In the news w/e 11 January

Your media headlines roundup, week ending 11 January…

NHS long-term plan: Focus on prevention ‘could save 500,000 lives’
BBC Health – 07 Jan 2019
NHS bosses in England say a new 10-year plan could save up to 500,000 lives by focusing on prevention. Read the full story.

Biomarkers identified to help diagnose heart condition
BBC Health – 07 Jan 2019
Researchers have identified two biomarkers that could help in the diagnosis of a heart condition that raises the risk of stroke. Read the full story.

Hospital patients who smoke or drink to be helped to quit
BBC Health – 05 Jan 2019
Smokers and problem drinkers who are admitted to hospital in England will be given help to quit or cut down, to reduce demands on the health service. Read the full story.

Long term plan features new model for A&Es
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
A new “same day” model for emergency departments and a further cash boost for primary and community services are to be set out in the NHS long-term plan, being launched today. Email for the full story.

Prime minister reveals NHS long term plan top priorities
HSJ – 05 Jan 2019
The prime minister has confirmed headline priorities of the new NHS long term plan, including new “comprehensive” access targets for mental health, and a big expansion of personal health budgets. Email for the full story.

NHS launches plans to ensure half a million more people survive killer diseases over next ten years
Independent – 07 Jan 2019
The NHS has said it will save half a million lives over the next decade by tackling killer diseases with earlier treatment, healthy living improvements, and technology to remove waits and assist diagnosis. Read the full story.

Data reveals the deadly mistakes that should never have happened in NHS hospitals in Essex
Essex Live – 07 Jan 2019
Equipment being left inside a patient and doctors performing surgery on the wrong person were just some of the potentially deadly NHS failures to take place in Essex last year. Read the full story.

Stansted begins search for firms to carry out £250m first phase of airport expansion
Building – 07 Jan 2019
Stansted Airport has begun searching for contractors to carry out phase one of its £600m expansion. Read the full story.

All of England to become ICS by 2021
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
The whole of England is to be covered by integrated care systems in just over two years, the NHS long-term plan has said. Email for the full story.

Professional registration for NHS managers signalled by long-term plan
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
Formal regulation of senior NHS managers could be introduced to improve their standing and help fill the most difficult jobs, according to the NHS long-term plan. Email for the full story.

All GPs expected to sign up to ‘network contracts’
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
GPs will sign new “network contracts” as part of NHS England plans to extend the scope of primary and community services. Email for the full story.

Secondary care to ‘fully digitise’ by 2024
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
The target for all secondary care providers to move to digital records has been pushed back to 2024, with NHS England confirming additional central funding for trusts. Email for the full story.

Every patient to have ‘right’ to access new digital GP providers
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
New digital GP providers have been backed under the NHS long-term plan, with patients to have “a new right” to switch from their existing GP to a “digital first” provider. Email for the full story.

NHS could take over key public health functions
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
The NHS and government will look at funding key public health services from the NHS budget, the long-term plan has said. Email for the full story.

NHS long-term plan: Full coverage
HSJ – 07 Jan 2019
Prime minister Theresa May and NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens launched the plan this lunchtime. Email for the full story.

Sexual assault forensics centres failing some victims
BBC Health – 08 Jan 2019
Young victims of sexual assault are not being forensically examined within a critical time period at some privately-run referral centres, a BBC investigation has found. Read the full story.

Princess Alexandra Hospital “extremely busy”
Your Harlow – 08 Jan 2019
THE PRINCESS Alexandra Hospital has announced that it is currently extremely busy. Read the full story.

Exclusive: Spend on ‘vital’ community services cut by a fifth
HSJ – 09 Jan 2019
The rate of spending on community mental health teams has fallen by a fifth in real terms since 2012, according to analysis seen by HSJ. Email for the full story.

Smokers who switch to vaping could be less likely to use cigarettes again, says study
Independent – 08 Jan 2019
There are a number of ways to stop smoking. But the most common include going “cold turkey”, the use of medication – usually offered by doctors and stop smoking services – or the switch to e-cigarettes. Read the full story.

People at greater risk of death due to embarrassment over cancer symptoms
Independent – 09 Jan 2019
Millions of British people are delaying getting their cancer symptoms checked due to embarrassment, putting them at increased risk of death. Read the full story.

Woman mistakenly prescribed with erectile dysfunction cream for dry eye suffers chemical injuries
Independent – 09 Jan 2019
A woman suffered chemical injuries after she was mistakenly prescribed erectile dysfunction cream for a severe dry eye. Read the full story.

Epping Forest District Council is changing the way its services work
East London & West Essex Guardian – 08 Jan 2019
Senior employees placed on the chopping blocked helped the council save £600,000 as it looks to hire more middle managers. Read the full story.

London Stansted awards Mace major contract for £150 million arrivals terminal
Mace – 08 Jan 2019
London Stansted has appointed Mace as the main contractor for the construction of its new £150 million arrivals terminal. Read the full story.

NHS bosses to push for hot-cold site splits
HSJ – 09 Jan 2019
NHS bosses will encourage more hospitals to separate urgent and planned services onto “hot” and “cold” sites, according to the NHS long-term plan. Email for the full story.

Selbie: Public health leadership ‘rationale’ unchanged
HSJ – 09 Jan 2019
The “rationale” for councils to lead on public health remains unchanged, the chief executive of Public Health England has said. Email for the full story.

Kit procurement troubles slow down cancer test rollout
HSJ – 10 Jan 2019
The national rollout of a new bowel cancer test, which was due to start late last year, has been held up because supplier contracts for testing kits have not been signed. Email for the full story.

Sponge offers hope of ‘less toxic’ chemotherapy
BBC Health – 09 Jan 2019
Scientists believe they may have found a way to make cancer chemotherapy treatment less toxic to the body. Read the full story.

Super-gonorrhoea spread causes ‘deep concern’
BBC Health – 09 Jan 2019
Two women in the UK have been infected with super-gonorrhoea, sparking deep concern from sexual health doctors. Read the full story.

Cheap common drugs may help mental illness
BBC Health – 09 Jan 2019
Cheap and widely used drugs for diabetes and heart health have potential for treating severe mental illness, a study hints. Read the full story.

Some HRT tablets ‘linked to higher blood clot risk’
BBC Health – 10 Jan 2019
Women taking certain types of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) tablets could be more at risk from serious blood clots – although the overall risk is low, BMJ research suggests. Read the full story.

Dundee council in talks to renew ‘vital’ air link to London Stansted with funding set to run out
Evening Telegraph – 09 Jan 2019
But funding runs out in March this year so council chiefs are in talks to extend the deal, saying it is “vital” that the route continues. Read the full story.

PrEP: Postcode lottery of anti-HIV drug trial
BBC Health – 11 Jan 2019
A game-changer in the fight against HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective drug that reduces the risk of acquiring the condition. But as the NHS trials PrEP across England, many at high risk have struggled to get hold of the drug. Read the full story.

Mental health patients missing GP appointments ‘at risk’
BBC Health – 11 Jan 2019
Mental health patients who miss two or more GP appointments within the space of a year are eight times more likely to die in the subsequent 18 months than those who miss none, a study suggests. Read the full story.

Too many children ‘not being treated for mental health problems’
BBC Health – 11 Jan 2019
Only a third of children and young people with mental health conditions receive the treatment they need from the NHS, a committee of MPs says. Read the full story.

Are Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms being binned?
BBC Health – 11 Jan 2019
Consider this, it is just over three years since the last piece of the jigsaw in Andrew Lansley’s controversial NHS reforms was put into place. Read the full story.

The lifesaving food 90% aren’t eating enough of
BBC Health – 11 Jan 2019
If I offered you a superfood that would make you live longer, would you be interested? Read the full story.

New fines for leaving patients waiting more than a year
HSJ – 11 Jan 2019
NHS providers and commissioners will both face fines for each patient waiting more than a year for treatment, according to new plans. Email for the full story.

Dalton: ‘Definitive and decisive’ action to return trusts to financial balance
HSJ – 11 Jan 2019
There will be “significant changes to the architecture of the NHS and its finances” in 2019-20, according to NHS Improvement chief executive Ian Dalton. Email for the full story.

Waiting times for NHS cancer treatment are at worst ever level
The Guardian – 10 Jan 2019
Record 20,000 patients a month are suffering delays in seeing a consultant or starting therapies. Read the full story.