Over 6,000 people died of suicide in the UK and Ireland in 2017. Not being okay is still widely stigmatised and governments can still make better, more ambitious plans to prevent suicide. Every year organisations and communities around the world come together to raise awareness of how we can create a world where fewer people die by suicide. World Suicide Prevention Day is on 10th September 2019.
News Archive
Many people living with dementia rely on the love, support and care of family members, friends and unpaid carers. National Dementia Carers’ Day, founded by the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK and SweetTree Home Care Services was established to share, recognise, and support this crucial role. This year National Dementia Carers Day is 8th September 2019.
The Times reports that a new blood test being rolled out across the NHS will allow doctors to predict with almost 100% accuracy whether or not pregnant women will develop pre-eclampsia within the next seven days. Currently, women suspected to be at risk of the potentially lethal condition are admitted to hospital. Diagnosis can require a long wait, taking four or five days.
Ambulance trusts are increasingly relying on private ambulances to attend 999 calls, an investigation has found. England’s ambulance trusts spent more than £92 million in the last year on private ambulances and taxis to transport patients, Press Association (PA) research found. Some trusts said they rely on private ambulances due to a chronic shortage of NHS staff and ongoing problems with recruitment.
The Royal College of Midwives has published its latest manifesto called ‘Strengthening midwifery leadership: a manifesto for better maternity care’, which provides seven steps to “strengthen leadership” for those in the profession. They have called for specialist midwives to be introduced at every trust and health board, and for a lead midwife role at a senior level across the NHS, as part of a new leadership manifesto for the profession.
The number of nursing and midwifery vacancies being advertised on the official NHS recruitment website in England has been rising steadily over the past five years and is now up 35% from 2015, new figures reveal. More than 37,000 full-time equivalent registered nurse and midwife opportunities were put out on NHS Jobs during the first quarter of 2019-20 – higher than the same period in any other year included in the data set.
A new apprenticeship route into midwifery is set to be trialled next year across three universities in England. The degree-level courses will be on offer at the universities of Greenwich, West London and Bedfordshire, as part of efforts to curb the decline in student midwives. Data shows a 35% drop in the number of applications for midwifery courses in England between 2013 and 2018.
The BBC reports that health leaders have written to Boris Johnson warning of their “significant concerns” about shortages of vital medical supplies after a no-deal Brexit. In a joint letter to the prime minister, the heads of 17 royal colleges and charities said there was “a very real possibility that life-saving medication and devices” will be delayed from reaching the UK due to hold-ups at the border.”
An inquest into the deaths of six elderly patients at the 17-bed Tawel Fan unit, at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd has been opened and adjourned. The ward was closed down in December 2013 by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board amid claims of “deeply distressing” allegations about patient care. The assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, Joanne Lees, revealed both she and senior coroner John Gittins had investigated the deaths of 88 dementia patients who stayed on ward which was closed after an initial report by Donna Ockenden claimed there had been ‘institutional abuse’ at Tawel Fan.
A Welsh Assembly Committee report has found that morale among community nurses in Wales is low and many are leaving the service due to stress and an increased workload. The Committee said the changing nature of healthcare, in particular the move to provide more help in the home and the ageing population, made the role of community nurses increasingly important. Dai Lloyd, the Committee Chair, said: “We are proud of the work that community nurses do. They are unsung heroes in the health service. We are concerned to hear from nurses about low staff morale and in some cases nurses are leaving the service as a result of stress and increased workload.”
The Telegraph reports that the charity Age UK has called for a review of overprescribing, after its More Harm than Good report estimated that nearly two million people over the age of 65 are taking at least seven prescription drugs, putting them at risk of falls and other side-effects with serious implications. Studies have shown that the risk of falling rises by 14 per cent for every drug older people take after the first four. Keith Ridge, the chief pharmaceutical officer for NHS England, said: “The NHS is investing in thousands of new clinical pharmacists to … carry out medication reviews with the most vulnerable patients.” The Department for Health said that it was committed to “cutting down unnecessary prescriptions”.
More than 1,500 people have signed an online petition against proposals by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) to change nurses’ shifts, which Plaid Cymru claim would extend them by an extra half hour without pay. According to BCUHB, the change is needed to standardise shift patterns, handover and break durations and to ensure safe staffing on every ward, while reducing agency nursing costs.