Stroke care delay worry at Northampton hospital

Stroke care delay worry at Northampton hospital: Stroke victims taken to Northampton General 
Hospital take six times longer to be seen by a specialist stroke team at evenings and weekends. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Hospitals 'full to bursting', claim health monitors

Hospitals 'full to bursting', claim health monitors: Hospitals are so full that staff are struggling to maintain the safety and quality of patients' care, a new report claims. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NHS under pressure from lack of joined-up care, says report The Guardian
• NHS accused of wasting billions on unnecessary hospital admissions The Guardian
• Hospitals are 'full to bursting' BBC News

The Dr Foster Guide can be found at: http://drfosterintelligence.co.uk/thought-leadership/hospital-guide/

Mental health medication concern

Mental health medication concern: People with mental health problems miss out on the care they should receive for physical illnesses, researchers say. BBC News

Exclusive: Huge swings in LES income

Exclusive: Huge swings in LES income: GPs across the UK face large swings in local enhanced service (LES) funding this year as commissioners squeeze contracts to hit efficiency targets, GP can reveal. GP Online

Launch of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Launch of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS): On 1 December 2012, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) have merged to form a new Non-Departmental Public Body, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). NHS Employers

Achieving savings from high cost drugs

Achieving savings from high cost drugs: This report sets out how commissioners and providers of NHS services
can work together to achieve savings in the use of high cost drugs. It is intended to support delivery of NHS Constitution obligations and the introduction of the compliance regime for NICE Technology Appraisals.

• Report
• Letter
• Department of Health - news

Making connections with the challenges of unscheduled care

Making connections with the challenges of unscheduled care: This publication is the result of work with a number of acute hospital sites to understand the complexity of urgent and emergency care attendances, and admissions. It shares the issues, the outcomes and identifies some tried and tested solutions that can ease the burden of
unscheduled care.

• Report
• NHS Improvement - publications

Should we start preparing for a decade of austerity in the NHS?

Should we start preparing for a decade of austerity in the NHS?: The NHS could have a £50bn funding gap by 2022 if it can't deliver unprecedented productivity, says a Nuffield Trust report

Assaults on NHS staff increase to 163 attacks per day

Assaults on NHS staff increase to 163 attacks per day: Physical attacks against NHS staff increase to 163 per day with fears waiting times and workforce cutbacks are to blame. The Daily Telegraph

'Systemic failures' to blame for poor patient care, say health leaders

'Systemic failures' to blame for poor patient care, say health leaders: Older people are being let down by "systemic failings" in the NHS, leading health figures argue today, in an apparent riposte to a savage attack that the Health Secretary made last week about the "callous" behaviour of some staff. The Daily Telegraph

Hunt concerned over 'pockets of failure' in NHS

Hunt concerned over 'pockets of failure' in NHS: Catastrophic failings that led to the deaths of hundreds of patients at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust may be occurring in hospitals elsewhere in the UK, the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, warns today.The Independent

Hospital Implementation of Health Information Technology and Quality of Care: Are They Related?

Hospital Implementation of Health Information Technology and Quality of Care: Are They Related?: This Commonwealth Fund-supported study found that when hospitals implement robust health information technology systems, they improved their performance on key quality-of-care measures. The Commonwealth Fund

Whooping cough cases continue to increase

Whooping cough cases continue to increase: Figures published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) today reveal 1,614 cases of whooping cough were reported in England and Wales in October 2012, bringing the total number of cases so far this year to 7,728*.