Monday 26 June 2017

'This will be the final straw': Northampton General Hospital volunteers asked to pay to park

'This will be the final straw': Northampton General Hospital volunteers asked to pay to park A number of NGH volunteers are considering resigning as a result of an 'unwarranted' parking charge at the hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Corby Urgent Care Centre operators say they won’t bid for new contract

Corby Urgent Care Centre operators say they won’t bid for new contract The operators of Corby’s Urgent Care Centre say they will not bid for a new contract to run the service unless they are given more money.

Lakeside+ Limited has run the centre since 2012 but became embroiled in a funding row in March, which led to fears over the centre’s future.

Corby CCG insisted that the centre would remain open and a tender process has opened for a new one-year contract, which would begin on October 1.

But Lakeside+ says it will not bid to run the centre unless the CCG meets NHS national tariffs and stops capping the sums it will pay. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS England announces new sites to redesign mental health services and cut out of area placements

NHS England announces new sites to redesign mental health services and cut out of area placements NHS England has announced a new tranche of sites to test new approaches to delivering mental health services – cutting the number of people travelling long distances for care.

Eleven new sites will be tasked with bringing down the number of people who receive in-patient hospital treatment and for those who do need more intensive care, that this is available closer to home.

The pilot sites, made up of NHS mental health trusts, independent sector and charitable organisations will work together, sharing a local budget, to effectively reorganise services in their area to provide the best care for patients.

Local managers and clinicians will take charge of managing budgets and providing inpatient and specialised mental health services, tailoring them to their area’s individual needs.

Enabling change through communities of practice

Enabling change through communities of practice In June 2014, National Voices set out to explore and test how communities of practice could facilitate the spread of large-scale change across England’s voluntary sector working for health and wellbeing. This report shares reflections on this project, and in the spirit of communities of practice, aims to share reflections in order that others can use the learning. National Voices

A Mental Health Act fit for tomorrow

A Mental Health Act fit for tomorrow Last summer, Rethink Mental Illness, along with members of the Mental Health Alliance, conducted the largest survey into the 34 year old Act. The message from the research was clear: the Act is no longer fit for purpose and there is a growing need for it to be reformed.

The research, the first of its kind, includes the views of over 8000 people who use mental health services, carers, and professionals working in the field. Half of those who responded did not think that people are treated with dignity and respect under the Mental Health Act.

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BMA chief: NHS is 'running on fumes'

BMA chief: NHS is 'running on fumes' The NHS in England is "running on fumes", the leader of the British Medical Association is warning.

Dr Mark Porter hit out at the government at the start of the union's annual conference.

He accused ministers of putting patients at risk and "picking the pockets" of NHS staff because of the squeeze on wages.

But ministers rejected the criticisms, saying they were putting more money into the health service. BBC News

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Wait for justice

Wait for justice Patients taking out private health insurance expect to get the best treatment, but what happens if things go wrong? While the NHS has paid out millions to the patients of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson, his private patients are still seeking compensation. Why? BBC News

NHS hernia mesh repairs 'leaving patients in chronic pain'

NHS hernia mesh repairs 'leaving patients in chronic pain' NHS England is using mesh to repair hernias which leaves many patients in chronic pain, surgeons have told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

The concerns come after it emerged that more than 800 women are taking legal action against the NHS over the use of vaginal mesh implants.

One woman said she was left "screaming on all fours from the agonising pain".

NHS England said mesh implants had been successfully used to treat hernias for several decades.

The material is its "recommended method" for treating the condition. It is used on tens of thousands of patients every year. BBC News

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NHS doctors turning to substance abuse amid rising levels of stress and burnout

NHS doctors turning to substance abuse amid rising levels of stress and burnout The number of GPs seeking specialist help for substance abuse and mental health problems is “increasing day on day”, the medical director of a new NHS support service for doctors has warned.

Referrals to the GP Health Service have surpassed expectations since its launch in late January, while medics in all fields are seeking help “in escalating numbers”, said Clare Gerada, former chair of the Royal College of GPs. Dr Gerada told The Independent stress and burn-out faced by family doctors with increasingly heavy workloads is contributing to the number of GPs developing severe depression and anxiety, with some turning to alcohol and substance misuse to cope with the pressure. The Independent

Difficulty of NHS language test ‘worsens nurse crisis’, say recruiters

Difficulty of NHS language test ‘worsens nurse crisis’, say recruiters Even native English speakers with degrees struggle to pass exams, as number of applicants from EU falls to 46 in April from 1,304 last July

Language tests introduced by the government to restrict immigration are stopping the NHS from recruiting foreign nurses – including highly qualified native English speakers.

Growing nursing shortages mean that the NHS has major gaps in its workforce, but this is being added to by Australians and other English-speaking nurses being turned down because they cannot pass the English tests. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS and police failings led to brutal murder of grandmother – report

NHS and police failings led to brutal murder of grandmother – report Nicola Edgington, who had previously murdered her own mother, killed Sally Hodkin after series of failings

A series of failings by the NHS and police led to a psychiatric patient brutally murdering a grandmother, a report has concluded.

Nicola Edgington almost decapitated Sally Hodkin, 58, with a butcher’s knife in Bexleyheath, south-east London, in 2011, six years after killing her own mother. Continue reading... The Guardian

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Soaring obesity could see millenials die at younger age than their parents 

Soaring obesity could see millenials die at younger age than their parents Four in ten young adults in Britain are overweight or obese, according to new figures released by the NHS.

Nearly three million 16- to 24-year-olds weigh too much - a million more than two decades ago, the statistics reveal.

Doctors said the generation risked dying at a younger age than their parents, despite a host of medical breakthroughs in recent decades.

The figures from NHS Digital, show 39 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds are overweight or obese, up from 27 per cent in 1993.

Soaring numbers have dangerously large waist sizes, the statistics reveal.

In total, 17 per cent of young men have a waist of at least 40 inches, compared with 4 per cent in 1993. The Daily Telegraph

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1,000 more psychiatrists needed to tackle 'unacceptable failings' in care 

1,000 more psychiatrists needed to tackle 'unacceptable failings' in care At least 1,000 more psychiatrists are needed to tackle “unacceptable” failings in treatment of the mentally ill, the head of the profession has said.

Sir Simon Wessely, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, called for urgent action to tackle widespread shortages of doctors, warning that he was “absolutely terrified” that the crisis would deepen as a result of Brexit.

Too many vulnerable patients were being sent for treatment hundreds of miles from home, because of shortages of specialists he said, with “scandalous” failings in some services.

In his final interview as president, he called for an overhaul of medical training, to plug widespread shortages of doctors which he fears will worsen if the supply of medics from Europe falls. The Daily Telegraph

Radical plans to ease NHS 999 targets amid mounting pressures 

Radical plans to ease NHS 999 targets amid mounting pressures Ambulances are set to be given far longer to reach 999 calls in a controversial bid to ease spiralling pressures on emergency services.

Handlers could be given four times as long to assess calls after a study of 10 million calls found too many cases being counted as hitting official targets, without patients getting the help they need.

Current rules state that 75 per cent of calls classed as life-threatening are supposed to receive a response within eight minutes. Before the clock starts, handlers have just 60 seconds to gather information - meaning they often send a response before crucial details have been established. The Daily Telegraph