Friday 27 July 2012

Don’t get burned this summer

Don’t get burned this summer:
GPs in Northamptonshire are urging people to make sure they look after themselves in the sun. Evening Telegraph

New lab to speed up treatment of Northamptonshire heart patients

New lab to speed up treatment of Northamptonshire heart patients:
Heart treatment at Kettering General Hospital will be quicker after a third catheter laboratory opened in its cardiac centre. Evening Telegraph

Jumping the gun in the telehealth steeplechase? | Nick Goodwin

Jumping the gun in the telehealth steeplechase? | Nick Goodwin: If the adoption of telehealth were an Olympic sport, it would probably represent the steeplechase – whilst many have been brave enough to try out for the event, most have decided not to enter at all as the barriers to success seem insurmountably steep. Kings Fund

Independent experts set out recommendations to improve children and young people’s health results

Independent experts set out recommendations to improve children and young people’s health results:
The Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum has today published its proposals on how health-related care for children and young people can be improved.

The Local Health Resilience Partnerships: Implementation information and joint resource pack

The Local Health Resilience Partnerships: Implementation information and joint resource pack:
New arrangements for local health emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) will commence from 1 April 2013 as part of changes the Health and Social Care Act 2012 makes to the health system.
A key feature of the new arrangements is the formation of Local Health Resilience Partnerships (LHRPs). The Department of Health (DH) has published a letter and resource pack which provides information to support the roll out of LHRPs.

Map of CCG authorisation waves

Map of CCG authorisation waves: View our map detailing the boundaries of all 212 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to see how and when they are set to become authorised. GP Online

"Innovation" is an NHS buzzword. It shouldn't be.

"Innovation" is an NHS buzzword. It shouldn't be.: How the NHS stifles new ideas. Innovation has been an NHS buzzword for quite some time. It's how they think they are going to make money. The word peppers Andrew Lansley's sentences and appears on every NHS website. It turns conference speeches into tongue twisters and makes job titles too long to fit on to name badges. But let's cliche this down. Being innovative is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are . . . you aren't. The NHS ... New Statesman

Preparing for the Francis report: how to assure quality in the NHS

Preparing for the Francis report: how to assure quality in the NHS:
This paper examines how the system of quality assurance, including regulation, needs to evolve, the principles on which it should be built and how it should operate. The authors argue that the system of quality assurance must support the actions and effectiveness of those working at the front line and of those who manage and lead organisations that deliver care. This paper is intended to help to shape the debate about how quality can be assured in future and inform how organisations at every level of the system including government, professional and other regulators, local providers and individual professionals will respond to the challenges that the events at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust have highlighted.

NHS internal audit standards

NHS internal audit standards:
These standards ensure that those responsible for establishing, delivering and reviewing internal audit across the NHS continue to do so within a consistent framework. These recently published standards took effect from 1 April 2011, replacing the existing standards issued in 2002 and they apply to all NHS organisations. The standards are principles-based with additional interpretation to reflect the NHS environment and governance structures. These standards are aimed at providers of internal audit services. There is also an important role for accountable/accounting Officers and audit committees to assure themselves that their internal audit service meets the standards and any necessary improvement plans are agreed and delivered.

Are junior doctors a burden or an asset for managers?

Are junior doctors a burden or an asset for managers?:
Richard Vize argues that junior doctors make a vital contribution and we need to listen to them in order to deliver high-quality care
Junior doctors are often more associated with increasing death rates than raising standards in the public's mind, and have seemed more tolerated than embraced. But attitudes towards this vital and substantial section of the NHS workforce are changing.

Standardised bed chart 'could prevent hundreds of hospital deaths'

Standardised bed chart 'could prevent hundreds of hospital deaths':
Royal College of Physicians says there are more than 100 types of chart monitoring patients' vital signs, leading to confusion
Thousands of hospital deaths could be prevented if doctors and nurses used a standardised bed chart, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has said.

Proportion of schoolchildren taking drugs fell over the past decade, says new report

Proportion of schoolchildren taking drugs fell over the past decade, says new report: 11 to 15-year-old pupils are also smoking and drinking less than ten years ago Drug-taking among secondary school children fell by 12 percentage point... NHS Information Centre