2010 news

National Audit of Dementia (Care in General Hospitals)

17 December 2010

A report into the care received by nearly 8,000 patients with dementia in 206 hospitals in England and Wales has revealed that few hospitals provide mandatory training for their staff in awareness of dementia, that many patients with dementia are not having assessments of their mental health or state of nutrition and that there are serious delays for patients referred to in-hospital psychiatry liaison services.

Read the report National Audit of Dementia (Care in General Hospitals).

Read the media release.


Hospital dementia care 'lacking'

16 December 2010

Hospitals in England and Wales are failing to provide good enough care to dementia patients, an audit has shown. The review by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found many patients were not getting the support on nutrition and mental health that they should.


Vital role of social care in supporting people at home and reducing hospital admissions at end of life - New Nuffield Trust report

8 December 2010

Care of people who are dying comes under the spotlight today as new research, published by the independent health think thank the Nuffield Trust, provides a significant step forward in helping the NHS and local authorities to better understand services used by people at the end of life.

Review says NHS must ensure good palliative care

3 December 2010

The NHS in England has failed to take responsibility for ensuring good end-of-life care, according to an independent review. The analysis, by the head of Marie Curie Cancer Care, says this has led to a "postcode lottery" in funding and service quality.


Palliative Care Funding Review Interim Report Published

3 December 2010

The past 30 years have seen huge advances in medical care, with a consequent increase in life expectancy. In addition, demographic changes mean that in the future there will be increasing numbers of older people needing access to palliative care services. Along with improvements in care has come a recognition of the importance of caring for people at the end of life when cure is no longer possible. There is now a real recognition of the importance of end of life care, and end of life care strategies for children, young people and adults have been developed.

Read the report Palliative Care Funding Review, Interim Report, December 2010.


New end of life care service brings benefits for patients and health service

2 December 2010

More than £1million of savings has been achieved during the pilot of a new end of life care service in Birmingham. The service resulted in fewer unnecessary admissions into acute care, shorter bed stays and better end of life choices for patients.


People 'denied' die at home wish

16 November 2010

Too many people are dying in hospitals and care homes, and not at home the way they want to, says a report from Demos. Of the 500,000 people who die each year in the UK, the think tank found only 18% die at home, yet 60% of people surveyed would like to. Investing in community-based end of life care would also save the NHS money in the long term, the report says.


Report on dementia deaths highlights new challenges for end of life care

9 November 2010

Care homes will face particular challenges in responding to the inevitable rise in dementia, including Alzheimer’s, a report suggests today. The report, published by the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network (NEoLCIN), says commissioners and providers across adult health and social care will be faced with meeting the needs of more people dying with these conditions as the population ages. It confirms that, unlike other conditions, most people with dementia, including Alzheimer’s, die in care homes.

Read the media release.

Read the report Deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and senility in England.

Read the interactive spreadsheet Deaths from Alzheimer's, Dementia and Senility in England, 2001 to 2009.


Updated Hospital Episode Statistics HES (admitted patient care) England 2009/10

4 November 2010

Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) is a data warehouse containing records of all patients admitted to NHS hospitals in England. It contains details of every hospital stay in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. The Kennedy report recommended that HES should be "supported as a major national resource for the monitoring of a range of healthcare outcomes".


Ageing population requires new approaches to end of life care, report warns

19 October 2010

Providers and commissioners of end of life care must address the implications of a predicted large increase in the numbers of people dying at a very old age, according to a report published today...

Read the media release.

Read the report Deaths in Older Adults in England.


A FREE event on 12 November 2010 to launch the new survey question module on social care for older people - Using, paying for and providing social care

19 October 2010

This FREE event celebrates the launch of a brand new survey question module on social care for older people. Up-to-date with new developments in social care, these questions have been developed by specialists at the PSSRU at LSE and the University of Kent, University of East Anglia and NatCen.

Now ready for use, the questions tackle difficult areas such as payment of care services and the differentiation between paid and unpaid care arrangements.  The development of these questions was funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the Department of Health.

This event will be of interest to those developing and administering national surveys, commissioners of research, academics, and local authority commissioners and performance managers seeking to design surveys.


General Practice Profiles for Cancer

13 October 2010

The new General Practice Profiles for cancer have been developed by the National Cancer Intelligence Network and National Cancer Action Team. This initiative supports the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative to improve early diagnosis of cancer and outcomes for cancer patients.

Specialist Palliative Care Workforce Survey 2009

12 October 2010

The results of NCPCs workforce survey for 2009 are now available.

This survey was carried out in partnership with the NHS Information Centre and Mouchel supported by the NHS Cancer Action Team.

The key national findings are presented here to give cancer network level information to networks and providers so they can draw comparisons between this and the national data.

Along with the network level reports of the nursing and AHP workforce, geographical maps are being developed for consultants, comparing these against the estimated differential needs. These will be made available in the next few weeks.


Report reveals that location and deprivation can affect setting for deaths across England

11 August 2010

Whether you die in hospital or your own home can depend on where you live, according to research by the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network (NEoLCIN)...

Read the media release.

Read the report Variations in Place of Death in England.


BBC Radio 4 programme considers end of life care issues

10 August 2010

BBC Radio 4 today broadcast an episode of 'Inside the ethics committee', which brought a panel of experts together to discuss the complex ethical issues around advanced directives and decision making at the end of life.


The UK has the best system for end of life care, a global study says

15 July 2010

News story from the BBC website based on a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit.


Renal Tsar's Blog

17 June 2010

Dr Donal O'Donoghue gives his praise for the recently published SWPHO and NEoLCIN report on Deaths from Renal Diseases in England. To read the report in full, visit the Publications page.


National End of Life Care Intelligence Network website launched

18 May 2010

Today marks the arrival of an intelligence network and website which bring together data on where people die and what affects their care.

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