Thursday 21 September 2017

Agreement reached to keep Corby’s Urgent Care Centre open

Agreement reached to keep Corby’s Urgent Care Centre open An agreement to extend the contract to run Corby’s Urgent Care Centre has been reached.

Corby CCG and the site’s operators, Lakeside+, had been in a stalemate after a disagreement over funding levels to run the service in March this year.

Lakeside’s contract was due to end at the end of September with no bidders coming forward to take over, meaning the site faced potential closure.

But on Wednesday an agreement to extend the contract has been reached. Northamptonshire Telegraph

The world is running out of antibiotics, WHO report confirms

The world is running out of antibiotics, WHO report confirms A report, Antibacterial agents in clinical development – an analysis of the antibacterial clinical development pipeline, including tuberculosis, launched today by WHO shows a serious lack of new antibiotics under development to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Most of the drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions. The report found very few potential treatment options for those antibiotic-resistant infections identified by WHO as posing the greatest threat to health, including drug-resistant tuberculosis which kills around 250 000 people each year. World Health Organization

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Staffing crisis in NHS laid bare, as new BMA analysis shows that three quarters of medical specialities face shortage of doctors

Staffing crisis in NHS laid bare, as new BMA analysis shows that three quarters of medical specialities face shortage of doctors The British Medical Association (BMA) is today warning that patient care is at risk due to a chronic shortage of doctors across most areas of medicine.

Figures obtained by the BMA show that training places across three in four medical specialties in England went unfilled last year, with many specialties experiencing recruitment shortfalls year on year.

The figures, obtained through FoI requests, show that at each stage of the training process, from applications to medical school, to training as a specialist, fewer people are choosing to enter medicine or remain in the NHS as doctors.

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Neglected Minds: A report on mental health support for younger people leaving care.

Neglected Minds: A report on mental health support for younger people leaving care This report highlights that two thirds of care leavers identified as having mental health needs were not receiving any help from a statutory service. It also found that one in four had faced a mental health crisis since leaving care. Barnardo's wants clinical commissioning groups to invest more in services specifically aimed at meeting the needs of young people leaving care, such as embedding a mental health worker within leaving care teams.

Access and waiting times in children and young people's mental health services

Access and waiting times in children and young people's mental health services This report examines new data on access to specialist treatment for children and young people with mental health problems, and the waiting times they face. It finds that children with mental health problems face barriers when seeking access to mental health services. It also finds that, over the last year, overall waiting times (including both assessment and treatment) have fallen – yet there remains substantial variation across England. This data was obtained by EPI through a Freedom of Information request. Education Policy Institute

Quit smoking campaign Stoptober backs e-cigs for first time

Quit smoking campaign Stoptober backs e-cigs for first time The annual Stoptober campaign in England is embracing e-cigarettes for the first time - in a sign vaping is being seen as the key to getting people to quit.

Health experts have tended to shy away from explicitly promoting e-cigarettes.

But the government campaign during October will feature vaping in its TV adverts for the first time.

It comes after e-cigarettes proved the most popular tool for quitting during last year's campaign.

Some 53% of people used them, helping push the numbers of people taking part in Stoptober since its launch in 2012 to over 1.5 million. BBC News

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Court ruling not needed to withdraw care, judge says

Court ruling not needed to withdraw care, judge says Legal permission will no longer be required to end care for patients in a permanent vegetative state, a judge has ruled.

Until now, even if medics and relatives agree to withdraw nutrition from a patient, a judge must also consent.

But a landmark decision by Mr Justice Jackson means those cases will no longer have to come to court.

The official solicitor, appointed by the state to act for such patients, is likely to appeal against the ruling. BBC News

MMR vaccine first-dose target met in England

MMR vaccine first-dose target met in England The percentage of children getting their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) by their fifth birthday has reached 95% for the first time, NHS data shows.

This meets a World Health Organization target. Coverage has been increasing in England for the past 10 years.

The NHS says children should have two doses of the vaccine before starting school.

But only 87.6% had received both doses by their fifth birthday. BBC News

The Government Has Failed On Mental Health For The Fourth Year In A Row

The Government Has Failed On Mental Health For The Fourth Year In A Row Where’s the money to make a reality of the Prime Minister’s oft-stated, but yet to be delivered, claim of parity for mental health?

New figures I have gathered through Freedom of Information requests to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across England reveal that, for the fourth year in a row, the government has failed to deliver on its promise to increase the money reaching the mental health frontline. In fact, for the second year in a row, over half of CCGs across England report that they plan to reduce the proportion of their budget they spend on mental health. It is wonderful that after years of embarrassed silence, more and more people are able to talk about mental health. Huffington Post UK

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One in seven GP practices in England failing on safety

One in seven GP practices in England failing on safety London has highest rate of practices needing to improve, but ‘super surgeries’ fare better, says Care Quality Commission

About 7 million people are being treated at GP surgeries in England that have severe safety problems, according to the first performance review of its kind by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

One in seven GP practices are failing on safety, even after CQC inspectors have told them to improve, the report found, with smaller practices more likely to be rated “inadequate” or “requiring improvement”. Continue reading... The Guardian

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App set to transform the lives of dementia patients

App set to transform the lives of dementia patients A 'revolutionary' smartphone app could transform the lives of dementia patients at just the click of a button by telling them how to change their homes.

Iridis gives sufferers feedback within 20 minutes on how to slash their risk of injuries and confusion in the comfort of their own home.

Hailed as 'exciting', it highlights possible dangers, such as wall colour clashing with that of grab rails in the bathroom or the need of better lighting.

Simple suggestions such as changing the colour of the toilet bowl to help patients find the loo easier are also offered - reducing the risk of an accident.

Recommendations to extend their curtain rods to allow more light into rooms and reducing reflective glares can also be made to boost their quality of life. The Daily Mail