Spend the £250m elective fund or lose it, Stevens warns trusts – Health Service Journal – Acute care news
Trusts could lose their share of the £250m elective fund if they do not perform increased numbers of patient procedures, the chief executive of NHS England has warned.

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Patients in control: why people with long-term conditions must be empowered – Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)
This report argues that more should be done to recognise and support the amount of self-management done by people with long-term conditions and their carers, and to enable people to work in partnership with healthcare providers to agree the services that fit their needs.

Ten trusts seek ‘local modification’ price hikes – and most are rejected – Health Service Journal – Acute care news
Only 10 trusts have made use of rules introduced under the government’s health reforms to seek permission to raise their prices above national ‘tariff’ rates – and most of those applications have been rejected.

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Mapping England’s Health and Wellbeing Boards’ vision for dying people – Help the Hospices
According to this research only around four in ten Health and Wellbeing Boards in England include the needs of dying people in their key strategies that shape health and social care services. The report makes various recommendations to address current issues relating to end of life care, especially with regard to quality, availability and coordination of care.

Better maternity care needed for socially disadvantaged women
Women from lower socioeconomic groups in the UK report a poorer experience of care during pregnancy and there needs to be a greater focus on their care. These are the findings of a new study published in BOJG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It explores the outcomes and experiences of maternity care amongst women from different socioeconomic groups in order to improve understanding of why socially disadvantaged women have poorer maternal health outcomes in the UK. The study concludes that there is a need for a focusing of professionals and services towards pregnant women from lower socio-economic groups and more targeted maternal public health education towards this group.

Evidence update: infection
NICE has published a new evidence update Infection (Evidence update 64). This update provides a summary of selected new evidence relevant to NICE clinical guideline 139 Prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections in primary and community care (2012). Evidence updates are intended to increase awareness of new evidence they do not replace current NICE guidance and do not provide formal practice recommendations.