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Preventable health crises which NHS staff are struggling under Labour's adversity:NHS
hospitals are warned on core standards NHS
trust slammed over £400,000 yacht fund Employers
face higher bills for health benefits Cancer
patient with months to live wins court order for last- chance drug on
NHS NICE
U Turn to save thousands of peoples' sight NHS
diabetes care 'still has mountain to climb', experts warn New
prostate cancer drug hailed by experts Dirty
NHS hospitals report 20,000 pest infestations Measles
endemic in Britain official warning Health
Direct compares dangers of drug taking Postcode
lottery claims heart attack victims Who
Cares- one family's shocking story of "care" in today's NHS 23
million people have not seen a dentist for two years Prescription
charges postcode lottery widens Number
of X-ray errors reported has doubled Thousands
of mistakes in cancer treatment costs NHS payouts of £50m Prostate
cancer services subject to wide postcode lottery Health
spending on non NHS care soars A&E
patients die waiting for ambulances to meet labour targets CBI
seeks go ahead on ISTC extra health centres Fighting
cancer and the ‘unjust’ health service Cancer
patient runs out of time in NHS drugs funding postcode lottery Major
study on the NHS reveals over 17,000 unnecessary deaths a year Dentist
shortage hits at least seven million people Wrong
sort of competition in NHS claims ex Health boss Prostate
Cancer- a health disservice Core
health standards being missed NHS
ignoring human rights of people with learning disabilities One
in 10 suffers hospital harm as blunders kill 90,000 patients Ambulances
queue at full hospital at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Patients
losing faith in the NHS, claims survey Record
numbers go abroad for health treatments DIY
dentistry- lack of access to NHS Dentists leaves people having to pull
their own teeth Hospitals
overlook superbug infection guidelines as preventable deaths grow Jane
Tomlinson widow asks for cancer drug review to end drugs postcode lottery NHS
rated as mediocre only 17 compared with 29 Allergy
epidemic gets poor care in the UK New
NHS complaints service launched by the Citizens Advice Bureau NHS
deaths could be halved say doctors as 10,000 die needlessly every year UK
stroke treatment is worst in Europe with hundreds needlessly dying every
year Cancer
survival rates- 7000 UK patients are dying needlessly every year Scandal
of filthy hospital kitchens Whistleblower
Surgeon breaks cover over NHS beds crisis Do
not give local authorities control of healthcare warns the Financial Times Dementia
victims being failed by NHS- NAO reports Labour's
NHS reforms pushed hospital chief to suicide finds coroner David
Cameron kills health 'passport' idea Lung
patients 'let down by NHS' BLF claim IVF
clinics are corrupt and greedy exploiting NHS postcode lottery- Winston
claims GPs
out of hours cover- death row shows systemic failure of service Thousands
of NHS patients still facing ordeal of mixed sex wards Postcode
lottery of death rates in NHS hospitals Indian
hospitals are better than NHS hospitals Patients
die in ambulances with no paramedics on board Labour's
dentistry health reforms 'have failed directly' Treatment
delays give patients new cancers Risks
of taking drugs- tobacco and alcohol 'are more dangerous than LSD' Medical
errors- new campaign aims to reduce deaths and costs Doctors
who face the dole as MMC's application IT system remains as fiasco 1.7m
will have dementia by 2051 Bird
flu- health officials finally propose big rise in antiviral drugs for
pandemic NHS
disintegration continues as health trust may hand most roles to private
companies Warning
of obesity risks to entire generation Catalogue
of abuse in NHS care homes Private
hospitals produce patchy standards Healthcare watchdog reveals Private
health contracts are destabilising NHS services claim Doctors Mentally
ill murder 400- a rate of 1 every week Degradation,
filth and shame in an NHS hospital on mixed sex wards NHS
Trusts warned not to axe acute mental health beds prematurely Scandal
of Labour's blunders that led to murder by mental patient Chaired by Robert Robinson, a mental health lawyer, the report is said to be one of the most damning in the past decade. Over 400 pages it details a catalogue of preventable errors at Springfield Hospital which led to Mr Finnegan's murder. It concludes that a special medium secure facility in the hospital, the Shaftesbury Unit, must be closed pending an external audit. Hewitt
faces major opposition to her NHS cutbacks and closure plans NHS
patient safety 'must improve' says Healthcare Commission Eighty
NHS cottage hospitals face cuts Britons
are the fattest in Europe Record
numbers of patients visit A & E as GPs services are cut Mental
health services are 'failing' as watchdog finds that the services are
abysmal. Tories
have best health and education policies, say voters in MORI poll IVF
donor sperm crisis revealed as NHS fails couples EU
chief to help cut barriers to patients crossing borders 90%
of Nurses 'too busy to monitor food'- new survey NHS
botches 300 births a year Insurer
tells hospitals cleanliness is way to healthy books Rural
areas lose out to cities over health spending postcode lottery Risks
of taking drugs compared- Scientific review of dangers of drug taking-
Drugs, the real deal Drug
classes have little link to the dangers MPs
demand changes to classification of illegal drugs Patients
'failed' by NHS inefficiency reports Sir Liam Donaldson the Chief Medical
Officer (CMO) Stroke
patients dying needlessly from Labour's health failures Whooping
cough is still widespread in the UK ‘Mediocre’
NHS fails to make Europe’s top 10- 22nd out of 26 Measles-
how a spurious health MMR scare brought an old killer back
Doctors
fight to save DTB drug guidance from government axe NHS
jobs cutbacks- Health Direct total now passes 15,000 staff axed Britain-
the sick heart of europe A
record 6 NHS hospital closures announced in one day in one county Scots
top heart death rate league in NHS postcode lottery
NHS
cutbacks and closures- Health Direct notes 11,525 NHS jobs are announced
to date RCN warns of 13,000 NHS jobs cuts in cash crisisMon 24 Apr- Financial instability – the national picture: the NHS audit review shows well over a quarter of NHS organisations in England (including a third of Acute Trusts) have failed to break even at the end of the financial year 04/05. For the financial year 05/06, RCN does not believe that this is improving and estimates 27% of all NHS Trusts (and approximately half of Foundation Trusts) will report an end of year deficit. Chief execs should ‘take the rap’ if the elderly are failed on dignityFri 21 Apr- Chief executives could face the sack if their trusts consistently fail to treat their elderly patients with dignity, the national clinical director for older people has said. Professor Ian Philp told HSJ he wanted to see dignity breaches become as ‘totemic’ an issue for senior managers as four-hour accident and emergency waits. NHS cutbacks and closures- 7,500 latest roll call reviewFri 14 Apr- NHS hospital job cuts that will run into more than 7,500 have been announced in recent weeks as the NHS struggles to balance the books. Here is a timetable of the latest cutbacks and redundancy announcements Warning over NHS hospital closures in "creative destruction"Thu 6 Apr- The National Health Service is entering a period of "creative destruction" when hospitals will need to close and services be reconfigured, the former head of the Department of Health's strategy unit warned this week. But Chris Ham, professor of health services management at Birmingham University, said there were serious doubts about whether politicians and health ministers "will be prepared to live with the consequences". He said: "My guess is that they won't." The 2001 election result in Kidderminster was "engraved on politicians' minds", Prof Ham said. Madness- Britain's mental health time bombMon 27 Mar- New figures reveal one in five people will need treatment. Which is why experts are calling £20m cuts in services 'cruel and insane'. Health authorities are secretly cutting millions of pounds in funding for psychiatric services, despite alarming new evidence of a crisis affecting an estimated one in five people in Britain. In a move branded "the real madness" by health experts, debt-ridden NHS trusts are slashing budgets and cutting care for the mentally ill. Hewitt puts job on the line in defence of NHS reformsTue 21 Mar -Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, has put her job on the line over the National Health Service’s finances and pledged to press ahead with market-based reforms. The reforms might seem to be going “too far and too fast”, she said, but were “absolutely necessary” and “the only route to safeguard the NHS”. Her pledge to press ahead came as it emerged that hundreds of jobs are likely to be cut from NHS Direct, the flagship telephone and web-based helpline as competition from others for services it hoped to provide threaten to plunge it into a deficit later this year. Public pessimism about NHS grows sharply for Labours reformsThu 16 Mar- Public perceptions of the National Health Service have become sharply more pessimistic over the past three months, with an opinion poll showing the highest level of voter disillusion with the sector in four years. According to the latest results of the quarterly Deloitte/Ipsos MORI delivery index, some 22 per cent of people said they expected the NHS to get better over the next few years while 44 per cent expected it to get worse.. NHS overspending increases waiting times for patientsTue 7 Mar- Early signs that a big overspend in the National Health Service in England is starting to affect patient care came with the waiting list figures for January. Although the total list rose by only 7,600 in the month, up 1 per cent, the number of patients waiting between three and five months for treatment has jumped by 36,600- 25 per cent. In other words, while the number of patients waiting has only risen slightly, the wait has increased. Unfunded black hole in NHS pensions schemes grows to £26.8 billionMon 27 Feb- The black hole in public sector pensions is almost four times larger than originally estimated, Whitehall accounts show. This follows a change in the way the Government works out the cost of its retirement schemes. Labour Government documents show that since last year the amount of annual provision needed for public sector pensions has risen from £24.2 billion to £81 billion. For the NHS the Treasury figures disclosed that the provision for the NHS pension schemes this year are some £26.8 billion, rather than the £7.8 billion in the previous year's figures. Lung Cancer Patients' Charter set up to combat NHS biasWed 8 Feb- Lung cancer is the UK's biggest cancer killer but sufferers are still not getting the care and attention they deserve, campaigners say. Patients who want more done to combat the disease have drawn up a Lung Cancer Patients Charter to set minimum standards for treatment. Dobson leads opposition to plans for doctors' surgeries in supermarketsThu 2 Feb- Frank Dobson has warned the Labour Government that allowing Tesco to offer family doctor style services could lead to the closure of GP surgeries. The former health secretary is leading opposition to the plans to bring private companies in to run NHS services usually provided by family doctors. Alzheimer's drugs to be available to NHS patientsFri 27 Jan- Key drugs for people with moderate dementia will continue to be available on the NHS under revised plans unveiled by the treatment watchdog. NICE provoked an uproar in March last year when it published draft guidance which stated that drug treatments. Sex offenders can still slip through NHS netWed 25 Jan- Known sex offenders could be employed in front-line children's services for up to six months before their records are revealed. Trusts have been using a fast-track system since 2002, which clears recruits against government black lists, but these does not cross-reference with either the sex offenders register or local police information. Cancer patients lose out in radiotherapy pressuresTue 17 Jan- Staff shortages in radiotherapy units across the UK are leading to long waits for cancer patients and may be reducing their survival chances, a report says. Departments are often less able to cope with the volume of patients than their counterparts in many poorer countries, a British Medical Journal report said. Welsh NHS in intensive care due to cash crisisWed 11 Jan- Jonathan Osborne, an ENT consultant in North Wales, is stepping down as chairman of the Welsh consultants' committee. Here, Health Direct reproduces his damning assessment on the state of the NHS in Wales. As Wales struggles through the critical winter months, when hospitals are crammed to bursting point with emergency medical admissions, is our health service up to the task? The omens are not good. NHS trust scraps Cardiac Catheter Ablation heart op that cured BlairTue 3 Jan- An NHS trust is scrapping the routine procedure- Cardiac catheter ablation that cured Tony Bliar of a heart murmur, because of its financial deficit and the need to hit the government's six month waiting list targets. The move by Oxford Radcliffe trust will leave hundreds of patients with a debilitating condition that reduces their quality of life. Thousands of elderly die alone in their homesThu 29 Dec- 'Home alone' deaths for thousands- thousands of people die miserable deaths alone, uncared for and in poverty, figures suggest. A study by MP Paul Burstow found around 60 people a week die alone without the support of friends and family. Health watchdog finds two thirds of hospitals are dirty in spot inspectionsMon 19 Dec- The Healthcare Commission challenged hospitals to regain the confidence of patients on cleanliness by bringing all services up to the standards of the best. The regulator made the move when publishing the findings of the first independent inspections of hospital cleanliness in England. Inspectors visited 99 NHS and private hospitals between July and September, arriving unannounced to prevent a late clean up operation. Health financial balancing act tumbles off tightropeFri 16 Dec- Why, amid the biggest feast in the National Health Service's 57-year history, have parts of it managed to create such a famine? It is a question that even those in charge of the NHS's finances are struggling to answer - let alone the bemused lay person who looks on bewildered as about a quarter of NHS trusts shed staff, delay operations for weeks or months, and cancel clinics in order to reduce by next April a deficit that between them is currently projected to total almost £1bn. Hit teams to go into hospitals in deficit- which will only increase their cash shortagesWed 7 Dec- Emergency turn-around teams are to be sent into the worst performing hospitals in England to tackle the NHS's predicted £623 million budget deficit. Announcing the move, Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, said the teams were highly experienced in solving financial crises and management problems in the health service. Health Direct warns that these "hit teams" will be extremely expensive as they are consultants from the private sector. But these experts are not from any organisations with any medical specialiality- they are bean counters from McKinsey and PwC. Teenagers health worsens despite millions being spentThu 1 Dec- Scottish teenages are getting fatter and more youngsters are smoking and drinking, according to a worrying new report. Scots appear to be ignoring messages aimed at improving their health, according to a new report which has found that obesity is on the rise and more teenagers are smoking and drinking. MS patients to be given cannabis spray drugMon 21 Nov- A cannabis-based medicine is being made available to British patients with multiple sclerosis for the first time following approval from the Home Office for its importation from Canada. The oral spray derived from the cannabis plant will be available on prescription for around £4 a day. Research indicates that it relieves the pain and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. Tamiflu anti bird flu drug linked to two deathsThu 17 Nov- The anti-flu drug Tamiflu can induce strange behaviour leading to accidental death, Japan's health ministry has warned, after two teenagers died shortly after taking the medicine. Anti male bias in battle for Cancer moneyWed 9 Nov- A man diagnosed with prostate cancer has only one- quarter of the cash spent on research into his disease compared to the amount devoted to a woman’s breast cancer. The wide discrepancy shows the scale of the discrimination against men. The two diseases kill similar numbers. CMO labels N5H1 bird flu as 'Public Enemy No1'Wed 2 Novt- The Chief Medical Officer- Sir Liam Donaldson, has called on NHS managers to 'react as well' to a flu pandemic as they did to the London bombings. Professor Sir Liam Donaldson was speaking last week as he unveiled a revised contingency plan to deal with a possible transmission of avian flu to humans. H5N1 Asian Bird flu may have been brought into UK earlier than thoughtThu 27 Oct- The possibility that H5N1 Asian bird flu could already be present in Britain is being studied by Government vets who are investigating whether the potentially lethal strain contaminated a quarantine "facility" in Essex much earlier than thought. H5N1 bird flu inevitable says Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam DonaldsonMon 17 Oct- A severe form of avian influenza or ‘bird flu’ – called H5N1 – has affected poultry flocks and other birds in several Asian countries since 2003. As of 17 October 2005, 117 people have also caught the infection, as a result of close and direct contact with infected birds. Sixty of these have subsequently died. 17 million hospital food meals are wastedThu 13 Oct- One in 10 hospital meals is thrown away untouched, according to figures which raise fresh concerns over the hidden scandal of malnutrition among NHS patients. More than 17 million platefuls went into the bin last year, amid complaints from patients' organisations that elderly and confused patients are not being given the help they need to eat, and that many are missing meals. Half of Primary Care Trusts to close in NHS efficiency driveTue 11 Oct- The Department of Health is planning to axe more than half of Britain's 302 Primary Care Trusts, which were created only three years ago. Sir Nigel Crisp, the chief executive of the Department of Heath, has written to the 28 Strategic Health Authorities urging them to make substantial cuts to the trusts, which purchase services from hospitals on behalf of general practitioners UK Cancer care is worst in W Europe- NICE's money shortages blamedMon 3 Oct- British delays keep new drugs from cancer patients- cancer patients in Britain are less likely to be treated with the latest medicines than those in almost any other European country, except for former communist states such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The lack of availability affects treatments including Herceptin, the breast cancer “wonder drug”. 1 in 4 people who may have diabetes are undiagnosed, new audit suggestsThu 22 Sep- A quarter of all people who may have diabetes have not been identified, leaving them at increased risk of developing serious complications. This is a key finding of a clinical audit carried out by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on behalf of the Healthcare Commission. Postcode lottery for drugs caused by NICEFri 16 Sep- Cuts keep patients waiting for drugs- Tens of thousands of patients face potentially fatal delays in receiving the best drugs for their diseases because of Government cuts, it was admitted. Almost a quarter of the treatment appraisals being carried out by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) have been delayed because it has had to scrap one of its three committees carrying out assessments. NHS warned over more A&E unit closuresWed 24 Aug- Fears are growing about patient safety over the rising number of A&E units which are closing. Demand on A&E departments has rocketed since GPs stopped routinely providing out-of-hours cover last year. Flu pandemic is a high possibility the HPA has warnedMon 15 Aug- The risk of an influenza pandemic is at its highest for a 'very, very long time', the Health Protection Agency has warned. The agency has been preparing for an outbreak of a new virus 'as though it will happen', chief executive Professor Pat Troop New NHS star ratings by Healthcare CommissionMon 1 Aug- The Healthcare Commission has just published the annual star ratings of performance for NHS trusts in England. Star ratings show that the NHS improving against tougher targets but that a third of acute trusts fail on financial performance. NPSA publishes first NHS patient safety data analysisTue 26 July- More than half a million patients every year suffer as a result of medical errors or incidents while in NHS hospitals. The first public analysis of patient safety data in England and Wales is published by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). Hospitals failing on safety targets, says CMOThur 21 July- Hospitals are slow to introduce measures to protect patients' lives, Prof Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer for England, said yesterday. Publishing his annual report, On the State of Public Health, Sir Liam said the NHS had "not fully embraced" the concept of patient safety. NHS still has a long way to go to achieve a ‘patient-led’ service, says the Healthcare CommissionTue 19 July- Despite improvements the NHS still falls short on putting patients first, says a watchdog. The NHS still has a long way to go to achieve a ‘patient-led’ service, says the Healthcare Commission. Prostate cancer 'priority' callMon 18 July- Over 30,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK each year and over 10,000 die from the cancer. Prostate cancer patients are demanding the disease is given a higher priority by the government and the NHS. CMO criticises helpline delayTue 12 July- The chief medical officer will urge the police to set up emergency helplines more quickly after hospitals were flooded with calls from anxious relatives of commuters caught up in the London terror attacks. BMA condemns competition and payment by results in NHSFri 8 July- The competitive market in the NHS and the policy of "payment by results" were both condemned by representatives at the BMA's annual meeting in Manchester. Care for old failing in LondonMon 4 July- Press headlines proclaiming a ‘care crisis’ have been commonplace in recent years. As care homes have closed and as hospitals have been unable to discharge patients who no longer need medical treatment but require some form of social care, there have been fears that the care market is failing. Targets turn hospital into war zone, doctor tells HewittFri 1 July- A junior doctor told Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, that targets in accident departments were turning her hospital into a war zone. Patients want cleanliness not choice BMA poll findsTue 28 June- Cleaning dirty hospitals should be the top priority for the NHS and is much more important than giving patients a choice of where they are treated, a poll of patients conducted for the doctors' organisation, the British Medical Association (BMA) found. NHS anti male bias kills 2,500 lives a yearTue 21 June- Doctors have identified a “funding bias” against men within the National Health Service that they believe is costing at least 2,500 lives a year. Third of NHS staff 'reject own hospitals'Thur 16 June- NHS staff were asked their views on a range of issues and around a third of NHS staff would not want to be treated in their own hospitals, a survey has found. Hospital managers forced into 'life and death' choicesTue 14 June- Hospital managers are being forced to make life or death decisions about closing wards when faced with an infection outbreak, according to the body that represents NHS trusts. Heart patients lack aftercareWed 8 June- The Healthcare Commission today (Wednesday) publishes a survey of nearly 4,000 heart patients who have attended NHS trusts across England. The survey suggests too many patients are not receiving follow-up care and rehabilitation after being hospitalised with coronary heart disease. Cannabis may help mentally illMon 6 June- Chemicals found in cannabis could be used to relieve symptoms of severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, researchers have claimed. Chief brands trust boards a disasterFri 27 May- The chief executive of the NHS Appointments Commission has launched a stinging attack on trusts' committee culture, which he branded a 'disaster'. Out-of-hours systems miss targetsThur 19 May- Now that Primary Care Trusts co-ordinate out-of-hours services, health bosses in the West have failed to meet some of their targets in providing an out-of-hours service. Targeting the NHS targetsWed 18 May- This labour government will be forever associated with targets when it comes to the health service. The t-word really came to the fore in the 2000 NHS Plan, which set more than 200 targets from increasing staff numbers to cutting waiting times. Doctor stands for NHS servicesTue, 3 May- Dr Robert 'Bob' Hodges- is standing as an independent Parliamentary candidate in the Cheltenham constituency at the General Election as he is fighting the closure of NHS services. NHS fertility system in chaosThu, April 28- Plans to reform fertility treatment available on the NHS have resulted in a chaotic postcode lottery system with vast differences in the level of treatment on offer. 750,000 UK flu pandemic deaths predictedMon, March 28- Mortuaries and emergency services are to be put on alert and told to prepare for up to three-quarters of a million deaths from a bird flu pandemic, The Independent on Sunday can reveal Cot crisis in birthing cutbacks-Thu, March 17- Dozens of women due to give birth to seriously premature babies are being sent hundreds of miles around Britain each week because of an NHS crisis over intensive care cots Government's A&E target puts patient care at risk, says BMA survey-Despite the colossal efforts of accident and emergency (A&E) staff to improve waiting times for patients, the pressure to meet the Government’s 4-hour waiting target can put patient care at risk, according to new figures published by the British Medical Association (BMA) Hospital's "systemic failure" killed patient-A Bristol hospital's "continued system failure" contributed to the death of a patient, an inquest jury has ruled. John Stratton was wrongly given an overdose of Heparin, an anti-blood clotting drug, at Bristol Royal Infirmary in January 2004. 25,000 die from preventable VTE-Each year over 25,000 people in England die from venous thromboembolism (VTE) contracted in hospital. This is more than the combined total of deaths from breast cancer, AIDS and traffic accidents, and more than twenty-five times the number who die from MRSA. The figures are alarmingly high. £200m vaccine will only be just a stopgap against flu outbreak-More than 53,000 people could die, but antiviral jab will not prevent all the deaths the Government took out a £200 million insurance policy yesterday against an epidemic of flu that could kill more than 50,000 people. Great Ormond St hospital cancelled ope |
