Northants mental health unit is first in Midlands to receive Quality accreditation

Northants mental health unit is first in Midlands to receive Quality accreditation: A child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) unit in Northamptonshire has become the first in the Midlands, and only the 9th nationally, to receive a national accreditation for quality. NHFT News

Fall victim waited 75 minutes in mud and rain with broken bones for ambulance - Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Fall victim waited 75 minutes in mud and rain with broken bones for ambulance - Northampton Chronicle & Echo:

Northampton Chronicle & Echo

Fall victim waited 75 minutes in mud and rain with broken bones for ambulance Northampton Chronicle & Echo Mr Harris was later taken to Northampton General Hospital for treatment. Mrs Harris said: “I am furious. He was in terrible pain. I have never known him to scream out in pain like that. It was degrading. “He was wedged between the village green and his ...

Making integrated care happen at scale and pace

Making integrated care happen at scale and pace: The authors summarise 16 steps that need to be taken to make integrated care a reality and provide examples of good practice. The paper acknowledges that changes are needed to national policy and to the regulatory and financial frameworks for local leaders to fully realise a vision of integration. The King's Fund

The rise of the community service

The rise of the community service: One of the biggest overhauls in the NHS takes place next week. What will the new system look like? BBC News

Outcome of the NHS Injury Benefit Review

Outcome of the NHS Injury Benefit Review: Support for staff who sustain an injury, disease or other health condition which is attributable to their employment. NHS Employers

A practical guide to social media in mental health practice

A practical guide to social media in mental health practice: This new 30-page guide (PDF) is a must read for any health and social care professionals who are thinking about getting more involved with social media. Twitter remains a terrifying prospect for many professionals working in health and social care, but in my experience it’s very rare for someone to actually give it a go, [read the full story...] The Mental Elf

Department of Health: progress in making NHS efficiency savings

Department of Health: progress in making NHS efficiency savings: This Public Accounts Committee report examined progress to date in making NHS efficiency savings, on the basis of evidence from the Department of Health. Conclusions drawn included the following: the Department of Health's data on reported efficiency savings is unreliable; financial pressures may be causing some hospital trusts to cut staff with damaging effects on the quality and safety of care; there are concerns over rationing of treatments; there is a need to fundamentally change the way healthcare is provided to secure the level of savings needed in the future; the public debate needs to be better informed; and that it is not currently clear who will take strategic decisions in the reformed NHS.

• Report
• Public Accounts Committee - publications

Rating providers for quality: a policy worth pursuing?

Rating providers for quality: a policy worth pursuing?: This review was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health to examine whether ratings of provider performance should be used in health and social care. This report is the final output of the review process. It concludes that the costs and benefits in implementing a ratings system may be favourable for providers of social care and for general practices (given the potential for choice and the nature of care provided in those settings). The benefits are less certain for hospitals, given the way that ratings were designed and used in the past. It lists a number of conditions that would have to be fulfilled for any potential benefits of hospital ratings to be fully realised.

• Report
• Related blog from Jennifer Dixon
• Public attitudes to provider ratings
• Project page
• The Nuffield Trust - publications

Are benefits of telehealth care worth the cost?

Are benefits of telehealth care worth the cost?: ‘NHS remote monitoring costs more’ BBC News reports after the publication of a new study looking at the cost-effectiveness of telehealth.

Number of children taking up smoking rises 50,000 in a year

Number of children taking up smoking rises 50,000 in a year: About 207,000 children under 16 started smoking in 2011, up from 157,000 the year before, figures show.

Hospital staff to get more time with patients after bureaucracy crackdown

Hospital staff to get more time with patients after bureaucracy crackdown: Health secretary is scrapping need for hospitals to collect scores of data in purge of NHS's 'gargantuan' bureaucracy.
Hospitals are to be relieved of their duty for collecting scores of different sets of data as part of a purge of the NHS's "gargantuan" bureaucracy. The move is designed to free staff to spend more time caring for patients in the wake of the scandal at Mid Staffordshire hospital trust.

New care czar to protect elderly after Mid Staffordshire report

New care czar to protect elderly after Mid Staffordshire report: A powerful new post aimed at protecting the elderly and other vulnerable adults in care homes is to be created as ministers prepare to react to the report into the failings of Mid Staffordshire hospital. The Daily Telegraph

Patients attack plan to reduce inspections ofbest hospitals

Patients attack plan to reduce inspections of best hospitals:
Patient groups attacked plans to radically scale back inspections of hospitals believed to be performing well. Under proposals being put forward by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the top 20 per cent of hospitals might only be inspected every five years. The Independent

UK risks time bomb of untreatable TB as number of drug-resistant cases rises rapidly

UK risks time bomb of untreatable TB as number of drug-resistant cases rises rapidly:
Medical experts warned last night that there could be a surge in cases of tuberculosis resistant to current drug treatments unless the Government takes urgent action. The Independent