News

News

1. Hospital’s staff shortages and poor culture persist, says CQC

   Problems with culture, racism and staff shortages compromising safety have persisted at one of England’s three secure hospitals, the care regulator has warned.

2. STP proposes to centralise city’s mental health beds 23 miles away

   Local NHS leaders want to move a city’s inpatient mental health ward 23 miles south and replace it with a crisis cafe, under plans to shake up services across the county.

3. CQC to overhaul whistleblowing procedures

   The Care Quality Commission has pledged to overhaul its whistleblowing procedures after a report described as “wrong” its decision not to publish a critical inspection report about Whorlton Hall — years before alleged abuse was revealed there.

4. Commissioners U-turn over refusal to review patient death

   Commissioners have backtracked on a previous refusal to review the death of a patient with learning disabilities.

5. NHS England asked ‘inadequate’ hospital to admit patient despite ban

   NHS England asked an “inadequate” hospital for people with learning disabilities and autism to admit a patient, despite the service having a “voluntary” ban on admissions in place — and shortly before inspectors decided to impose a legal restriction.

6. Anatomy of failure

   HSJ’s fortnightly briefing covering safety, quality, performance and finances in the mental health sector.

7. Hunt: I will be ‘honest’ about my mistakes

   Jeremy Hunt has told HSJ he will be “completely honest” about the mistakes he made as health secretary if successful in his bid to become the next Commons health committee chair.

8. A PCN storm

   Insider tales and must-read analysis on how integration is reshaping health and care systems, NHS providers, primary care, and commissioning. This week by primary care correspondent, Jack Serle.

9. Five resolutions to improve the care of young cancer patients

   Sasha Daly outlines the top priorities that the new government should pursue to improve the lives of young people with cancer across the UK

10. Troubled trust’s rating upgraded but remains in special measures

    A troubled mental health trust’s quality rating has been upgraded from “inadequate” to “requires improvement” but it remains in special measures, inspectors have announced.

11. CQC slams private provider for leadership and care quality

    The firm which runs a mental health hospital at the centre of an abuse scandal has been criticised by regulators for its leadership, care quality and “high use of restraint and seclusion” across its sites.

12. Exclusive: Most NHS computers running decade-old version of Windows

    The NHS has been given another 11 months of support for a decade-old version of Microsoft Windows, while about half of its computers are still running the softfware, HSJ can reveal.

13. Coroner raps trust for not realising woman was in ‘imminent danger’

    A coroner has criticised an ambulance trust after it took nearly four hours to reach a woman who had taken an overdose.

14. Trust dropped university after it failed nursing standards

    A mental health and community trust had to select a new provider for its nursing training, after the university it had initially picked failed to meet the national regulator’s standards.

15. HSJ podcast: The PCN furore, inpatient safety, and a step-change in A&E

    Listen to this week’s HSJ Health Check, discussing primary care networks, sexual assaults in mental health facilities and the significant worsening of accident and emergency performance.

16. Outrage at NHSE decision to delay new medication reviews

    People with learning disabilities or autism will continue to suffer “serious side-effects” amid further delays to a national programme aimed at stopping overuse of medicines to control their behaviour, a former national clinical director has warned.

17. Regulator admits multiple failings in investigation of young woman’s death

    Multiple failings have been found in the Ombudsman’s investigation into the death of a young woman with anorexia, the regulator has revealed.

18. Exclusive: Death review backlog still growing despite NHSE commitment

    A backlog of thousands of deaths of people with learning disabilities awaiting official review has grown further, despite NHS England committing in spring last year to “address” the buildup.

19. Staff allege ‘active deception of CQC’

    Staff at a mental health provider complained about a “cover up culture” where allegations of poor care and abusive behaviour were concealed by falsifying records, a new report reveals.

20. Revealed: Hundreds of sexual assaults each year on mixed-gender wards

    Hundreds of sexual assaults are reported each year on mixed-sex mental health wards in England, HSJ can reveal, highlighting the urgent need for investment to improve facilities.