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Community pharmacies play a big role in treating alcohol misuse, but their valuable services are under threat of being decommissioned permanently It's Alcohol Awareness Week ( 19-25 November ), so there is no better time to discuss the role that services play in identifying and treating people with alcohol problems – particularly since these services are currently under threat. For every eight people who receive alcohol advice, research suggests one person will reduce their drinking to within low-risk levels. In the first region-wide evaluation of its kind, researchers from the University of...

Specially trained paramedics to assess whether they can treat patients out of hospital in plan to improve 999 response rates East Midlands ambulance service trust is piloting a new project that allows specially trained paramedics to decide whether patients should be treated at home, or referred to a GP or walk-in centre. The trial is part of the trust's plans to keep people out of hospital where possible in an effort to cut the strain on A&E, and help improve ambulance response rates to emergency calls. If rolled out fully, emergency care practitioners – paramedics with an extended set...

Failings were found in many of those involved in Mid Staffordshire but it was also a total system failure, says Shaun Lintern who has reported on the story since it began More than two years after the scandal of poor care at Stafford Hospital was exposed the reverberations from what happened there are continuing to echo throughout the NHS. Following 139 days of dramatic evidence to the public inquiry, charged with investigating why the catastrophe was hidden for so long, what lessons are there for the wider health service? Inquiry chair Robert Francis QC closed the inquiry on Thursday 1 December...

Former health secretary and chair of health select committee says that better use of IT will help eliminate waste in the NHS, reports Gill Hitchcock When the Audit Commission published its review of England's NHS this summer and warned of growing financial pressures, trusts already knew that achieving savings equivalent to about 5% of their budgets each year until 2015 meant doing things differently and more efficiently. Stephen Dorrell, the chair of the health select committee and former health secretary, believes making better use of IT is key to eliminating inefficiencies in the NHS, but...

East Midlands trust advertises 15 year informatics deal which may involve other NHS organisations University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) trust is looking for a commercial partner to transform IT and communications for itself and other local health service organisations. It has published a framework tender worth up to £600m over 15 years for a "managed business partner for IM&T transformation". Its own IT spending of £13m a year would account for nearly a third of this, although the deal will extend to its unified communications and extra transformational work. It does not currently...

Job moves: chief executive Jeff James leaves Wiltshire and Bath primary care trust cluster while QEH King's Lynn appoints Patricia Wright as boss Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals foundation trust has said that its chief executive Nik Patten has left "to pursue career opportunities elsewhere". He joined the trust in 2007, and has led on the opening of its new hospital and a cost reduction programme. Local MP Stewart Jackson told Peterborough Today that Patten's departure had looked likely due to the chief executive's ill health. "I'm disappointed because he was...

Foundation trust has developed MyHealth web portal for patients with long term conditions University Hospitals Birmingham foundation trust has set up a web portal which allows patients with long term conditions to access their health records. MyHealth, which was developed by the trust's IT team, also lets patients share and add to their health records. Daniel Ray, director of informatics at the trust, told Guardian Healthcare that the project was trialled for a year with 12 patients. UHB hopes that the project will help keep patients better informed and improve communication between them and...

Electronic rostering systems are helping trusts cut back on temporary staff, as well as reducing fines for breaching working time rules Electronic rostering systems can bring efficiency and fairness to staff rostering as well as massive savings on agency staff spending. Community and mental health provider Solent trust expects to save over £1m a year through introducing an e-rostering system, while Bedford Hospital trust has cut its locum spending by 44%, saving £220,000 in the first four months after implementation. The headline savings are impressive, but there are even more significant savings...