Friday 11 November 2016

‘I never imagined I could be run down wearing the uniform’ : Northampton paramedic

‘I never imagined I could be run down wearing the uniform’ : Northampton paramedic A paramedic whose leg was broken by a hit and run driver in Northampton has expressed amazement that he could have been mown down by someone who knew what he did for a living. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Reducing infections in the NHS

Reducing infections in the NHS Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has launched new plans to reduce infections in the NHS. He announced government plans to halve the number of gram-negative bloodstream infections by 2020 at an infection control summit.

E. coli infections – which represent 65% of what are called gram-negative infections – killed more than 5,500 NHS patients last year and are set to cost the NHS £2.3 billion by 2018. There is also large variation in hospital infection rates, with the worst performers having more than 5 times the number of cases than the best performing hospitals.

Infection rates can be cut with better hygiene and improved patient care in hospitals, surgeries and care homes, such as ensuring staff, patients and visitors regularly wash their hands. People using insertion devices such as catheters, which are often used following surgery, can develop infections like E. coli if they are not inserted properly, left in too long or if patients are not properly hydrated and going to the toilet regularly.

These new plans build on the progress made in infection control since 2010 – the number of MRSA cases has been reduced by 57% and C. difficile by 45%. Department of Health

Further guidance on managing complaints and incidents within homecare services

Further guidance on managing complaints and incidents within homecare services As home care is often a shared care arrangement involving multiple organisations, it is important that complaints processes which allow the sharing, reporting and learning from complaints is in place and integrated between all parties involved in order to ensure that complaints are received, recorded, investigated, acted upon and reviewed in order to support patient care. This guidance provides detailed practical advice on how reporting and learning systems should operate in home care services in order to meet the requirements of patients, carers, regulators and other stakeholders. Royal Pharmaceutical Society

25% rise in complaints about home care

25% rise in complaints about home care The number of complaints received by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) about care provided to vulnerable people at home in England has increased by 25% over the last year.

The complaints about home care include care workers being late, missing appointments, not staying long enough and not doing what they should, including not treating people with the dignity they deserve, says the LGO’s Review of Adult Social Care Complaints 2015/16. OnMedica

NHS loses court appeal over 'game-changing' HIV drugs

NHS loses court appeal over 'game-changing' HIV drugs Health service in England fails to overturn high court verdict that it can pay for PrEP treatments, which can prevent infection

NHS England does have the power to pay for drugs to protect thousands of people against HIV, the appeal court has ruled, but they may still miss out if it decides it does not have enough money to prioritise them over treatments for other conditions.

The court upheld an earlier judgment that it is within the power of NHS England to fund treatment known as PrEP – pre-exposure prophylaxis – which can protect the partners of people with HIV from infection. The case was brought by the National Aids Trust (NAT) after NHS England said responsibility for public health, including HIV prevention, had been passed to local authorities. Continue reading... The Guardian

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NHS 'bedblocking' rises for sixth month in a row

NHS 'bedblocking' rises for sixth month in a row More patients are fit to leave hospital, but cannot be safely discharged, increasing pressure on government to tackle crisis

The number of patients in England who were medically fit to leave hospital but unable to be safely discharged has reached a new high for the sixth month in a row, increasing pressure on the government to tackle the social care shortage.

NHS and council leaders, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), have recently called for action to prop up social care, and the chancellor, Philip Hammond, has been urged to increase funding in the autumn statement on 23 November. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS hospital machines attacked by hackers who demand ransom cash

NHS hospital machines attacked by hackers who demand ransom cash All non-urgent operations and appointments were cancelled at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust for two days last month, after a malicious virus infected the IT system. The Daily Mail

Junior doctors lift strike threat and pledge to work with Government 

Junior doctors lift strike threat and pledge to work with Government Junior doctors have lifted all threat of strike action and pledged to work with the Government to help introduce a controversial new contract.

The union made the climb down after a series of debacles and warring between medics who oppose the new deal.

It follows the resignation of the head of the union’s junior doctors’ committee (JDC) last weekend, after only being in the post for four months.

The BMA had already cancelled a string of strikes planned this winter, amid warnings from medics that the plans were too dangerous. The Daily Telegraph

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