NHS recruits must be given special status after Brexit, MPs urge

The government is under intense cross-party pressure to guarantee that EU nationals will still be able to work in the NHS, as concern grows that Brexit will cause a critical shortage of nurses and doctors.

Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs said ministers must not only guarantee that EU staff already working in the NHS can stay, but also that recruitment from EU countries can continue.

The calls for NHS workers from the EU to be given special status as Britain heads towards Brexit were echoed by former Tory health minister Dr Dan Poulter, who now combines his role as an MP with work as an NHS psychiatrist. Poulter told the Observer that unless action were to be taken on both fronts – to reassure those already here and to ensure a future flow from the EU – services to patients would be soon be seriously affected.

“The NHS is heavily reliant on the contributions made by many dedicated EU healthcare professionals, and without them, our health and care system simply wouldn’t be able to cope,” Poulter said.

“Protecting the rights of EU nationals to continue to live in the UK and care for patients is essential, but it is also important that we look after the best interests of the patients of tomorrow. Having the right work visa rules to ensure that in future, healthcare professionals from within the EU can continue to contribute to the NHS and care for patients, must be a priority.”

Poulter said he knew of many colleagues from EU countries who were concerned and of two fellow doctors who were planning to return to Spain by the end of the year. Fears that there could be a mass exodus from the NHS are growing as evidence mounts that EU nationals are already beginning to leave. Some 17,197 EU staff, including nurses and doctors, left their posts last year, compared with 11,222 for 11 months in 2014.

Merkel calls on all sides to protect everyday lives of EU citizens in UK – video

The supply of doctors is already a serious worry. A total of 10,363 – nearly 10% – of those working in England’s NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) last year were from other member states.

Labour’s health spokesman, Jon Ashworth, highlighted NHS data showing that there are 22,081 EU nationals working as nurses in an NHS which is struggling to fill 26,000 vacancies.

Ashworth said: “This NHS crisis will be compounded if the 140,000 EU nationals working in the NHS and social care sector walk away. It’s time for an ‘NHS guarantee’ for these workers ensuring their rights – offering these workers who care for our sick and elderly the certainty that they deserve.

“What’s more, we need urgent guarantees that the NHS will be able to continue recruiting from the EU as it currently does. Yet we have no clarity whatsoever from the prime minister. Will health professionals from the EU be able to come to work in the UK after Brexit, will there be a cap on their numbers? The government need to tell us their plans and quickly.”

The Liberal Democrats are also demanding that the government grant an urgent “NHS passport” to every EU citizen working in our health service to encourage them to stay.

Theresa May has so far refused to guarantee that EU nationals will be allowed to stay after Britain leaves the EU. The prime minister reiterated last week when article 50 was triggered that she would not do so unless the rights of UK citizens living in other EU states were also guaranteed.

A total of 2,348 doctors from the 27 other EU states left NHS England between July and September 2016 compared with 1,281 in the same period in 2015. That is a rise of 83%.

There were also warnings yesterday that a potential exodus of EU workers could hit other sectors. A spokesman for the CBI said: “Since the referendum, we have heard from members in sectors who depend on EU workers to fill local shortages that they are having difficulties filling.”

As the growing season approaches for ​Britain’s £3bn horticulture industry, recruiters warned that it would be hit particularly hard by staff shortages. The head of the largest Romanian employment agency for temporary workers in the UK called on the Brexit secretary, David Davis, to be clear that EU workers still enjoyed the same rights.

“There was a lot of talk about restricting the rights of Romanians on the day article 50 was triggered but that did not happen in the end. For the next two years of negotiations there should be clear messages​,”​ said Alexandru Barbacaru​ of Est-Vest Services​​.

NHS recruits must be given special status after Brexit, MPs urge

Watchdog puts "unsafe" Cornwall care homes in special measures

Elderly people have been living in “grim, shoddy and unsafe” conditions in four care homes run by a private company in Cornwall, the health and social care watchdog has found.

Residents of the Morleigh Group homes lay in urine-soaked bedclothes, sat in chairs for hours with plates of unfinished food in front of them and waited weeks to receive medical attention, the Care Quality Commission said.

Publishing reports on the four homes on Friday, the CQC said all the homes had been rated inadequate and placed into special measures after separate inspections.

Andrea Sutcliffe, the chief inspector of adult social care, said:“These reports make horrifying reading – people in distress being ignored by staff; a person lying in a urine-soaked bed for two hours; people sat in the same chair all day with uneaten meals in front of them, and no help to eat or drink; someone needing medical attention waiting weeks to be referred to their GP.

“These and so many other examples show why we have rated each of these homes as inadequate and are taking further action to protect the safety and welfare of the people living there.”

Clinton House nursing home, in St Austell, closed earlier this month after an undercover investigation by BBC’s Panorama.

The CQC reports concluded:

• At Clinton House, there were not always enough staff on duty. Inspectors noticed one person in distress and crying for 90 minutes while staff walked by three times without speaking to the person to find out if they needed anything or to comfort them. The management of medicines was not robust. One person had not been given one of their prescribed medicines for three days. Inspectors had to intervene when one person – who had previously been assessed as being at risk of falls – was left unattended and nearly fell out of their wheelchair.


• At Elmsleigh care home, in Par, inspectors found one person who suffered from incontinence and was at risk of pressure sores, but was not routinely turned or checked by staff. Records showed that for several days the person often received no personal care – exposing them to the risk of urine burns to their skin. People sitting in the same seat all day, with their meals left in front of them uneaten, even though most needed encouragement to eat. Some appeared not to realise it was mealtime. Some people had sustained substantial weight loss but it was not clear what action had been taken to help them maintain a healthy weight.


• At Collamere nursing home, in Lostwithiel, inspectors witnessed people with dementia calling out repeatedly for some time with no response. One person shouted throughout the day and night. It was only after the inspection that their GP was asked to review their pain relief – and then they appeared to sleep without signs of distress.


• At St Theresa’s nursing home, in Callington, inspectors identified one person who had pressure sores, but had not been repositioned for eight hours. There had been a delay of five days in seeking appropriate specialist advice. Medicines were not being managed safely, the premises and equipment were not being maintained, and the collection of soiled laundry from bedrooms and cleaning procedures did not ensure suitable standards of cleanliness.

Sutcliffe added: “These services were providing grim, shoddy and unsafe care – the sort that no one should ever have to put up with. I am sorry that people have had to endure this poor level of care.”

The CQC said the Morleigh Group, which is family owned, had been supported by Cornwall council and the NHS Kernow clinical commissioning group to make improvements. But it said the company had failed to listen.

CQC inspectors visited Collamere on 10 October in response to concerns about the service. They visited Elmsleigh on 25 October to follow up on improvements required by a previous inspection. Planned inspections of Clinton House and St Theresa’s were brought forward following information received from Panorama.

The BBBC investigation included undercover filming showing one nurse threatening to give morphine to a resident “to shut her up”.

Panorama

Watchdog puts "unsafe" Cornwall care homes in special measures

NHS teaching trust to go into special measures after inadequate rating

A large NHS teaching trust is to be placed in special measures after inspectors rated it inadequate.

St George’s University Hospitals NHS foundation trust in Tooting, south-west London, will enter special measures after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it was inadequate for safety and on the issue of being well-led.

The trust was also told it requires improvement for being effective and responsive, although it was rated good for caring. Eighteen NHS trusts in England are in special measures.

An inspection at St George’s in June and July revealed that several of the buildings, including operating theatres, were so poorly maintained they were not fit for purpose. Other problems included staff not following infection control policies and about half of staff working with children had not completed the required safeguarding training.

Two years ago, the trust was ranked as good.

Prof Sir Mike Richards, the chief inspector of hospitals, said: “I am disappointed that we have found a marked deterioration in the safety and quality of some of the trust’s services since we inspected two years ago, as well as in its overall governance and leadership.

“Our inspectors found that several of the trust buildings – including operating theatres – were in a state of disrepair, which meant they were not fit for purpose. There were poor fire detection systems and a heightened risk of water contamination, which meant that people were put at risk.

“We also observed that not all staff followed infection control procedures, even when challenged by colleagues.

“Worryingly, we found that areas in which children and young people with mental health conditions were cared for had not been checked for ligature points, and that half of the medical staff working with children and young people had not completed level three safeguarding training, which is a requirement for all staff working with children.

“We took urgent action requiring the trust to address the most immediate of our concerns, and the trust has now introduced a range of supportive measures as a means of stabilising the organisation.”

The trust, which operates hospitals at the St George’s and Queen Mary’s sites, serves about 1.3 million people.

The interim hospital trust chairman, Sir David Henshaw, said progress had been made but added: “There will be no quick fix to the problems we face. Many of these challenges are due to very poor board and senior management decisions in the past and a failure to tackle the big challenges head-on.

“We owe it to our staff and patients to make St George’s better again. The CQC’s report is a key part of this improvement journey.”

The other 17 trusts in special measures for quality of services are Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS trust; Barts; Brighton and Sussex; Cambridge University; Colchester University; East Kent; East Sussex; London Ambulance; Medway; North Cumbria; Princess Alexandra hospital; Sherwood Forest; South East Coast Ambulance; Walsall; West Herts; Worcestershire Acute and Wye Valley NHS trust.

Eight more trusts are in financial special measures owing to large deficits and poor management.

NHS teaching trust to go into special measures after inadequate rating

Hospitals trust put in special measures after botched operations

A number of occasions where surgeons operated on the wrong part of a patientwere among incidents flagged up by a damning watchdog report which recommended that a hospital trust should be put in special measures.

The four cases involving the surgeons in 2015 were among seven “never events” – serious incidents that are wholly preventable – according to a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into Brighton and Sussex University hospitals NHS trust.

The report also highlighted problems with a culture of bullying and discrimination.

Other issues included patients being kept in surgical recovery rooms – usually just a temporary stop before being returned to a ward or intensive care unit – for up to three days. These areas were also used for emergency medical patients because of an overcrowded A&E and “to help meet the emergency department’s targets”.

The CQC inspectors said there had not been enough staff to ensure patients were receiving safe care and that the culture at Royal Sussex County hospital was one where poor performance in some areas was tolerated.

As well as the safety issues, the report highlighted a culture of bullying at the organisation, where people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds reported that “discrimination was rife”.

The CQC document highlights a 2015 NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard report which concluded: “Following job application, the relative likelihood of white staff being appointed was 1.26 times greater than for BME staff.” It added: “BME staff felt very undervalued and bullied.”

Some lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff also told inspectors they did not feel they were treated equally and felt discriminated against.

Prof Edward Baker, the deputy chief inspector of hospitals for the CQC, said: “It is clear that the problems we have found on this inspection go right through Brighton and Sussex University hospitals NHS trust.

“It is a matter of some concern that we found there was a distinct disconnect between the trust board and staff working in clinical areas, with very little insight by the board into the main safety and risk issues, and seemingly little appetite to resolve them.

“For some time the trust has been failing to meet national standards on waiting and treatment times, there were high numbers of cancelled appointments and operations, and delays in providing diagnostic results. We found that the executive team had failed on multiple occasions to provide resources or support to clinical staff in critical care and there was no acknowledgement that they understood the problems staff identified.

Dr Gillian Fairfield, the trust’s interim chief executive, apologised for the failures identified by the CQC, which she described as “completely unacceptable”.

“The NHS as a whole is seeing growing demand for services and, like many other trusts across the country, this has caused us significant challenges which has affected the standard of the care we are providing our patients. These challenges have been made worse by the fact that our older buildings are not fit for purpose.

“It would be wrong for us to use these pressures and challenges as excuses, however, and we know we should and need to be doing better for our patients and staff.”

Hospitals trust put in special measures after botched operations

Caroline Aherne: mum advised us only special men and women get cancer

She stated: “When you hear them telling you have cancer, it really is accurate that you actually do not take it in appropriately, you just do not feel of the inquiries and then when you come out since she’s been in there with you she answers all your questions that you haven’t been ready to inquire at the time or haven’t considered of.

“This is the very best bit that they comprehend they entirely realize what you are going by way of and what your loved ones are going by way of.”

Aherne shared a joke from the time of her chemotherapy treatment method at the Cecilia Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital, involving Royle Loved ones co-star Ricky Tomlinson who played her on-display father.

Aherne stated: “The cleaner came in one particular day, she went, ‘Oh, I knew you were right here, they advised me you have been right here, oh that’s excellent, I adore the Royle Family but I would’ve significantly favored it to be Ricky in that bed!’

“She was wishing lung cancer on Ricky Tomlinson!”

Aherne continued: “I do not know why this popped into my head, but you know when you are in intensive care and they wash you, this nurse explained, ‘Do you want to wash your very own fairy?

“So, er, I’m now my very own fairy washer!”

She extra: “I just hold my hands up and say, ‘thank God for Macmillan nurses’. Fifty many years in the past when my mum located out that we had cancer they did not have any Macmillan nurses you had been sort of on your personal with it so it really is a blessing we have got them now.”

At the finish of her speech Aherne smiled, place her hands to her hair and joked: “My wig stayed on!”

The 50-yr-old, whose comedy creations have also included her spoof chat host Mrs Merton, unveiled last month she was battling lung disease right after agreeing to aid launch the new initiative in her property town Manchester.

Research by cancer charity Macmillan showed the city came bottom out of 150 areas in England for premature deaths from cancer.

Ciaran Devane, chief executive, Macmillan Cancer Support mentioned: “We are hugely grateful to Caroline Aherne for supporting Macmillan and MCIP and assisting us recruit individuals impacted by cancer, specifically at a time when she is undergoing cancer treatment herself in Manchester.

“It was generous-spirited of her to sacrifice her privacy at a challenging time to help make things greater for other people in Manchester who are becoming and will be taken care of for cancer in Manchester.”

Aherne can at present be heard as the voice of hit Channel four present Gogglebox and has explained she would carry on functioning on the show.

Aherne, who has been a smoker, has struggled with health difficulties for years.

She has fought depression and drink difficulties and spent time in the Priory clinic following a suicide attempt, ahead of moving to Australia to avoid the glare of publicity.

The star has also had a string of failed relationships – her marriage to former New Order guitarist Peter Hook ended and she began a romance with Tv researcher Matt Bowers.

They split but she was devastated when he died of cancer at the age of 28.

Her considerably-loved programme The Royle Loved ones ran for 3 series and has returned for a amount of seasonal specials, most recently at Christmas 2012.

Caroline Aherne: mum advised us only special men and women get cancer

NHS reform: Special measures | Editorial

The question of how to make change happen to a National Health Service that is beloved to the last bedpan has been preoccupying health secretaries for at least 50 years. As each one has to find out for themselves, change in healthcare is extraordinarily complex, not least because no one quite knows what it ought to look like. Now it is Jeremy Hunt’s turn.

The regime that will prevail if the care bill goes through the Commons unchanged is one more botched effort to deal with the unintended consequences of a crisis that originates in failure. Clause 119, which deals with hospital closures, means that good hospitals that are functioning well could have their best services asset-stripped in order to prop up a neighbouring trust facing bankruptcy. It could end up shaping the way healthcare is provided without paying proper attention to the wider needs of the community that it is supposed to serve. It is a failure regime that will almost certainly make failure more likely.

Clause 119 is a rapid rethink after a court ruled that the trust special administrator – in effect, the receiver – of the South London healthcare NHS trust couldn’t force neighbouring Lewisham hospital to run down some services to make the South London trust more financially viable. What is happening in South London now will be coming soon to a dozen or more of the scores of hospital trusts across England that – after the fierce budget squeeze – are teetering on the edge of collapse. Reconfiguration of the health service is undoubtedly needed. But it must not happen like this, driven by too many of the wrong considerations – narrow questions of short-term finance – and not enough of the right ones – the most efficient way of delivering the best, most affordable care, from district nurses to specialised cancer units, to everyone in the area.

Veterans of attempts at health reform are usually convinced that in the end there has to be some kind of top-down command and control system. Otherwise local interests obstruct every change. All politicians remember Kidderminster 2001 – when Dr Richard Taylor snatched a safe Labour seat with a campaign in defence of his hospital’s A&E unit – and shudder. No secretary of state would sacrifice the power to intervene for political reasons in order to pursue the greater good, at least not if they valued their job. If this seems unduly cynical, look back only a few weeks to the case of Mid Staffordshire NHS trust, where the trust special administrator and the health regulator, Monitor, had painstakingly agreed a programme of managed decline, which involved among other measures losing maternity services to the larger University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Hours before the recommendations were to be announced, David Cameron told the Commons he thought mid-Staffs needed its maternity unit. The report was sent back for reconsideration. Jeremy Hunt had to rewrite his statement to MPs.

Mr Hunt could reasonably warn that there is now real concern that delays in reconfiguration are leaving some services in some hospitals in protracted death throes. That means – local campaigners should remember – that some will be less safe than they could be. But that does not justify forcing through change on the back of a rushed and narrowly focused process. What is so alarming is that in the process of driving through changes so big they can be seen from space, the mechanism for making primary care the driver of reconfiguration got swallowed up in second thoughts – and now there’s no mechanism to provide an evidence-driven holistic assessment of service need that ordinary people can believe in.

Sweeping up all the powers of reconfiguration into the office of secretary of state and his appointees will make that worse. That’s likely to be the first big headache for the highly rated if controversial Simon Stevens who takes over NHS England next month. Early in his career, he commissioned NHS services for Brighton. Useful expertise for the man who has to piece together the parts that have fallen off the NHS aeroplane and get it airworthy again.

NHS reform: Special measures | Editorial

8 Special and All-natural Headache Remedies

Virtually ten% of the American population report to have suffered from serious and debilitating headaches this past 12 months.  The price for healthcare costs for this variety of ailment is $ one billion bucks in one yr!  So if you are 1 of the unfortunate ones to be incorporating into this statistic, you have probably tried every little thing to get rid of your headaches.  Here are some hopefully fresh tips to consider that are all all-natural and could just be the ticket.

Biofeedback is an substitute diagnostic device that uses electronic sensors to keep track of physique functions such as muscle stress, skin temperature, heart rate and blood stress. The information from the device is communicated to you by both sounds or pc pictures. This monitoring feedback can then teach you how to handle your body’s response this kind of as releasing tight muscle groups or decreasing blood pressure to prevent headache soreness.  Current habits treatment studies performed on biofeedback displays that this technique of headache management is much more cost effective than prescription drugs.

Therapeutic massages have been displaying fantastic promise for headache sufferers. Usually just the straightforward process of rubbing your temples can carry relief.  Also obtaining a neck, back, head or shoulder massage can reduce or even remove a headache.  In a latest examine at the Headache Clinic of Denver, people with migraines who had 6 weekly massage sessions had much less regular migraines and much better sleep during the massage weeks and the 3 following weeks than a handle group.

Headache-relieving stretches can release muscle stress that may be creating the discomfort.  Consider including these simple stretches the second you feel a headache coming on. Attempt these 3 stretches to improve your neck selection of movement bend your chin forward, upward and then toward every shoulder then do a couple shoulder shrugs the place you shrug up, up and forward and then up and back and neck isometrics by pressing your palm into your forehead and holding towards slight strain and then by pressing a hand on every side of the head, 1st one particular side and then the other. Each of the stretches should be repeated 3-five occasions.

According to the National Soreness Basis, day-to-day or at least each and every other day workout like walking, biking, hiking or participating in sports activities can decrease headache intensity and frequency.  The health-related journal, Headache carried out a examine where sufferers that did not workout often were place on a twelve-week cycling program.  Participants reported an improved quality of lifestyle and reduction in the amount of migraines and a lessen in the intensity of the soreness.

There have been some reported scientific studies exhibiting men and women with migraines identified that spiritual meditation reduced headache frequency and enhanced ache tolerance more than secular meditation and muscle relaxation. Numerous meditation methods can be utilised to target consideration and quiet the mind from distractions such as persistent discomfort.

Deep breathing, soothing music and other relaxation techniques can support folks reduce the intensity of their headaches.  There are a lot of advantages reported by using a progressive muscle-relaxation approach.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a stress-lowering strategy that requires the progressive tension and calming of particular muscle groups. Beginning with the muscle tissue in your face, you fully tense all the muscle tissues and hold the stress for numerous seconds (do this to the count of 10), totally chill out for the same volume of time, then repeat the approach with the up coming set of muscle tissues (the neck, the shoulders, etc.) right up until each and every location of your physique has been relaxed. With practice, you can understand to completely loosen up your entire body within seconds and keep from storing up stress and pressure.

Here’s a simple trick that is protected for absolutely everyone and can give some immediate relief. To decrease neck stress, apply heat to the back of your neck.  Yet another simple trick is to place an ice cube on your temple. This is stated to break the soreness cycle. The technical purpose this may function is that the artery that supplies blood to the brain sits behind bone at the temple. Migraines are typically due to inflammation in this spot. Reducing the temperature of the blood passing via that region can usually decrease or entirely cease the throbbing.

The new child on the block which has really been all around for 1000′s of many years is using Crucial Oils to obliterate headache soreness.  My husband has just fallen in adore with my YL Peppermint Important Oil.   He has had an allergy headache for weeks that has not responded to something.  When I pulled out the peppermint oil and was virtually chasing him close to the property, he believed I was crazy.  3 days later on, if I have the oil in my purse and he cannot uncover it, he’s hunting me down.  Merely rub 2 modest drops of Therapeutic Grade (most oils you get are not therapeutic grade) of Peppermint Oil on your temples. And for an added benefit (if you are utilizing Youthful Residing Oils) you can then lick your fingers and have a strong germ fighting breath freshener!  (Warning: Do not ingest other crucial oils that say not for inner use as they are low cost imitations and can be harmful to your wellness).  If your headache is due to sinus congestion, use YL R.C. Vital Oil Blend to clear up congestion on your chest and throat.

Healthy Blessings,

Sandy

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8 Special and All-natural Headache Remedies