NHS must renew hygiene efforts to tackle ‘unacceptable and avoidable’ infection rates

Healthcare professionals should wash their hands before and after seeing every patient to help prevent the spread of infections such as MRSA and C difficile in the NHS. Around 300,000 people get an infection while being cared for within the NHS in England each year. One in 16 people being treated on the NHS picks up an infection. As a result, more NHS resources are consumed and the affected patients are at increased risk. In 2007, MRSA – or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – infections and C difficile infections were recorded as the underlying cause of, or a contributory factor in,approximately 9000 deaths in hospital and primary care in England. This latest NICE quality standard contains six statements designed to reduce infection rates, including a statement recommending that patients should be looked after by healthcare workers who always clean their hands thoroughly, both immediately before and immediately after contact or care.

The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) and Tameside Hospital join forces on the Friends and Family Test

The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Tameside Hospital have become the first in the country to collaborate on a new scheme which allows patients to rate their treatment and care to help improve services.

18 week target breached for first time in three years

The NHS has breached the target for 90 per cent of admitted patients to start treatment within 18 weeks for the first time since 2011, the latest figures from NHS England reveal.

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BMA wins back bank holidays for junior doctors

The BMA junior doctors committee has won agreement from NHS Employers that ‘zero-hour’ days — also known as ‘off’ days — cannot be double-counted as public holidays. JDC joint deputy chair Darshan Brahmbhatt said: ‘As we approach the Easter holiday period, we are delighted to announce that junior doctors should no longer risk losing out on public holidays due to the “bad luck” of when their rota days fall. ‘Juniors work hard, and should not face difficulty getting the days off that they are entitled to and deserve.’The agreement means that where junior doctors are on a rota to do a zero-hour day on a public holiday, they should receive a day in lieu.

Preventing falls among older people with mental health problems: a systematic review. BMC Nursing, 2014

Falls are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in older people and the risk of falling is exacerbated by mental health conditions. Existing reviews have focused on people with dementia and cognitive impairment, but not those with other mental health conditions or in mental health settings. The objective of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of fall prevention interventions for older people with mental health problems being cared for across all settings.

70 percent of nurses and midwives are missing out on over £170 a year

Nurses and midwives who do not claim tax relief on their annual NMC registration fee, subscription to their union or professional body, laundering of their uniform or for tights and shoes are missing out on over £170 a year the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has found

A false dichotomy: competition vs. integration in the NHS

This blog states that it is wrong to see competition as the opposite of integration
“…..closer integration can be a result of competition, when close cooperation of synergistic specialties becomes a competitive advantage. And compared to forced integration through top-down restructuring, competition-induced integration would be more likely to be of the right kind. There is integration and there is integration. Do we need bigger hospitals with more specialities under one rooftop? Or does it make more sense for providers to intensify cooperation in selected areas, while otherwise retaining their organisational independence?”

GP fronts poster campaign to reduce use of A&E

A Bedford GP has become the face of a campaign to cut unnecessary visits to A&E.

NHS England faces ‘unfunded’ redundancy costs

NHS England has an “unfunded cost pressure” for 2014-15, which sources have linked to a large-scale redundancy programme it failed to finish last year.