News: Headlines for the 3rd sector
NEWS
Health and Social Care Update
27/04/2012 10:17:03
A report by the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network found that integrated mental health and physical health services lead to better care and significant savings.Figures indicate that the number of NHS patients waiting over 18 weeks has gone up by 27%. The latest NHS referral to treatment (RTT) figures also show the average or median waiting time for patients who completed their RTT course of treatment in February was 8.7 weeks, compared to 8.4 weeks in May 2010.
Department of Health figures show the number of patients waiting more than four hours for a bed is increasing year on year. Between July and September 2011, 21,000 patients waited more than four hours for a bed once the decision to admit had been taken.
A study has indicated that the treatment of breast cancer could be revolutionised with patients offered more accurate diagnoses and better- targeted treatments.
The Richmond Group, the coalition of 10 leading health and social care charities, has named five themes it wants the government to make priorities for the NHS.
A report by the providers of NHS services states that the health services must ‘up their game’ to respond to rising levels of homelessness.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has set out the Government’s strategic objectives for the NHS Commissioning Board Authority and the basis against which the Authority will be held to account.
Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham called for free home-care for all terminally-ill patients.
Hospitals have been told to end the practice of discharging vulnerable people from wards during the night. Freedom of Information requests by The Times discovered that, out of 100 NHS trusts, 239,233 patients had been sent home between 11pm and 6am last year.
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