Press Summary: 20 September

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Press summary logoThe following stories were selected from those sent as daily alerts under the search term ‘NHS’, and ‘Keep Our NHS Public’ from the Google alerts service. Please send any comments to Alan: mailto:[email protected]

7 September

Health apps to link straight to patient records

Hunt announces way new IT to be used. Any mention of the NHS providing these apps, or support for people who cannot afford them, is absent. Privatised. BBC News:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37290126

[23 more stories]

STPs: the end of the NHS?

Analytical piece in the Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/07/stps-local-modernisation-plans-nhs-four-years

 

NHS dentistry in state of decay

Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/06/dentists-nhs-british-dental-association

 

KONP protest at Hunt visit (local)

Salford star. Well done KONP Manchester/Tameside

http://salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=3438

 

‘Bed blocking’ worst on record

Apologies to those who find the term offensive; the Telegraph seem determined to use it in their headers as often as they can, for obvious skewed reasons

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/08/nhs-bed-blocking-at-monthly-worst-level-on-record/

 

Breastfeeding could save NHS £40 million a year

Guardian. Lack of support for mothers to breast feed is put forward as the cause.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/09/breastfeeding-drive-could-save-nhs-40m-a-year

And a surprisingly sympathetic stance on the same story taken by the Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3779777/Another-reason-breast-best-Improving-breastfeeding-rates-save-NHS-40-million-year.html

Also the Mirror

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breastfeeding-could-save-nhs-40million-8794605

 

NHS England cannot guarantee safety during strikes

A call which eventually halted the one planned for this month. Pulse

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/hot-topics/junior-doctor-contract/nhs-england-cannot-guarantee-patient-safety-during-strikes/20032751.fullarticle

 

10 September

 

Secrecy and jargon overshadowing STP discussion

Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2016/sep/09/lethal-combination-secrecy-jargon-overshadowed-nhs-plans

 

District nurses ‘under total siege’

Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/09/district-nurses-are-the-real-heroes-of-the-nhs-but-they-are-unde/

 

14 September

 

Private ambulance crews left unpaid and low on fuel

Mirror: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/privatisation-leaves-ambulance-crews-literally-8829696

 

Jeremy Corbyn urges supporters to campaign for NHS

Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/13/jeremy-corbyn-urges-supporters-to-campaign-for-jobs-and-nhs

 

15 September

 

Diane Abbott accuses government of secret plans in STPs

Care Appointments (Social care journal):

http://www.careappointments.co.uk/care-news/england/item/40422-government-accused-over-secret-plans-for-more-nhs-privatisation

 

Same story, Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/diane-abbott/nhs-reform-stps_b_12004806.html

 

Also repeated in the Daventry Express (local):

http://www.daventryexpress.co.uk/news/regional/secret-plans-could-be-a-stalking-horse-for-more-nhs-privatisation-1-7578489

 

And as a separate story on local plans in the Chronicle Live (North east, local):

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/plans-devastating-nhs-savings-north-11893008

 

NHS the new dividing line in Labour?

Thoughtful piece in OurNHS:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/thomas-mills/nhs-new-dividing-line-in-labour-party

 

16 September

 

Labour leadership, the NHS and honest politics

A look at the elite and the ‘revolving door’ nature of politics, and how it needs to change to save the NHS. OurNHS:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/caroline-molloy/only-article-about-leadership-campaign-i-ll-write

 

“Pay per GP visit” ‘Doctaly’ service rolling out nationally

Hailed as yet more “patient choice”, but likely to undermine general practice even more. Quote from Alan Taman. iNews (The Indy’s cut-down version): https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/health/doctaly-online-private-gp-appointment-service-expand-across-uk-2018/

 

Repeated in the Express:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/711370/Scheme-where-patients-pay-to-see-NHS-GP-a-slippery-slope-towards-privatisation

 

Also in the Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3792857/Scheme-patients-pay-NHS-GP-slippery-slope-privatisation.html

 

With noticeably different angles. The Express repeats concerns that this may be privatisation; the Mail focuses on ‘greedy doctors cashing in’. Reflecting prevailing attitudes to the NHS in these papers.

 

17 September

 

STPs little more than ‘slash and burn’

Report on Saturday’s HCT conference in Birmingham. Morning Star:

https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-ab54-STPs-are-little-more-than-slash-and-burn,-warns-GP#.V-E4jDsryLU

 

20 September

 

NHS doctors told to declare private income

BBC News and widely elsewhere. Declared as a move for more ‘openness’ in the NHS. Likely to trigger an angry response from the consultants, as negotiations over their contract continues. Could be a battle for public sympathy, with most nationals taking the stance of ‘greedy doctors should have nothing to hide’. First the juniors…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37415587

 

NHS offers appointments via webcam rather than in person

Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/20/the-doctor-will-see-you-now–via-webcam/

 

KONP received several calls from national outlets in the past week, relating to the Doctaly service and other issues.

 

This service is provided as a guide to the main stories, but you can get alerts sent about health stories yourself every day.

This is done through Google news and Google alerts: free services anyone can set up. To find out how to do this, go to the Steering Group, News & Events section on the KONP website (https://keepournhspublic.com/support-konp/steering-group-page/news-events/ ) and look for the “starter set of instructions”.

Mobile devices also have free apps that provide news, which you can filter with varying degrees of control.

 


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