@HealthwatchNEL 
@HealthwatchNEL
News
Rough sleepers to benefit from NHS mental health outreach
16/10/2019
Towns with high rates of homelessness are set for investment in specialist mental health care, as part of NHS services for rough sleepers across the...
NHS whistle-blower support scheme to roll out across the country
10/10/2019
The NHS in England is to roll out dedicated support for members of staff who raise the alarm on unsafe practice. Following successful pilots, the NHS...
Groundbreaking new platform launched to support mental health
08/10/2019
Public Health England (PHE), in partnership with the NHS, has launched Every Mind Matters to help people take simple steps to look after their mental...
NHS prescription charges from April 2019
25/02/2019
The NHS prescription charge has increased by 20p, to £9.00 an item. This change will come into effect from 1 April 2019. More....
Consultation on processing of health data
22/02/2019
The government is consulting on the role on the national data guardian for health and social care. Since last December the guardian has been empowered to issue statutory guidance to public bodies and to charities and private providers of health and care services. The consultation will help...
CQC urges public to speak up
21/02/2019
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is calling for people to speak up about their experiences of care, as new research shows that almost 7 million people in England who have accessed health or social care services, in the last five years have had concerns about their care, but never raised them. Of...
Government promises better mental health care for NHS staff
21/02/2019
The government is setting out plans to provide better mental health and wellbeing support to NHS staff. The new support will be based on recommendations by Health Education England.
New CQC research on people's experience of raising a complain
20/02/2019
New research from the Care Quality Commission shows that people regret not raising concerns about their care - but those who do raise concerns see improvements. Click here for more information
Future midwife consultation
20/02/2019
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has launched a consultation on the overhaul of midwifery education. The consultation sets out the draft skills and knowledge the next generation of midwives will need. It closes on 9 May 2019.
Matt Hancock: email must replace paper in the NHS
18/02/2019
The NHS must stop relying on pen and paper and should use modern, secure forms of communication instead, according to the health and social care secretary Matt Hancock. Email is as secure and cheaper than communicating through paper and fax machines, he told an NHS England conference. More...
A critical moment for NHS staffing
18/02/2019
A report from think tank the Health Foundation highlights the ongoing deterioration in workforce numbers in critical areas such as primary and community care, nursing and mental health. More....
New antibiotic prescribing guidance for patients with suspected pneumonia
18/02/2019
NICE and Public Health England have issued guidelines to improve antibiotic use and reduce antibiotic resistance. They advise that antibiotics should be given to people with community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia within four hours of establishing a diagnosis. Oral antibiotics should be given...
Proton beam therapy guides
18/02/2019
The Brainstrust has published proton beam therapy guides for patients. These booklets have been written with input from clinicians and patients to answer frequently asked questions, dispel myths and help people to make informed decisions about proton beam therapy.
New campaign to recruit thousands more adult social care staff
18/02/2019
The government has launched a recruitment campaign to fill the 110,000 vacancies in the adult social care sector. The Every Day Is Different campaign will show how rewarding social care careers can be – 96% of care professionals feel their work makes a difference to people’s lives. It will also...
Trainee nursing associate numbers continue to grow
12/02/2019
Over 5,000 people were recruited as trainee nursing associates in 2018, up from 2,000 in 2017, according to Health Education England (HEE). The new role that sits between nursing care support workers and fully qualified registered nurses. More....
Professor Dame Sally Davies to step down as chief medical officer
12/02/2019
Professor Dame Sally Davies will step down as chief medical officer for England at the end of September this year after nine years in the post. More.....
NICE updates guideline on alcohol education in schools
12/02/2019
New draft recommendations will support the Department for Education’s (DfE) plan to make alcohol education a compulsory component of personal, social and health education (PSHE) in all state-funded schools in England from September 2020. The guideline has been developed by NICE and Public Health...
Lung cancer scanning trucks to travel the country
11/02/2019
Lung cancer scanning trucks that operate from supermarket car parks are being rolled out across the country in a drive to save lives by catching the condition early. Around £70 million will fund 10 projects that check those most at risk, inviting them for an MOT for their lungs and an on the spot...
New tools to improve care of older people
11/02/2019
Digital checks that can detect dementia and prevent falls in older people, and save lives through diagnosis of sepsis, are among a range of tools being made available in hospitals across the country. One in eight hospital patients are affected by delirium, which can make people unsteady on their...
Introducing Fizz-Free February
08/02/2019
The Faculty of General Dental Practice is encouraging dentists to support Fizz-Free February, a new campaign to encourage people to give up fizzy drinks for a month. Following the successful campaign for the sugar tax, and the call for fizzy drinks makers to stop handing out free samples, Fizz Free...
Time to Talk Day 2019
08/02/2019
Time to Talk Day 2019 is taking place today, 7 February to encourage people to have conversations about mental health. Time to Talk Day is all about bringing together the right ingredients, to have a conversation about mental health. Whether that’s tea, biscuits and close friends or a room full of...
Dementia assessment and referral data collection
08/02/2019
NHS England has published November 2018 data on dementia assessment and referral. The data is collected regularly to improve the identification of older patients with dementia and delirium, to monitor assessment and to prompt appropriate referral and follow up after people leave hospital.
Government wants better services for victims of sexual assault
08/02/2019
Government departments have written to commissioners to look at how they are meeting their responsibilities for victims and survivors of sexual assault. A joint letter sets out the importance of commissioning better services that support victims.
Chief medical officers urge ban on social media for children at meal and bed times
08/02/2019
The four chief medical officers for the UK have issued joint advice to parents to limit children’s screen time. Although they acknowledge a lack of conclusive evidence about the harms caused by use of phones and other devices, the chief medical officers’ advice centres on likely damage caused to...
338,000 admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol in 2017/18
08/02/2019
Alcohol was the main cause of 338,000 admissions to hospital in 2017/18, according to new figure from NHS Digital. This represents a rise of around 15% in the last decade, but there is little difference in the numbers as a percentage of overall admissions. If anything they have slightly fallen from...
Juggling work and unpaid care: a growing issue
08/02/2019
Research by a carers’ organisation reveals that 2.6 million people have quit their job to care for a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill, with nearly half a million (468,000) leaving their job in the past two years alone, a 12% increase since the last poll in 2013. The findings also...
Mental health trials launch in schools
05/02/2019
Hundreds of children and young people will learn how to use a range of innovative techniques to promote good mental health through one of the largest studies in the world of its kind. To mark Children’s Mental Health Week (4 to 10 February), the education secretary Damian Hinds announces that up to...
