The Scalpel's Blog

Our Health Heroes

16.04.19: Dean Royles, strategic workforce advisor at Skills for Health and co-author of ‘An Introduction to Human Resource Management,’ discusses the upcoming Our Health Heroes Awards. There are many metaphors to describe staff working i...

Improving patient flow in west London

10.04.19: Sonya Clinch, West London NHS Trust’s head of operations for access and urgent care, tells us how her trust dealt with significant pressures in its services. Maintaining good patient flow is challenging in many trusts, often because t...

NICE recommends monofilament debridement technology for use in acute or chronic wounds

08.04.19: Following a comprehensive review, NICE’s Medical Technology Guidance has recommended Debrisoft pad (10x10cm), Debrisoft Lolly and Debrisoft pad (13x20cm), manufactured by Lohmann & Rauscher, as part of the management of acute or chroni...

The benefits of bringing volunteers to the heart of your hospital

03.04.19: Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, outlines the benefits of bringing volunteers into hospitals, as well as the valuable work of Helpforce. Volunteers have always been involved in the NHS, and it&...

Hello Future: adressing the NHS workforce crisis

27.03.19: With the current NHS workforce crisis viewed by many as the biggest threat to the success of the NHS Long-Term Plan, Tasy Warn, director of employment services at NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), describes some of the innovative solutions...

What progress are we making to transform our population’s mental health?

25.03.19: Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Health and Social Care at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - NICE - provides her view of the newly published NICE impact report on mental health. Mental hea...

Personal Health Budgets: empowering individuals

20.03.19: Jon Baker, PHBChoices director at NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) believes that the extension of Personal Health Budgets (PHBs) is a great opportunity for clinical commissioning groups (CCG) to expand and improve care provision – pr...

Focusing on hand injury prevention would ensure vital benefits for the public and the NHS

18.03.19: Ian McNab, consultant orthopaedic hand surgeon and council member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand, outlines how a focus on prevention to hand injury could wider benefits for the NHS and general public. The NHS Long-Term Plan...

NHS Trusts collaborate with industry to improve cancer patient outcomes

12.03.19: Novartis Oncology has worked with the NHS on 55 JWPs since 2014, focusing on areas including improving the patient experience, redesigning cancer services, harnessing service data, and piloting innovative care models. JWPs can lead to rapid...

Why we need a Men’s Network on International Women’s Day 2019

08.03.19: Kirstie Stott, director of the Inspiring Leaders Network, writes for NHE to argue for greater involvement from men in leading the conversation around gender equality. We need more male leaders! It’s true, I don't see enough of them cu...

A Critical Moment for the NHS

07.03.19: As part of our guest blog series, chief executive of NHS Employers, Danny Mortimer, reflects on a recently published Health Foundation report on staffing trends of the NHS - and what he believes should be done at this critical crossroa...

Do you know if you’re an alcoholic?

06.03.19: With around 1,500 alcohol-related hospital stays for both adults and under 18s at the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust every year, it is clear that alcohol-related ill health is both a concern and a significant demand on the NHS.&nbs...

Transforming the way we treat trauma

06.03.19: In this article, Bevan Exemplar and trauma surgeon Oliver Blocker explains why the NHS needs to change to survive in the way it treats and admits trauma patients. He discusses how new models of care are vital to meet the needs of patients with i...

Did Brexit drown out the NHS Long Term plan?

20.02.19: In January the NHS released its much-anticipated Long Term plan, pledging to save 500,000 lives through new prevent strategies, and making a concerted effort to improve the general public’s health. But Simon Keen, media relations manager a...

Why resilience training should be compulsory for all healthcare undergraduates

19.02.19: Guest blogger Shirley O’Keeffe, expert in employee wellness, stress management and resilience with 20 years’ experience working in healthcare, explains why resilience training should be compulsory for all health and social care under...