NHS England looks to do more to tackle health inequalities - Local Government Chronicle

NHS England looks to do more to tackle health inequalities - Local Government Chronicle 

NHS England is considering what more it and the NHS should be doing about health inequalities, partly in response to “disturbing” figures showing life expectancy falling in some areas, Health Service Journal reports.
Chief executive Simon Stevens has asked officials to look at whether NHS England, the commissioning system and the wider health service should be doing more about the issue, several sources with knowledge of the situation have said. Local Government Chronicle

Alopecia patients should be given 'one human hair NHS wig a year' - BBC News

Alopecia patients should be given 'one human hair NHS wig a year' - BBC News People who have alopecia should be allowed one human hair wig per year on the NHS in England, a charity says.

At the moment, local health bosses decide how many wigs patients are entitled to in their area.

Alopecia UK says its data suggests in some areas patients are offered two wigs a year, while in others they aren't offered any.

NHS England said there is no nationally set limit and "all patients' needs and circumstances are different". BBC News

Strong leadership essential to delivering improvement in mental health hospital care

Strong leadership essential to delivering improvement in mental health hospital care The Care Quality Commission has published a report that explores how seven NHS mental health trusts have been able to make significant improvements in the quality of care and improve their CQC rating. Care Quality Commission

Responsibility for prescribing between primary and secondary/tertiary care

Responsibility for prescribing between primary and secondary/tertiary care 

This guidance aims to provide clarity on the responsibilities of all professionals involved in commissioning and prescribing across primary, secondary and tertiary care, and to provide support in developing shared care agreements and in the transfer of care. NHS England

Medicines optimisation in care homes: programme overview

Medicines optimisation in care homes: programme overview 

NHS England - This guidance outlines details of a programme which aims to recruit pharmacists into care homes to help reduce overmedication and cut unncessary hospital stays. King's Fund

The health, safety and wellbeing of shift workers in health and social care environments

The health, safety and wellbeing of shift workers in health and social care environments 

NHS Employers - This guidance sets out how shift work can impact on staff health and safety and how organisations and individuals should manage any risks on staff wellbeing. King's Fund

Counter-terrorism in the NHS: evaluating Prevent Duty safeguarding in the NHS

Counter-terrorism in the NHS: evaluating Prevent Duty safeguarding in the NHS 

University of Warwick - The Prevent Duty is a component of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 which requires health care providers to train their staff about the signs of radicalisation and how to report patients or staff to safeguarding teams. This report looks at how Midlands health care providers undertook their safeguarding responsibilities under the Prevent Duty. King's Fund

Class A drugs 'brought in for patients' at Essex mental health trust

Class A drugs 'brought in for patients' at Essex mental health trust A BBC investigation has uncovered allegations of staff at a mental health trust in Essex bringing in drugs for vulnerable patients.
The BBC was told Class A drugs had been brought on to secure, locked wards - and that the trust had been alerted.
The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) has launched an inquiry into the allegations.
It said it was unaware of them and that it worked with Essex police liaison officers to monitor issues.
Relatives and patients claimed drugs were rife at some of the mental health units run by EPUT. BBC News

Under-doctored areas to get new medical schools

Under-doctored areas to get new medical schools Five new medical schools are to be created in England as part of the government's expansion of training places.
The schools will open in Sunderland, Lancashire, Lincoln, Canterbury and Chelmsford over the next three years.
Places at existing schools are also being increased as part of the government's commitment to increase student places by 25%.
It will mean by 2020 there will be 1,500 more students each year.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the new schools were being targeted at parts of the country where it "can be hard to recruit and attract new doctors". BBC News

See also:

• More medical schools to fill NHS gaps The Times

'I've been given my sight back'

'I've been given my sight back' Doctors have taken a major step towards curing the most common form of blindness in the UK - age-related macular degeneration.
Douglas Waters, 86, could not see out of his right eye, but "I can now read the newspaper" with it, he says.
He was one of two patients given pioneering stem cell therapy at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
Cells from a human embryo were grown into a patch that was delicately inserted into the back of the eye. BBC News

Protections for NHS whistleblowers will stop blacklisting - The Times

Protections for NHS whistleblowers will stop blacklisting - The Times NHS whistleblowers will be able to take employers to a tribunal if they are not offered a job because they have spoken up in the past, under draft legislation being introduced today.
The changes were recommended in 2015 in Sir Robert Francis’s Freedom to Speak Up review which found that many people struggled to find new employment in the NHS after raising safety concerns. The Times

See also:

• Consultation outcome: Protecting whistleblowers seeking jobs in the NHS Department of Health

How exercise prescriptions could change the NHS

How exercise prescriptions could change the NHS Sports medicine graduates will be in high demand to combat inactivity epidemic
We know exercise is good for us, yet human beings may now be on the verge of dangerous levels of inactivity. Historically we’ve always been active, from our hunter gatherer past to manual labour in the industrial age - until cars, computers and labour-saving devices took much of the physicality out of work. Now, according to analysis of national health statistics by the British Heart Foundation, 39% of adults in the UK fail to achieve recommended levels of physical activity or exercise. But recent research shows how crucial activity is to our health. The Guardian