Private company suspended from providing out of hours services while concerns investigated

An out of hospital service run by an independent private provider has been suspended after concerns over several serious incidents, including the death of an elderly patient. NHS London, the strategic health authority for the capital, has suspended until further notice the service run by Clinicenta in north London and is carrying out a full investigation into the services, which were suspended on 11 November.

More news published on 20 November:

clocks

Admissions from emergency departments rise as four hour target approaches

The number of patients leaving emergency departments each minute rises with the approach of the government's four hour maximum waiting time target, research has shown. The rise is especially marked in the 10 minutes before the deadline expires, with 6% of all patients attending emergency departments in England being seen and treated in this time.

More news published on 19 November:

elderly person

Poor care in hospital is delaying discharge of patients with dementia, charity says

People with dementia are staying far longer in hospital than people being treated for the same illnesses or injuries who don't have dementia, says a new report. The Alzheimer's Society, which published the report, also found that nearly half (47%) of carers said that being in hospital had a negative effect on the physical health of the person with dementia.

More news published on 18 November:

psychiatric patient

England needs more second opinion psychiatrists to safeguard patients' rights

The shortage of second opinion doctors to make decisions under the Mental Health Act is a major concern for the Department of Health, England's national director for mental health, Louis Appleby, has admitted. He has called on mental health trust managers to try to recruit more doctors whose role it is to give a second opinion, if requested to do so, before a patient is sectioned under the act.

More news published on 17 November:

Sydney

Australia operates "closed shop" to restrict doctors from overseas, say critics

Overseas trained doctors seeking to work in Australia often face unwarranted restrictions on practising, say leading Australian medical specialists and healthcare reform advocates. Ian Hickie, a psychiatrist at the University of Sydney, says that shortages in the medical workforce are being exacerbated by restrictions caused by an "evil axis" of immigration policy, health regulations, and the monopoly of specialist medical colleges over training and accreditation.

More news published on 16 November:

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