Bus and train real time information is available via any phone, - no smartphone required. For more information see www.readingtravel.info .

Health Service Journal reports that Nottingham City Council, which suspended involvement in its areas integrated care system, has said it will rejoin, subject to agreement it will be able to veto proposals that may result in privatisation or outsourcing.

 The NHS 111 service for medical advice and referral is now available at 111.nhs.uk. The service works like the NHS 111 telephone service but is available through an internet web browser on your computer or smartphone. It will also be available via the NHS app.

South Reading Patient Voice meets at 6pm on Wednesday, 24th April 2019 at Reading Community Learning Center, 94, London Street, RG1 4SJ. Liz Fowler of the Berkshire West Integrated Care System will talk about the National Diabetes Prevention Programme. We will also hear local news and updates from Patient Participation Groups and Reading Healthwatch.

The King's Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation have issued a joint plan for the Health and Social Care workforce, which is a make-or-break factor in the operation of the NHS. Without changes to present practice, nursing vacancies could reach 108,000 in 10 years time, they say. In their report the organisations recommend

• Paying a cost of living allowance to nursing students and covering fees for postgraduate nursing students,
• Recruiting 5,000 nurses internationally per year
• Train more GPs AND move to a multidisciplinary primary care approach
• Better career offer by NHS and be a better employer
• Staff pay must rise with general pay levels after current deal ends in 2021
• Sort out pay problems of highly paid staff
• Compassionate and inclusive leadership
• Fourfold increase in staff development budget
• Sector specific immigration procedures for social care workers
• Revised funding deal for social care

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock has decided that extensive reductions of facilities, including A&E departments at Charing Cross and Ealing hospitals, will be cancelled. After a seven year fight, campaigners against the North-West London reorganisation plan, have gained a major victory. The plan, based on the notion of more patients being treated at home, has finally been brought face-to-face with the reality of rising numbers at A&E departments, and reality has won.

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock has decided that extensive reductions of facilities, including A&E departments at Charing Cross and Ealing hospitals, will be cancelled. After a seven year fight, campaigners against the North-West London reorganisation plan, have gained a major victory. The plan, based on the notion of more patients being treated at home, has finally been brought face-to-face with the reality of rising numbers at A&E departments, and reality has won.

One of the imaging techniques used in treating cancers is Positron Emission Tomography (PET). The technique can be used to locate secondary cancers (metastases). It is often combined with CT which is an X-ray imaging technique. Some colorectal cancer patients from the Royal Berkshire Hospital are referred to the Churchill Hospital (part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foudation Trust) in Oxford, a centre of excellence for cancer treatment. According to articles in the Oxford Mail , the contract for these scans at the Churchill Hospital is being relet and NHS England, which is responsible, is proposing to award the contract to inHealth, a private company which would provide equipment elsewhere, thereby separating the scanning process from the clinical expertise at the hospital. Doctors at the hospital are forecasting harm to patients from this proposed move. A number of Thames Valley MPs, such as Anneliese Dodds MP and Layla Moran MP as well as councillors, health campaigners and patients are campaigning for public consultation on this hitherto secret process, with the hope of altering the decision. The Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock MP has been asked to intervene. Patients from Berkshire West could use an alternative centre for PET scanning at Southampton.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has produced its latest estimates of mortality and described recent changes in its estimates in this informative blog post . With the new understanding life expectancies for both males and females at age 65 have reduced by over a year since 2015. The new understanding of changing mortalities is that mortality had decreased at about 2% per year from 2000 to 2011 but slowed to 0.5% per year after 2011. People are expected to now see slower improvements than previously thought and are consequently expected to die earlier than previously thought. The slower anticipated change in mortalities imply that estimates of life expectancy at age 65 have declined by over a year since 2015.

South Reading Patient Voice meets at 6pm on Wednesday, 27th February 2019 at 94, London Road RG1 4SJ. Victoria Parker, director of communications and public engagement for the Berkshire West integrated Care System will speak and answer questions. Please look through the attached presentation on development of primary care before the meeting. We will also discuss local matters. Please bring along any news of your Patient Participation Group (PPG) or local GP practice.