In the news w/e 04 January

Your media headlines roundup, week ending 04 January…

Council leaders across Essex sign letter highlighting concerns over London families being moved to the county
Essex Live – 28 Dec 2018
They say it causes increased pressure on services. Read the full story.

Alexa app for elderly aid bridges digital divide, acts as companion
SiliconANGLE – 28 Dec 2018
The AI technology in Amazon Alexa’s virtual assistant could prove a handy in-home healthcare assistant, according to Dr. Justin Marley (pictured, right), consultant psychiatrist at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT). Read the full story.

Child health record ‘red book’ to go online
BBC News – 30 Dec 2018
The “red book”, containing a child’s medical records, is to be made available to parents online as part of government plans to improve NHS care for mothers and new babies. Read the full story.

The breakthroughs that could save our lives
BBC News – 29 Dec 2018
It has been a remarkable year of promise in medical science – from reversing blindness and paralysis to progress in cancer and infertility. Read the full story.

Hope for childless couples as MPs vote to end ‘disgraceful’ IVF postcode lottery that denies would-be parents the chance to have free treatment on the NHS – (WECCG mentioned in article – no comment made)
Mail Online – 02 Jan 2019
Childless couples have been given fresh hope that 2019 will be the year where the NHS IVF postcode lottery will finally end. Read the full story.

Missed GP appointments ‘cost NHS England £216m’
BBC Health – 02 Jan 2019
NHS Digital GP appointments data shows more than 1.2 million GP hours are being wasted each year. Read the full story.

The challenges facing the NHS in 2019
BBC Health – 02 Jan 2019
When the NHS is preoccupied with immediate pressures, like the surge in numbers of sick patients that winter brings, it’s hard to imagine how there can be time for senior managers to think beyond the next month, never mind five years or more. But they are having to. Read the full story.

Children ‘exceed recommended sugar limit by age 10’
BBC Health – 02 Jan 2019
This is based on their total sugar consumption from the age of two, says Public Health England (PHE). Read the full story.

Some DGH chiefs paid more than CEOs at largest trusts
HSJ – 02 Jan 2019
Two north eastern chief executives – including one who has since been dismissed – were paid more than the leaders of NHS organisations with a turnover of more than £1bn, despite running organisations with a turnover of less than £300m. Email for the full story.

Is your Essex canine cute enough to lead the St Clare Hospice Winter Walkies fundraiser?
Dunmow Broadcast – 02 Jan 2019
Is your pooch positively perfect? Is your dog dazzling? Is your cuddly companion the cutest? Is your furry friend the fairest of them all? Then why not enter them into St Clare Hospice’s Cutest Canine Competition. Read the full story.

Are we going to get a ‘pudding tax’?
BBC Health – 03 Jan 2019
After a Christmas of over-indulgence for many, the idea of a “pudding tax” may seem like a good idea. Read the full story.

Tryanuary: The nationwide campaign aiming to keep pubs open during dry January
ITV News – 02 Jan 2019
In the season of resolutions a national campaign is calling on the public to keep up their trips to the pub. Read the full story.

Losing Weight: Six Months to Save a Life
ITV News – 03 Jan 2019
Two in three adults are overweight or obese, and obesity is now the second largest cause of cancer in the UK. Read the full story.

Mental health budget worth £1.9bn ‘to be devolved’
HSJ – 03 Jan 2019
Mental health specialised commissioning will be fully devolved to providers within the next three years, according to the chief executive of a major mental health trust. Email for the full story.

CCG accused of using ‘flawed’ test to cut spending on elderly
HSJ – 03 Jan 2019
A clinical commissioning group has been accused of blocking potentially eligible patients from receiving continuing healthcare funding under a programme supported by NHS England. Email for the full story.

More success for kitchen staff at Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital
Essex TV
Kitchen staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) are celebrating after receiving nutrition qualifications as part of the TuckIN project. Read the full story.

National strategy aims to save half a billion pounds and 6,000 lives
HSJ – 03 Jan 2019
Up to 6,000 lives and £500m in costs could be saved by the NHS under reforms set out in the new NHS patient safety strategy, HSJ has been told. Email for the full story.

Regulator invites areas with ‘appetite’ to tender for spec com budget
HSJ – 04 Jan 2019
NHS England is encouraging bids from advanced health economies which have the “appetite” to take on delegated specialised commissioning budgets. Email for the full story.

Worry less about children’s screen use, parents told
BBC Health – 04 Jan 2019
There is little evidence screen use for children is harmful in itself, guidance from leading paediatricians says. Read the full story.

‘Revolutionary’ breath test to detect cancer trial begins
ITV News – 03 Jan 2019
The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre is operating the trial, which hopes to develop the test which would potentially provide a non-invasive manner to ascertain if someone has cancer at an early stage. Read the full story.