Friday 23 January 2015

County's health watchdog wants your views on Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

County's health watchdog wants your views on Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust Healthwatch Northamptonshire is asking for members of the public to share their views and experiences of the care received from Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT). Northants Herald and Post

Northampton mental health hospital criticised after staff failed to record a patient’s suicide attempts

Northampton mental health hospital criticised after staff failed to record a patient’s suicide attempts A widower has criticised Berrywood Hospital in Northampton after staff failed to record a suicide attempt his wife made, only days before ending her own life. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Problems spreading beyond A&E as risk of NHS crisis grows: latest quarterly monitoring report

Problems spreading beyond A&E as risk of NHS crisis grows: latest quarterly monitoring report The King's Fund is warning that problems in hospitals are spreading beyond A&E to other key areas of performance, increasing the risk of a NHS crisis.

The Fund's latest quarterly monitoring report, which follows widespread reports about pressures on A&E units, underlines that hospitals are stretched to the limit. The report shows that waiting times for treatment and other key performance indicators are worsening, as the NHS struggles to cope with increasing demand for services and the unprecedented financial squeeze.

NHS finances: the challenge all political parties need to face

NHS finances: the challenge all political parties need to face The NHS is one of the key issues of public concern in the run up to the 2015 general election.

After the election, all political parties are committed to reducing the fiscal deficit, which will involve cuts to public spending. Health care now accounts for almost £1 in every £5 of government spending – just sustaining, let alone improving, the quality of care while delivering fiscal balance will be one of the major challenges facing any incoming government.

In this briefing we set out our analysis of the funding issues facing the NHS. The briefing presents the Health Foundation projection that funding pressures on the NHS will increase to £65bn above inflation by 2030/31. If successive governments are to meet these pressures NHS funding needs to grow slightly faster than GDP (2.9% a year compared to 2.3% a year forecast increase in GDP).

The briefing draws on four accompanying Funding overviews that go into more detail about NHS finance in the following four areas:
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Library and Knowledge Services Framework

Library and Knowledge Services Framework HEE has published a development framework for Library and Knowledge Services in order to:

  • Invite stakeholders to work alongside them to transform and optimise healthcare library and knowledge services
  • Guide investment and procurement decisions, the development of new information products, partnership working and service modernisation
  • Drive the redesign of roles for healthcare library staff, to improve efficiency and enable the adoption of new models of service
The framework will provide the basis for more detailed conversations with partners about the challenges and opportunities ahead.

A work programme will be developed – with a focus on customer care and value for money for taxpayers, achieved through better coordination, collaboration and cooperation, including through pooling resources and expertise. Health Education England

UKIP and the NHS: reigniting the insurance debate in the NHS

UKIP and the NHS: reigniting the insurance debate in the NHS It is true that health care is going to be more expensive in future we do need to know how to fund it appropriately. But is an insurance model really a silver bullet for the NHS’s financial challenges? asks Emma Spencelayh. The Health Foundation

Guidance: Improving community services

Guidance: Improving community services This report looks at what clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are doing about community services as the contracts entered into after the Transforming Community Services (TCS) programme expire.

As contracts expire, commissioners need to consider what options are best for patients. This review of community services commissioning explaining how commissioners can support a move to more co-ordinated care for patients closer to home. Many of the community services contracts put in place three to five years ago are expiring, giving commissioners an opportunity to:

  • move to new ways of working or new models of care that are better for patients
  • test which providers are most likely to achieve the changes that commissioners want for patients 
Monitor

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First report released from Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Data Set

First report released from Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Data Set The first report from the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Data Set (MHLDDS) has been released today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

VIDEO: Talks to avert NHS strike continue

VIDEO: Talks to avert NHS strike continue Talks to avert a 12-hour strike next Thursday by NHS staff in England and Northern Ireland are continuing on Friday. BBC News

GP practices in special measures

Falling Ebola cases 'turning point'

Falling Ebola cases 'turning point' There has been a "turning point" in the Ebola crisis with cases falling in all three affected countries, World Health Organization officials say. BBC News

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Care.data in "last chance saloon"

Care.data in "last chance saloon" NHS England has been warned its controversial care.data programme is at its "last chance saloon", as it pushes ahead with the trial phase of the project. E-Health Insider

New heart attack test shows promise for women

New heart attack test shows promise for women "Doctors could spot twice as many heart attacks in women by using a newer, more sensitive blood test," BBC News reports.

In women, for reasons that are unclear, a heart attack often doesn't trigger the symptom most people associate with the condition: severe chest pain, memorably described as like having an elephant sitting on your chest. This can lead to delays in diagnosis, which may impact on clinical outcomes.

A more sensitive blood test has been developed that can help determine if a person with the symptoms of a heart attack has actually had one.

The new test is more sensitive to levels of a protein called troponin, which is released into the bloodstream when there is damage to heart muscle.

NHS disregards patient requests to opt out of sharing medical records

NHS disregards patient requests to opt out of sharing medical records Officials now admit they shared data because otherwise it would have affected patients’ treatment. The Guardian

Care Quality Commission heaps more pressure on NHS managers

Care Quality Commission heaps more pressure on NHS managers The healthcare regulator should not get bogged down in resolving management problems or grievances and should focus on keeping patients safe  Continue reading... The Guardian

Mass prescription of statins ‘will widen social inequalities’

Mass prescription of statins ‘will widen social inequalities’ Prescribing statins to more people could have the unintended effect of “widening social inequalities”, a new study has claimed. The Independent

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