Action to help tens of thousands more people avoid lengthy spells in hospital is being rolled out nationwide as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. NHS doctors, nurses and other staff are being encouraged to ask themselves ‘Why not home? Why not today?’ when planning care for patients recovering from an operation or illness, […]
NHS doctors and nurses are using Skype to help older people get faster care, reduce avoidable ambulance call-outs and help people stay out of hospital. The on-call Skype NHS team takes around 8,000 calls a year from wardens working in sheltered accommodation, care home staff and community teams looking for expert support for their residents. […]
The NHS 111 urgent care advice line has saved over 12 million unnecessary A&E visits, new figures from NHS England and Improvement have revealed. There were 80 million calls to 111 between its foundation in April 2011 and September 2018. Analysis of calls over that time shows that more than one in four people, 28%, would […]
DIY enthusiasts have been urged to take care this Easter as NHS figures show hundreds of admissions to hospital after an accident with a power tool. There were almost 4,800 admissions to hospital wards for injuries from drills and other power tools in just 12 months, according to the latest figures, as the NHS continues […]
NHS staff provided timely, high quality care to a record numbers of people in England this winter, according to official figures published today. The hard work of frontline staff combined with ongoing improvements to how the NHS provides care meant over 380,000 more patients were treated within four hours in Accident and Emergency (A&E) than […]
People who arrive at A&E experiencing a mental health crisis will receive emergency care within one hour under NHS pilot schemes aimed at improving care and saving more lives. The new standard, a significant step towards parity of esteem for mental health, is among a raft of proposed clinical improvements that aim to deliver rapid […]
Every major hospital will provide urgent same day services to improve care for patients and cut unnecessary admissions by next winter, NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said today. Many hospitals are already providing comprehensive care without admitting patients who come to A&E with conditions such as pneumonia or other breathing difficulties through same […]
NHS chief Simon Stevens has today challenged vehicle manufacturers to help “blue lights go green” and cut air pollution by developing more environmentally friendly ambulances. With polluted air causing cancer, lung disease and heart problems and contributing to around 40,000 deaths each year, the NHS England chief executive pledged that the health service will step […]
Teenagers accounted for more than 1,000 admissions to hospital as a result of assaults with a knife or sharp object last year, NHS figures show. Admissions for all injuries caused by an assault with knife or other sharp objects have gone up by almost a third since 2012-13, from 3,849 to 4,986 last year. However, […]
NHS England will help fund so-called ‘drunk tanks’ to take the pressure off hospital and 999 services over Christmas and New Year, chief executive Simon Stevens announced today. Supervised areas where revellers who have over-indulged can be checked over and even sleep it off, rather than being taken to casualty or monitored by the police, […]