In the news w/e 22 February

Your media headlines roundup, week ending 22 February…

Union hits out at plans to privatise hospital cleaning services in Harlow and Stortford
Bishop Stortford Independent – 15 Feb 2019
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is under fire this week after bosses made the “breathtaking” decision to put cleaning services out to tender. Read the full story.

Short bursts of intense exercise ‘better for weight loss’
BBC Health – 16 Feb 2019
Bursts of high intensity interval training (Hiit) may be more effective for weight loss than longer less intense workouts, a study suggests. Read the full story.

Parents of sick babies need more leave, charity says
BBC Health – 17 Feb 2019
Two thirds of fathers of premature and sick babies are being forced to return to work while their child is in intensive care, a charity has said. Read the full story.

New CNO: We must grow undergraduate nursing supply
HSJ – 18 Feb 2019
The workforce implementation plan must lead to an increase in the undergraduate supply of nurses while retaining current NHS staff, England’s chief nursing officer has said. Email for the full story.

Sepsis: New rapid test ‘could save thousands of lives’
BBC Health – 19 Feb 2019
A new rapid test for earlier diagnosis of sepsis has been developed by University of Strathclyde researchers, which they say could save thousands of lives. Read the full story.

Trust issued ‘appalling’ legal threat to ‘suicidal’ employee
HSJ – 19 Feb 2019
An NHS trust threatened a staff member with legal action after he reported feeling suicidal, court documents reveal. Email for the full story.

Trust spot purchasing beds after ending deal with ‘inadequate’ home
HSJ – 19 Feb 2019
An NHS trust has been forced to spot purchase beds after it pulled out of a contract with a care home ahead of criticism from the Care Quality Commission. Email for the full story.

CQC calls on public to speak up about care
HSJ – 19 Feb 2019
The Care Quality Commission is calling on the public to speak up about their experiences of care in the NHS, after new research showed millions of patients who had concerns never raised them. Email for the full story.

Dunmow care home resident remembers childhood as she turns 107
Dunmow Broadcast – 18 Feb 2019
How does someone live to 107-years-of-age? Is there a special diet or secret potion which prolongs life? Read the full story.

Gene therapy first to ‘halt’ most common cause of blindness
BBC Health – 18 Feb 2019
A woman from Oxford has become the first person in the world to have gene therapy to try to halt the most common form of blindness in the Western world. Read the full story.

Thousands in west Essex failing to access NHS dentist
Saffron Walden – 19 Feb 2019
Analysis of Government data has revealed more than 60,000 new patients in the East of England have tried and failed to secure access to routine NHS dental services and a new survey of dentists by the organisation points to staffing problems as one of the main causes. Read the full story.

Students’ art decorates new entrance at Princess Alexandra Hospital
Bishop Stortford Independent – 19 Feb 2019
The creators of the pieces from Harlow College and their families joined civic representatives and hospital staff to celebrate the community project and collaboration. Read the full story.

Asthma: Young people in the UK ‘more likely to die’
BBC Health – 20 Feb 2019
Young people in the UK are more likely to die from asthma than those in other wealthy countries, a report has found. Read the full story.

NHS staff should be offered post-trauma support – HEE
HSJ – 19 Feb 2019
The report – commissioned by Health Education England and led by Sir Keith Pearson, a former chair of Health Education England – also recommended NHS staff have rapid access to mental health support, through either their GP or occupational health clinician, and access to a self-referral psychological treatment service. Email for the full story.

Harlow and Stortford MPs unite to fight for new £400m hospital for growing population
Bishop Stortford Independent – 20 Feb 2019
Both are urging the government to finance a new hospital to replace the ageing infrastructure of Princess Alexandra Hospital in Hamstel Road, Harlow. Read the full story.

Snubbed STP accuses centre of not fully considering capital bids
HSJ – 21 Feb 2019
Leaders of a health economy which has been awarded only a fraction of the funds allocated through a new capital regime have claimed national bodies failed to fully consider their bids. Email for the full story.

Why are doctors denying women HRT? Prescriptions have plunged by two-thirds – and behind it, says this expert, lie ignorant and out-of-touch GPs who are leaving thousands suffering needlessly
Daily Mail Online – 21 Feb 2019
Last week, a new patient wept in front of me as she described the hellish existence she said she’d been enduring for the last two years. Suzan had quit her job, given up on her relationship and admitted she now spent most afternoons asleep on the sofa. Read the full story.

Snubbed STP accuses centre of not fully considering capital bids

HSJ – 21 Feb 2019

East London Health and Care Partnership (the area’s sustainability and transformation partnership) said it would now experience “inevitable and significant issues”, after being awarded just £5m out of the £2.3bn so far allocated nationally.  The leaders claimed national bodies have failed to fully consider their bids. Email for the full story.

The Integrator: Can councils be true partners in ICS?

HSJ – 21 Feb 2019

Luton council’s decision to pull out of one of the original integrated care systems raises the question of how, and in what form, councils are going to be involved in ICS as their national spread ramps up. Paul Burstow, Chair of Hertfordshire and West Essex STP is quoted from a previous interview. Email for the full story.

Harlow Princess Alexandra Hospital to feature in new series

Essex Live – 21 Feb 2019

A popular observational documentary, hosted by Emma Willis about pregnancy at Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital is returning for a second series. Read the full story.

Epping Forest District Council constituency plans for Brexit considered “good” by Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government officers

East London and West Essex Guardian – 22 Feb 2019

The council has sketched out a plan of action in case the UK crashes out of the EU with no deal. Read the full story.

PTSD affects ‘one in 13 by age of 18’

BBC News – 22 Feb 2019

A study of more than 2,000 18-year-olds found nearly a third had experienced trauma in childhood. And a quarter of these then developed PTSD, which can cause insomnia, flashbacks and feelings of isolation. Read the full story.

NHSI chair says regulators ‘encourage wrong kind of behaviour’

HSJ – 21 Feb 2019

National regulators are “encouraging the wrong kind of behaviour” by prioritising financial performance over staff wellbeing.  Baroness Harding also says she holds a “hardcore view” that chief executives who don’t see their role as protecting the wellbeing of staff should not be in the job. Email for the full story.

Government digital tsar tipped to lead NHSX

HSJ – 21 Feb 2019

A senior civil servant, Matthew Gould who used to work for Matt Hancock is a favoured contender to lead the health’s secretary’s new tech unit. Email for the full story.

Revealed: The winners and losers of government’s £2.9bn capital pot

HSJ – 21 Feb 2019

Two out of three requests from NHS trusts for capital investment have so far been rejected under the government’s new funding regime, analysis by HSJ suggests.  As part of a new regime introduced in 2017, trusts have had to submit capital bids through their local sustainability and transformation partnership. Email for the full story.