementia patients in England could miss new treatments More than 250,000 dementia patients could miss out on new treatments for the disease because they do not have a formal diagnosis, according to government figures.

NHS data published for the first time shows the prevalence of different types of dementia with which people in England have been diagnosed. The Guardian

Had Covid but never felt sick? Scientists think they've finally cracked the secret of the 'super-dodgers'

Had Covid but never felt sick? Scientists think they've finally cracked the secret of the 'super-dodgers' Scientists think they have finally cracked the secret of why some people who got Covid never became ill. 

And the answer lies in their genes.

Researchers found 'super-dodgers' have mutations in their DNA which allow their immune system to recognise the virus as being like a cold. The Daily Mail

See also:

• A common allele of HLA is associated with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (open access) Nature
• Had COVID but no symptoms? You might have this genetic mutation Nature

Kettering General Hospital: Skylark ward shows improvement

Kettering General Hospital: Skylark ward shows improvement An inadequate ward accused of failing children has shown improvement, according to a care regulator's report.

Kettering General Hospital (KGH) in Northamptonshire was warned over its children's and young people's services following an inspection in December.

A new Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in April, which did not re-rate the service, found the demands of that warning notice had been met.

The hospital trust's chief executive said she was "extremely proud". BBC Northampton

See also:

• 'Inadequate' KGH children's services have improved, say health inspectors Northamptonshire Telegraph

The caring penalty

The caring penalty This report outlines how unpaid carers provide a service to society, but argues that they shoulder a financial penalty in doing so. It uses data from Understanding Society and looks at the magnitude, causes, and distribution of the carer pay penalty and how policies can help mitigate it. Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Data partnerships bring benefit to patients and the NHS

Data partnerships bring benefit to patients and the NHS The NHS has a long history of data-driven research and innovation. During the pandemic, NHS data enabled us to carry out research at an unprecedented scale and find the world’s first effective treatment for Covid-19, dexamethasone, making it available across every hospital the same day it was approved. NHS data enabled us to not just deliver the first accredited Covid-19 vaccine in the world but to rollout the NHS Covid-19 vaccine programme with a combination of speed and precision unseen elsewhere. NHS England

Proposed review of the 2023 scheme to control the cost of branded health service medicines

Proposed review of the 2023 scheme to control the cost of branded health service medicines The government is proposing updates to the statutory scheme to make sure that the scheme can continue to meet its objectives from 2024 onwards, whether this is alongside a successor voluntary scheme or as a standalone scheme in the absence of this. The consultation sets out proposed amendments in three main areas: increasing the allowed growth rate which will have the effect of changing the payment percentages; revising which sales of branded medicines are exempt from scheme payments; and a new approach to control spending on older branded medicines. Department of Health and Social Care

Senior doctors to stage first strike in a decade

Senior doctors to stage first strike in a decade A 48-hour strike by senior hospital doctors in England has got under way, with NHS bosses warning of severe disruption.

Thousands of consultants walked out from 07:00 BST in their dispute over pay.

It is the first time the consultants have taken part in strike action since 2012.

Only emergency care and a small amount of routine work- so-called Christmas Day cover - will be provided.

It comes just two days after a five-day walkout by junior doctors came to an end, on Tuesday. BBC News

See also:

• Now NHS is left ‘adrift and rudderless’ as consultants go on strike for two days - leaving just a 'Christmas Day' level of service behind The Daily Mail
• Consultants strike to bring planned NHS care to 'virtual standstill' Evening Standard
• GPs face rising pressure as government rejects talks to end strikes GPonline
• ‘A heavy heart’: senior NHS doctors reflect on eve of two-day strike The Guardian
• NHS consultants’ strike in England may cancel surgery for tens of thousands The Guardian
• More than 100,000 appointments cancelled because of latest junior doctors strike The Independent
• Consultant strike will have 'biggest impact yet' on NHS The Independent
• Membership of BMA reaches record high amid pay dispute The Independent
• Doctors' strike: NHS consultants begin first major walkout in decades iNews
• Rishi Sunak blames striking NHS workers for rising waiting lists Sky News

Row over British Journal of Psychiatry abortion paper saw panel quit

Row over British Journal of Psychiatry abortion paper saw panel quit An independent panel resigned in a row over controversial research about the impact of abortion on the mental health of women, BBC News can reveal.

The research, which is still being used in US legal cases about limiting access to abortion, was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, in 2011.

Last year the panel, which was set up to investigate complaints about the paper, recommended it be withdrawn.

But journal-owner, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, overruled it. BBC News

A nation off-guard: what the UK Covid inquiry has revealed

A nation off-guard: what the UK Covid inquiry has revealed Some witnesses made tearful apologies; others defiantly denied fault. After six weeks of hearings at the UK Covid-19 public inquiry, the evidence about the UK’s preparedness for the Covid pandemic is in.

The nation was caught badly off guard. That much was probably obvious. By 1 March 2021 the UK had suffered more than 180 Covid deaths per 100,000 people; in South Korea, the number was just three. But after hearing the evidence, the bereaved families put it bluntly: we were “catastrophically unprepared”. The Guardian

See also:

• Covid Inquiry: What have we learnt so far? BBC News
• Covid Inquiry: Bodies were treated like toxic waste, says daughter BBC News
• UK Covid inquiry hears call for more cash for public health The Guardian
• Councils 'simply do not understand' evidence given by Matt Hancock, inquiry told The Independent
• Covid inquiry: LGA disputes Hancock's claim over preparedness Local Government Chronicle

Adoption of AI in the NHS should be faster, experts say

Adoption of AI in the NHS should be faster, experts say The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the NHS should be faster, and more frameworks should be in place to get emerging technologies to as many patients as possible, experts have told MPs.

A number of senior figures from medicine and biotechnology gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee as part of its inquiry into cancer technology. The Independent

How strong coffee could prevent Alzheimer’s – even if it is in an espresso martini

How strong coffee could prevent Alzheimer’s – even if it is in an espresso martini Drinking an espresso - even in a cocktail - a day might protect against Alzheimer’s disease, new research has found.

A study by the University of Verona in Italy showed the dark shot of coffee destroys rogue tau proteins that gather in the brain and kill neurons, a process that is believed to be involved in the onset of the neurodegenerative disease. The Independent

See also:

• Espresso Coffee Mitigates the Aggregation and Condensation of Alzheimer′s Associated Tau Protein (open access) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
• A shot of espresso can prevent ALZHEIMER'S protein clumping in lab tests The Daily Mail

UK's dementia hotspots mapped: One in 35 people have incurable disease in parts of country and experts warn rate will double by 2050

UK's dementia hotspots mapped: One in 35 people have incurable disease in parts of country and experts warn rate will double by 2050 Up to one in 35 people in parts of England are thought to have dementia, according to data crunched into an interactive map by MailOnline.

Charities estimate approximately 950,000 people across the country suffer with the memory-robbing disorder. Yet experts believe the figure will rocket to an estimated 2million by 2050 as Brits live longer. 

It comes as scientists have urged officials to hurry in approving game-changing new drugs for Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia. The Daily Mail