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Issue 1: 14/12/04 :: Distribution: 10,158 :: Vacancies: 1452  

NHS News - December 2004

Spearhead Group

The Government has set a Public Service Agreement target to address geographical inequalities in life expectancy, cancer, heart disease, stroke and related diseases. The targets aim to see faster progress compared to the average in the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators. Achievement of the targets will be assessed on the outcomes for this Group in 2010. The Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts which are in these areas, the so-called Spearhead Group is made up of 70 Local authorities and 88 Primary Care Trusts, based upon the Local Authority areas that are in the bottom fifth nationally for three or more of the following indicators:

· Male life expectancy at birth
· Female life expectancy at birth
· Cancer mortality rate in under 75s
· Cardio Vascular Disease mortality rate in under 75s
· Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (Local Authority Summary), average score

England - Local PCT News

Barnsley District General Hospital NHS Trust - Stroke

The Trust has appointed its first Stroke Consultant. Terrie Fleet will work closely with the Nurse Consultant and Lead Stroke Physician to co-ordinate the development stroke services and ensure timely access to hospital or community services. She has already begun to develop a system for patients to have a 6-8 week review following discharge, as well as a care pathway for acute services. Nurse-led clinics are also being developed and over the next few months a new referral pathway should be set up which will be used with the hospital's IT system.

Barnsley PCT - Appointments Pilot Scheme

Patients at two GP practices in Barnsley will soon be able to book or cancel appointments by accessing the practice website, day or night, via their TV remote control. The scheme will be available to patients with Sky, Telewest or NTL interactive digital TV. The technology is based on the NHS online appointment service which is currently available to 4,500 family doctors, and is designed to free up staff time and save missed appointments. The bookings system is being piloted by the Ashville Medical Centre and the Sheffield Road Practice in Barnsley.

         

Devon Partnership NHS Trust - Eating Disorders

The only unit in Devon to specialise in eating disorders has opened at North Devon District Hospital. There are now six beds within the psychiatric unit to treat women over the age of 18 suffering from anorexia nervosa. This is a pilot project run by the Devon Partnership NHS Trust, and it means that patients will no longer have to travel many miles across the country for specialised treatment - the nearest out-of-area beds are in Poole, Dorset. A separate clinical team has also been recruited which will work closely with the community professionals who are most involved with the patient care package.

Halton PCT - Obesity

Dr Daniel Seddon, the Director of Public Health for Halton PCT, has expressed concern that far less money is being spent on the prevention of obesity than is spent on surgery. Surgery for obesity is currently costing the PCT more than £70,000 a year. Between January and September of this year, there have been eight new requests for obesity surgery, six of which have been fully approved by members of the PCT. The cost of the two major obesity drugs prescribed to patients over the past year in Halton amounts to nearly £1,000. Dr Seddon is suggesting that more time and money should be invested in preventative measures, such as introducing people to weight loss courses and encouraging them to lead a more active lifestyle. "I would like it to be easier for a GP in health services to give more than just medical treatments and expensive drug treatments to patients and instead support people who are overweight. It shouldn't be as simple as just writing someone a prescription and referring them on to surgery." There are already programmes in Halton which offer cost-effective alternatives to surgery, such as the Heart of Mersey project, and the 5-A-Day programme.

Harlow PCT - Sexual Health

In its latest White Paper, the government has announced a major campaign aimed at the sexual health of young people. Harlow PCT has the only Walk-In Centre for 13-25 year olds in the country. The Centre opened four years ago when teenage pregnancy rates were soaring in Harlow. Within a year, the rate had fallen below the national average, and whereas they used to issue more emergency than regular contraception, that situation has now completely reversed. One innovation is the Centre’s "C-Card" which provides holders with free condoms from several outlets in Harlow once they have received counselling and advice on relationships, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.

Hinckley and Bosworth PCT - Community Hospital

Hinckley's new £6.5m Community Hospital has been officially opened. It provides 47 beds, a discharge suite and specialist palliative care. It has been built on the Sunnyside Hospital site and will eventually replace the Hinckley and District Hospital.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust - Cancer

A new Lymphoma Association Specialist Nurse has been appointed at St James' Hospital to offer clinical expertise, advice and one-to-one care for patients diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system. The charity hopes to fund another four nurses by 2006.

Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust - Elderly Mental Health

A new facility, the Phoenix Unit, has been opened in Louth to provide mental health services for the over 65s. The services include 10 in-patient beds for assessment and treatment, and a memory clinic for Alzheimer's sufferers and their carers.

Newham University Hospital NHS Trust - COPD

A new team, the Respiratory Early Discharge Service (REDS), has been launched to treat people with lung diseases in their own homes. REDS has been successfully piloted for two years in Canning Town and Beckton and is now being rolled out across Newham.

Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA - Finance

The Chair and Chief Executive of the SHA have met four local MPs at the House of Commons. The MPs are deeply concerned about a £23m deficit affecting PCTs and Hospital Trusts in the county, and have asked that a plan of action be implemented to deal with the crisis by the end of January. They believe the financial crisis is affecting patient care and have warned that unless there were signs that the deficit was being brought down, they would appeal directly for intervention by the Secretary of State for Health. Deficits built up in the county are:

· Suffolk West PCT - £5.2m
· West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust - £4.6m
· Ipswich PCT - £5.4m Central Suffolk PCT - £1.8m
· Suffolk Coastal PCT - £5.m
· Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust - £1.4m

The deficit includes £20m brought forward from the previous financial year.

Norwich PCT - Hepatitis

Norwich is one of six PCTs in the country which is stepping up screening facilities and increasing the awareness of hepatitis. There are around 2,500 known sufferers in Norfolk, with 95 per cent being current or previous drug users.

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust - Palliative Care

The UK's first Centre of Excellence for the care of the dying has been launched in Liverpool. The new Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute brings together the work of Liverpool's local Marie Curie Hospice and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital's Specialist Palliative Care Team. The Institute's prime aim is to undertake research to find out how best to care for dying patients and promote best practice. It will also encourage collaborations between charities, the NHS and private institutions. The Institute will be under the academic and clinical leadership of Dr John Ellershaw, and will be based at the Marie Curie Hospice with a satellite unit at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. Much of the work of the new institute will take place on Merseyside, but some projects will be run on a national and international basis.

Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust - Dementia

A new Admiral Nursing Scheme has been launched at Evesham Hospital This is a joint initiative between Worcestershire Mental Health NHS Trust and the charity "For Dementia" which promotes and develops new Admiral Nurse teams as well as supporting existing ones. Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia nurses, working in the community with families, carers and supporters of people with dementia. They also provide training to other professionals and voluntary agencies who work with dementia sufferers, and promote best practice in person-centred dementia care.

         

Wales - Health Board News

Conwy and Denbighshire NHS Trust - Palliative Care

Conwy and Denbighshire NHS Trust has agreed that when they appoint a new Consultant in Palliative Care, they will hold weekly sessions at the St David's Hospice, Llandudno. This means St David's will be recognised by the NHS as a palliative Care Centre. St David's Medical Director will also be holding sessions at the North Wales Cancer Centre. The future of St David's Hospice has been in doubt, but it has now received a grant from the Assembly totalling £506,000 over the next two years. Benefits which the grant will bring include two new in-patient beds which will open in the New Year, taking the total to eight, and a new Clinical Lead Nurse who will be involved in palliative care training.

Neath Port Talbot LHB - New Services

Neath Port Talbot LHB has reported on the progress of health care service improvements in Croeserw, a village which was labelled the "sickest" in England and Wales following the publication of Census data in July. Initiatives include a new Medicines Management Advisory Service which will be provided by an experienced community pharmacist and which will be a pilot for other areas experiencing similar issues. There will also be an Expert Patient Programme in the new year.

Scotland - Local NHS News

NHS Argyll and Clyde - Diabetes

A One-Stop Diabetes Clinic within four GP practices in Glasgow has not only meant that patients are seen by four different health professionals at one appointment locally, but has also reduced waiting times for other specialities at the local hospital.

NHS Grampian - Substance Misuse

A new one-stop-shop for drug abusers is to be sited in Aberdeen city centre. It is part of the new Integrated Drug Service and will combine health, social work, specialist drug and voluntary services. The service will supplement and work with existing GP, pharmacies and other specialist drugs services. There are currently around 1,400 people in the city receiving treatment for drug problems but it is estimated there could be three times as many who have not sought help. This number represents 3% of Aberdeen's population aged 15 to 54 - it is above the Scots national average and makes the city the third worst in the country for drug use.

NHS Greater Glasgow - Management Reorganisation

NHS Greater Glasgow is proposing a major reorganisation of management structures. Proposals include merging the three Acute Divisions (North, South and Yorkhill) to create one management body which will have two distinct parts. One part will be in charge of day-to-day delivery of services, waiting times and winter bed planning, and the other will consist of an acute planning team to oversee the Health Board's modernisation programme. Community health services currently being managed by the Primary Care Division will also undergo change. NHS Greater Glasgow is already well ahead with plans to replace the Division with nine new Community Health Partnerships and the new Mental Health Partnership. It is hoped that this move will see more power being devolved to staff, more local accountability and improved services to patients. The details of the plans are expected to form the basis of a report being put to NHS Greater Glasgow’s Board in December, and if approved, they will be circulated to staff and other key stakeholders, as part of a formal consultation. Once the proposals are finalised, it is hoped that the new management structures can start being formed by April 2005.

Northern Ireland - Local NHS News

Foyle HSS Trust - Award

The Continence Advisory Team at the Trust has won an award for their Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia project which has reduced health inequalities for men with prostate problems by developing the first nurse-led community based BPH clinic in N Ireland.

Western HSSB - Health Sessions in Rural Areas

A series of mini health events is being held in rural areas of the North West. A mobile cancer screening unit will be available, with blood pressure and diabetes checks, and a breast aware workshop highlighting prevention and detection of breast cancer. The events are part of a Lottery-funded project under the WHSSB umbrella which aims reduce the incidences of cancer, Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in rural parts of the WHSSB area. The project covers Derry City Councils, Limavady Borough Council and Strabane District Council areas.

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