Latest News Online

Hospitals in England are to be made to publish monthly details of whether they have enough nurses on their wards. 

 

 

From April, patients will be able to see the numbers on a new national safety website, and whether they meet recommended levels.
It forms part of the government's response to the public inquiry into the Stafford Hospital scandal, which will be laid before Parliament later.
Labour said the "new focus on recruitment" was long overdue.
The move has been called for by nurse leaders and MPs in recent months.
The neglect and abuse at the hospital between 2005 and 2008, which led to the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of patients, had already been well documented, but the £13m Francis Inquiry, published at the start of February, also revealed wider cultural problems in the NHS.
Intense debate It accused the NHS of putting corporate self-interest ahead of patients and concluded that the failings went from the top to the bottom of the system.
In total 290 recommendations were put forward and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to say most of them have been accepted, when he addresses MPs later.
It has already become clear steps such as creating an offence of wilful neglect to cover nurses and doctors and tougher standards for healthcare workers will be introduced.
But in recent months there has been intense debate about the issue of staffing levels - something the Francis Inquiry said should be looked at.
The government has already asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the official advisory body for the health service, to look at how safe staffing should be measured.
Evidence suggests different levels of staffing are needed for different wards.