Tuesday 20 March 2012

Which is the world's biggest employer and where does the NHS fit in the list?

Which is the world's biggest employer and where does the NHS fit?: Which is the biggest employer in the world (and the NHS is not the third biggest as you may have thought!) BBC News

Meeting the needs of sexual minorities nearing the end of life

Meeting the needs of sexual minorities nearing the end of life:
The report highlights how many LGB&T people do not feel that end-of-life care services are open to them and are concerned that they will face discrimination and a lack of understanding from health and social care providers when they are dying.
The report also highlights that older LGB&T people may face particular problems, especially if they have not felt able to be open about their identity previously. NHS Networks

Top tips for mental health use efficiency schemes

Top tips for mental health use efficiency schemes:
A collaboration of mental health chief pharmacists have produced a top tips document of mental health use efficiency schemes.
Such schemes cover clinical areas including anti-psychotic prescribing in dementia, monitoring of clozapine and the prescribing of hypnotics.
These top tips were launched at the 2011 CMHP conference by Martin Stevens National Clinical Director for Hospital Pharmacy and the coordinator of the tips Dr David Branford. Department of Health

Medicines management options for local implementation

Medicines management options for local implementation:
In February 2012, the National Prescribing Centre (NPC) published the latest update to their document ‘Key Therapeutic Topics – Medicines management options for local implementation‘.
This provides practical guidance on the delivery of specific prescribing savings opportunities, alongside quality prescribing advice in primary care.
The guide has been developed in consultation with the NHS and pharmaceutical trade industry and contains 13 topics including anti-biotic prescribing, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and wound care products. Department of Health

Coming soon – national secondhand smoke campaign

Coming soon – national secondhand smoke campaign:
Smokefree logoAt the end of March, the Department of Health will launch a campaign reminding smokers about the risks of secondhand smoke for their children and families.
The campaign will run across TV, radio, press and online channels and we will also be working with a number of partners to promote the campaign messages.
The campaign creative will dramatise the fact that secondhand smoke is highly toxic and invisible, and that despite parents’ best intentions they are still unwittingly exposing their children to harm.
Over 80 per cent of cigarette smoke is invisible, and the campaign will make the smoke and the harms to health visible. The adverts will also show how children become exposed to smoke in the home even when their parent moves away from them – for example by smoking outside or by a window with smoking drifting back in – or smokes in the family car. The emotive adverts will show the health of families is at risk.
The campaign is still in development, so keep an eye on the Smokefree Resource Centre for all the latest information on the campaign. Department of Health Campaigns

    Lords approve NHS reforms bill

    Lords approve NHS reforms bill: The government's planned changes to the NHS in England have cleared their final reading in the House of Lords. BBC News

    NHS risk register could do 'lasting damage'

    NHS risk register could do 'lasting damage': Civil servants could 'pull their punches' and be drawn into politics when giving advice to ministers, warns Lord Wilson Public Service

    Pay circular on Agenda for Change pay rates from 1 April 2012

    Pay circular on Agenda for Change pay rates from 1 April 2012: The NHS Employers organisation has published the new pay rates for staff on Agenda for Change contracts, effective from 1 April 2012.

    Online tools highlight the role of Allied Health Professionals

    Online tools highlight the role of Allied Health Professionals: The Department of Health has announced the launch of a series of online tools highlighting the role of Allied Health Professionals, and how they could intervene at different stages of a patient's condition to improve patient care whilst saving on costs.  The tools provide case studies and examples from local NHS services that have made changes to services to optimise savings whilst ensuring the best quality of care for patients.  Please see the links below for further information. Department of Health

    NHS Confederation and NHS Employers comment on RCN report on staffing levels for older people's wards

    NHS Confederation and NHS Employers comment on RCN report on staffing levels for older people's wards: Driving improvements means tackling a complex range of issues.

    Oral cancer on the rise

    Oral cancer on the rise: Data released by Cancer Research UK has shown the number of cases of oral cancer in Britain is on the increase.The charity said there were 6,200 cases of oral cancer this year, in comparison to 4,400 ten years ago.The majority of oral cancer cases are linked to smoking, but experts said drinking and infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) were also associated with the increase.It is estimated that ... Healthcare Today

    Older patients let down by shortage of nurses, says Royal College of Nursing

    Older patients let down by shortage of nurses, says Royal College of Nursing:
    Low ratio of staff to patients means nurses often do not have time to look after elderly patients properly, RCN warns
    There are not enough nurses on hospital wards to ensure elderly people get helped to eat, walk again and have someone to talk to, the union representing 400,000 nurses has claimed.
    Older patients are being let down by the NHS because lack of staff means nurses often do not have the time to look after them properly, warned the profession's leader, who is calling for guaranteed minimum numbers on wards.
    The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the nurses union, said research it had conducted showed that each nurse looks after about nine elderly patients, whereas the right ratio to provide good, safe care is one to seven, and ideally it should be one nurse for between five and seven older people.
    An RCN survey of 1,700 nurses, including 240 who work on wards caring for the elderly, revealed that 78% of them said comforting and talking to patients either was not done or was done inadequately during their last shift because there were too few staff.
    Similarly, 59% said patients did not receive enough help with their mobility, 34% were not available to assist patients with eating and drinking and 33% could not do as much as possible to help patients with their toileting needs. "Patients on older people's wards are being let down by systemic failings in our hospitals. Despite working tirelessly to provide patients with high quality care, nurses in these settings have repeatedly told us that they are unable to do this because of pressures caused by short-staffing." said Dr Peter Carter, the RCN's general secretary.
    Elderly wards have fewer nurses than other wards, the RCN survey showed. Adult general wards have an average of 6.7 patients per nurse while on children's wards it is one nurse to every 4.2 patients. "Safe staffing levels and mandatory patient-to-staff ratios are fundamental safeguards to provide quality patient care. Now is the time for the government to provide a guarantee that older people will get safe care," Carter added.
    But Jo Webber of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, said that while lack of staff may be an issue on some wards "we should avoid leaping straight to the simplistic solution that we need more nurses everywhere"" It was also necessary to "trigger a major cultural shift in the way staff approach their work so they see the person, not the task. NHS organisations need to be much stronger in requiring staff to challenge practices they believe are not in the best interests of the people in their care," she added.
    Dean Royles, director of NHS Employers, also rejected the RCN's plea. "Mandatory staffing levels can not guarantee safe care. We do not believe that imposing a crude system of staffing ratios is the right way to tackle poor care," he said.
    Paul Burstow, the care services minister, said that the ratio of nurses to beds was improving and that strong leadership by nurses on wards was known to be vital in ensuring patients received good care. The Guardian

    MPs to hold emergency debate on NHS reforms

    MPs to hold emergency debate on NHS reforms:
    MPs are to hold an emergency debate on the coalition's NHS reforms today in a last-ditch Labour bid to keep them off the statute book. The Independent

    RCN: care of older people let down by low staffing levels

    RCN: care of older people let down by low staffing levels: The Royal College of Nursing has called for a ‘patient guarantee’, setting out the number of nurses needed on older people’s wards.

    Code of Governance for NHS Foundation Trusts

    Code of Governance for NHS Foundation Trusts: The purpose of the Code of Governance is to assist NHS foundation trust boards in improving their governance practices by bringing together the best practice of public and private sector corporate governance. The code sets out a common overarching framework for the corporate governance of NHS foundation trusts and complements the statutory and regulatory obligations on them. Monitor