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NICE seeks new professional members:
Apply now!
NICE is recruiting members to join its six topic selection
consideration panels, including: mental health, acute and chronic
conditions, public health and women’s and children’s health. These
panels review and prioritise suggested topics for NICE guidance.
Consultant psychiatrists and child and adolescent psychiatrists
particularly are required. To apply:
Information pack for applicants (includes job
description/person specification) and
Recruitment pack (contains all relevant forms, policies and
procedures), Closing date: 9 July 2010.
New resources for
patients restricted under the Mental Health Act
The CQC monitors the use of the Mental Health Act and protects
the interests of people whose rights are restricted under that Act.
It has produced new resources about what to expect if patients'
rights are restricted and what to do if they are not
satisfied with the care you have received.
Healthcare for prisoners
still inadequate
Prisoners still do not receive adequate
healthcare four years after the NHS stepped in to manage the
system. The CQC and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons said
aspects of treatment were "inadequate" and appeared to be "getting
worse". In
a joint review, they insisted improvements "must be made" to
ensure inmates receive an acceptable standard of care across the
board. They flagged up drug treatment - "a potentially critical
resource within a prison environment" - as a particular
concern.
Drinking habits
revealed
The NHS Information Centre has published
information on drinking habits and behaviours. The statistics
focus on alcohol intake among adults and school children,
drinking-related ill health and mortality, affordability of alcohol
and alcohol-related costs. The number of prescription items for the
treatment of alcohol dependency is broken down into regions.
Prescription charges review
In 2008 Professor Sir Ian Gilmore,
President of the Royal College of Physicians, was asked to lead an
independent review on how to implement a prescription charge
exemption for people with long-term conditions. The Government has
now published
the review, which was submitted to previous ministers in
November 2009.
Insufficient information on
medicines
The CQC has published the results of its
2009 NHS Inpatient Survey. The survey found significant room
for improvement around the information given to people about
medicines. The proportion of patients who said they were not given
enough information about the purpose of medicine they were given to
take home has steadily increased, from 7% in 2002 to 8% in 2008 and
9% in 2009. In 2009, 45% of patients said they had not been given
enough information about potential side-effects of medication, up
from 44% in 2008 and 2002. The Commission urges the NHS to tackle
lack of information about medicines.
State of nation report
poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency in the UK
The Cabinet Office has published
a report which sets out a comprehensive assessment of poverty
in the UK in 2010.
Labour MP Frank Field is to head a
Government poverty review
The Labour backbencher will lead an
independent review that will report to the government by the end of
the year. The Review on Poverty and Life Chances will examine
whether measures need to be reformed, how children’s learning is
affected by their home life and recommend action to reduce poverty
for the least advantaged “consistent with the government’s fiscal
strategy”.
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