Imagine the scenario. You’ve arranged a special dinner for a group of friends. You’ve bought the food; picked out your ‘good’ cutlery; dressed in your best clothes. You may have even tidied up the bathroom and hidden last week’s washing under the bed. Then, they simply don’t turn up. No phone call or email, they just decide, for whatever reason, not to show. Quite apart from the wasted food and wine and the fact that you’ve spent the afternoon preparing, there’s the knowledge that if you knew they weren’t coming, you could have invited someone else. Annoying doesn’t quite cover it.
In each issue we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, we look at the current state of NHS mental health services and ask the question
Stories of GP practices with staff standing around with no patient lists, NHS trusts being unable to access IT systems, blood
records and radiology services, as well as emails and even telephone systems being interrupted, hit the national headlines back in May (‘Global cyber attack is using US spy hacking tools’ — Daily Mail Online, 12 May 2017; ‘Massive ransomware cyber-attack hits nearly 100 countries countries around the world’ — The Guardian 12 May 2017; ‘NHS left reeling cyber-attack: “We are literally unable to do any x-rays”’ — The Guardian, 13 May 2017).
We get our news, shopping and do our banking online, but now we can manage our health online too. I see digital NHS services at the heart of creating a better, more improved, patient-centred NHS where people feel more involved in their health and care.
In each issue we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, Jason Beckford-Ball looks at the current state of the NHS Mental Health Services and asks the question...
Traditional values may appear to be in decline in some aspects of society, but all of us should seek to bring them into everyday working lives, not only for the benefit of ourselves, but also for those around us.
Social care has become a hot topic in the news in the past year, with the worries and fears of the sector being widely reported. Many people may think it is an issue which does not affect them — but the reality is that most of us at some point in our lives will need care and support.
Jason Beckford-Ball looks at how the upcoming general elections may affect the NHS and asks each party...
How will the general election result influence the future NHS?
