Almost 75% of NHS maternity facilities "need improvement"

Maternity care at almost three-quarters of local NHS groups needs to improve, data suggests.

In total, 209 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were rated, of which 144 needed improvement, with 11 registering the greatest need for improvement, according to NHS England. Just one group, West Kent, was ranked as top performing, while a further 53 were classed as performing well.

The figures, released on Thursday, have been hailed as a positive step for transparency by the midwives’ trade union. Maternity was assessed in four areas to give a “broad representation” of care: stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates, maternal smoking rate at delivery, and experience and choice.

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said she welcomed the “openness and transparency in publishing these ratings”, but was “concerned about the number of services requiring improvement … This is a positive step, and one that could help women to be informed about the quality of services where they live and empower them to make more informed decisions about their care. Hopefully, these ratings will be used to help CCGs learn from the best and to improve quality where that is shown to be needed.”

Dr Matthew Jolly, of NHS England, said: “It has never been safer to give birth in this country, and the vast majority of women report a good experience, but there is more that we can do. The ratings published today will help local areas identify where they are doing well and importantly where improvements can be made – helping to ensure women and their families have a good experience wherever they live.”

NHS England said that it would offer a “comprehensive support package” to help CCGs in need of improvement.

The stillbirth and neonatal mortality figures came from 2014 ONS data, while the maternal smoking indicator used NHS Digital data. The experience and choice indicators were based on answers to the 2015 Care Quality Commission national maternity services survey.

Elizabeth Duff, of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), said: “We’re pleased to see NHS England is delivering on its commitment to be more transparent about CCGs’ performances, and this is a positive step forward. These figures starkly highlight areas where improvement is needed. Parents shouldn’t use these figures alone to decide where to have a baby. They are baseline ratings which don’t take into account every aspect of care.”

Almost 75% of NHS maternity facilities "need improvement"

Bracing For Obamacare, one In 3 Health Facilities Adding Medical doctors

Facing an influx of newly insured sufferers below the Cost-effective Care Act and a wave of demographic trends, 31 % of wellness facility managers program to improve their health-related staffs, in accordance to a new report. 

The findings are the newest information from a nationwide survey of hospitals and health-related groups by Personnel Care, a subsidiary of health care staffing firm AMN Healthcare (AHS). The survey polled 230 hospital and medical group managers.

Much more than sixteen percent of these health facility managers mentioned they would add more nurse practitioners and doctor assistants and more than seven % said they would flip to short-term staffing of medical professionals, recognized as “locum tenens doctors.”

“Based on patient demographics alone, demand for health care services is
expanding and the ACA is additional yeast that is going to make the bread
rise,” mentioned Sean Ebner, president of Employees Care, in a statement to Forbes.  and a lot of healthcare services are gearing up for it by incorporating staff.”

Below the wellness law, far more Americans are accessing subsidized private health insurance on the marketplaces identified as exchanges while other folks are accessing health-related coverage by means of an expanded Medicaid health insurance coverage program for the bad.

The survey is the latest to demonstrate a changing employment picture for health care experts. Hospitals, clinics and healthcare groups are employing principal care specialists like nurse practitioners, physician assistants and health care assistants as properly as medical professionals in the major care fields of pediatrics, obstetrics, internal medication and household medicine.

New models of well being care delivery this kind of as patient-centered health-related residences and accountable care organizations emphasize the use of principal care well being pros to far more aggressively make certain individuals are looking for regular care, taking their medicines and following their diet plans all in the name of retaining them out of the much more costly care setting like hospitals.  All key insurance coverage carriers like Aetna Aetna (AET), Cigna Cigna (CI), Humana Humana (HUM), UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans are contracting a lot more and much more with ACOs and patient centered medical properties even though moving away from having to pay providers on a fee for support basis.

There are several other reasons staffing will be essential in the long term, Personnel Care executives say.

“The United States is in the midst of an emerging doctor shortage that is anticipated to be exacerbated by a developing and aging population, enhanced entry to overall health insurance coverage resulting from the Affordable Care Act, the imminent retirement of numerous older physicians and an evolution in doctor practice variations in which doctors are working fewer hrs,” Personnel Care explained in its 2014 report on short-term doctor staffing trends released this week.

Bracing For Obamacare, one In 3 Health Facilities Adding Medical doctors