Scale of avoidable loss of life by suicide is unacceptable

Scale of avoidable loss of life by suicide is unacceptable The Government must prioritise a clear implementation strategy and increase support for public mental health and early intervention services if it is to bring down the unacceptable suicide rate, says the Health Select Committee in its interim report into suicide prevention.

See also:

• Scale of suicide unacceptable, say MPs BBC News
• Suicide: We must end isolation, says campaigner BBC News
• One in three suicide victims sees GP before taking their own life The Daily Telegraph
• MPs urge government to do more to combat 'unacceptable' UK suicide rates The Guardian

Doing justice to mental health in STPs

Doing justice to mental health in STPs Claire Murdoch, the national director for mental health in England, recently argued that some sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) are failing to do ‘justice’ to mental health. Following on from this, we might ask what justice would look like if we had it. For me, the answer would have to include making mental health central to work on new models of care and also part of the approach taken in STPs towards improving population health.

Ignoring the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing leads to some of the grossest inefficiencies in the health and care system. For example, we have estimated that in England, poor mental health drives up the annual cost of long-term physical health conditions by between £8 billion and £13 billion. The fact is – and it should hardly surprise us – that when people are struggling to deal with the social and emotional pressures in their lives, their physical health often deteriorates – and the impact of that is felt strongly in general practice, A&E and elsewhere. And yet all too often we act as if these issues should be of concern only to mental health professionals. The King's Fund

Policy paper: Impact of the spending review on health and social care: government response

Policy paper: Impact of the spending review on health and social care: government response This document sets out the government’s response to the 29 conclusions and recommendations made in the House of Commons Health Select Committee report. Department of Health

Policy paper: Public health post-2013 report: government response

Policy paper: Public health post-2013 report: government response The government’s response to the House of Commons Health Committee Report on public health post-2013 responds to each of its recommendations on subjects such as funding, improving public health, politics and evidence, boundary issues and fragmentation and leadership.

This response was prepared by the Department of Health in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England.

Improving care for people with long-term conditions

Improving care for people with long-term conditions This report, published by the RPS in Scotland, argues that pharmacist led care of people with long term conditions could deliver better results and be more cost effective. It focuses on the role of the pharmacist as part of a multidisciplinary approach to tackling the challenges facing the NHS in providing the highest quality care and support for people with long term conditions. Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Is air pollution really a public health crisis?

Is air pollution really a public health crisis? It could lead to a ban on diesel cars, prevent the building of a third runway at Heathrow and will certainly make it more expensive to drive in towns and cities.

Air pollution has been called the "public health crisis of a generation" - but just how serious is the problem? BBC News

Locums claim up to £155 an hour to fill NHS gaps

Locums claim up to £155 an hour to fill NHS gaps Staff shortages leave cash-strapped hospitals reliant on costly cover

Locum doctors are holding the NHS to ransom by demanding “excessive” rates of pay from cash-strapped hospitals, the service’s financial regulator has warned.

Some stand-in doctors are earning as much as £155 an hour for covering shifts in hospitals that are facing serious staff shortages, or in medical specialties in which rota gaps are common, such as A&E and radiology. The soaring pay rates have emerged through an analysis undertaken by NHS Improvement (NHSI), the health service’s financial regulator. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS cashes in on private payers as waiting lists soar

NHS cashes in on private payers as waiting lists soar Hospitals’ income from ‘queue jumpers’ rises while 360,000 non-payers face delays beyond 18 weeks

Income received by NHS hospital trusts from private patients has risen by 23% in the last four years, as waiting lists for non-paying patients have soared.

Under the government’s reforms, hospitals have been given the right to raise 49% of their funds through non-NHS work, often from patients seeking to avoid waiting for surgery. Prior to this, there had been a 2% cap on income that could be raised from private patients. Continue reading... The Guardian

The social care crisis is pulling NHS trusts further underwater

The social care crisis is pulling NHS trusts further underwater Managers tell of the equivalent of several wards of patients stuck in hospitals for want of social services

The government’s refusal to find any new money for social care will inflict significant and lasting damage on the NHS and the lives of its patients.

The local government finance settlement announced by the communities secretary, Sajid Javid, this week did virtually nothing to alleviate the growing social care crisis. He simply allowed local authorities to bring forward council tax increases and shifted £240m from housing.

Safe occupancy levels are now breached routinely, increasing the risk of hospital-acquired infections Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Do not wash your hands of NHS and social care problems, MPs told The Guardian
• Social care spending falling below £554 minimum in most areas The Guardian

Out of puff: UK becomes of the most successful nationals in Europe for cutting down on smoking

Out of puff: UK becomes of the most successful nationals in Europe for cutting down on smoking Men and women in the UK are both down overall in smoking with Sweden being the only country in Europe to have a lower proportion of smokers, according to a recent survey bu Eurostat. The Daily Mail

Social care needs force 50,000 pensioners to sell their homes

Social care needs force 50,000 pensioners to sell their homes Fifty thousand pensioners have been forced to sell their homes to pay for social care in the last year, despite a Government pledge that nobody would have to use their house to pay.

House of Commons library figures show that tens of thousands of older people have put their properties on the market to cover care costs, amid fears that the trend may continue because councils do not have enough money for social care. The Daily Telegraph

Hospitals ordered to stop vast majority of operations in crisis move

Hospitals ordered to stop vast majority of operations in crisis move Hospitals have been ordered to stop carrying out the vast majority of operations in a desperate bid to attempt to fend off a growing NHS crisis.

Health regulators have stepped in to order the extreme measures amid rising panic about how services will cope with mounting strain.

In an average month, the health service carries out about 600,000 planned operations, as well as urgent procedures.

Now hospitals have been told to stop carrying out most planned surgery, to focus on treating emergency cases. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Hospitals ordered to cancel the most 'non-urgent' operations until next year over winter fears The Daily Mail
• Hospitals ordered to divert patients from overstretched A&Es The Daily Telegraph
• Hospitals in England told to put operations on hold to free up beds The Guardian