Readng Community Learning Centre will be making 17th December - 19th December, Nepali Health work. The centre is at 10, Eaton Place, Reading RG1 7LP. Look out for health information and blood pressure checks. The activities are free but nurse appointments must be made. See the attached poster below.

In an effort to prepare for winter demand for health care, the Department for Health is distributing additional funds to commissioning groups to support A&E departments. A first tranche of 250 million was distributed to groups using A&E departments considered under greatest risk of breaching targets .South Reading and Berkshire West (using A&E at the Royal Berks Hospital) were not included in this group. A second tranche of 150 million is being distributed to 157 further CCGs to support winter emergencies. The four CCGs of the Berkshire West federation (South Reading, North and West Reading, Newbury and Wokingham), receive together 1.6 million pounds in winter pressure funding. According to NHS England this money may be used to support additional capacity in the A&E department (this would be the Royal Berks A&E for us) or to enhance other services which would help patients stay away from A&E.

The four CCGs in Berkshire West didn't have their Pioneer bid selected by the Department of Health, according to Health Service Journal. Pioneer status brings non-financial benefits to help the integration of social and NHS care in the CCG areas. 4 selected bids of the winning 14 were from London, double the proportionate number, none from the Thames Valley.. The winning sites were

1. South Devon and Torbay
2. North West London
3. Worcestershire
4. Cornwall
5. Islington
6. Waltham Forest, East London and the City
7. Greenwich
8. Leeds
9. South Tyneside
10. Staffordshire
11. Southend
12. Cheshire
13. Barnsley
14. Kent

We extend our consolations to those who put so much into our local bid. We can hope that the great effort and resource put into our local bid will not go to waste but will inform an increasingly stronger integration of social and health care across Berkshire West, as we already see forming up in Reading.

We will be meeting between 6pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday, 27th November at the University Health Centre, 9, Northcourt Avenue, Reading RG2 7HE The main feature will be a discussion on our Terms of Reference , plus items on communication and ideas for next year's programme, plus a short look at the . RNIB's recent survey on the impact of capacity shortfalls on eye health

We will be meeting between 6pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday, 27th November at the University Health Centre, 9, Northcourt Avenue, Reading RG2 7HE The main feature will be a discussion on our Terms of Reference , plus items on communication and ideas for next year's programme, plus a short look at the . RNIB's recent survey on the impact of capacity shortfalls on eye health

A survey of staff working in eye clinics across England by the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) found that 41% of respondents were concerned that some patients were losing their sight unnecessarily through delays in treatment and in follow up care due to capacity problems. The RNIB summary and report found that demand for treatment in eye clinics was rising fast with the ageing population and that many staff members felt that future capacity would not keep up with demand. RNIB is calling on NHS England to carry out an urgent reivew into the quality of care in opthalmology units in England.

The week starting 17th November was Self Care Week. On Friday Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust had a stall which provided answers to questions about carers' rights. On Wednesday, Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust who provide many of our community and mental health services, had a stall in Broad Street Mall, Reading offering advice and testing related to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) - persistent breathing and lung problems. 70 people took their tests and 10 were advised to see their GP for further assistance. If this is representative then there is considerable unmet need in South Reading. And this shows how some patients are slow to seek help with well-known danger signals and symptoms. But isn't every week self care week?

In a rushed vote on a provision added to the Care Bill at the last minute, on Monday 21st October, the House of Lords has voted to extend the powers of unelected Special Administrators appointed to fix failing trusts to reconfigure services at neighbouring trusts without extensive consultation. The Care Bill will return to the House opf Commons for final approval, probably in early November. This appears to be the death knell of "no decision about me, without me". It follows the defeat of the Special Administrator's plan to reconfigure services at Lewisham Hospital by local campaigners through Judicial Review. The regulator Monitor regards separate trusts as competitors which must be absolutely forbidden from cooperating or merging, But Health Minister Lord Howe said in the parliamentary debate on these provisions, "Where severe and prolonged problems exist, it is surely the case that the special administrator must be able to propose a viable solution. This clarification on the scope of the administrator does not constitute a change of policy, it is not retrospective and it is intended only to remove any uncertainty for the future. NHS trusts, foundations trusts and other providers dont exist in isolation from each other. They are part of a complex, inter-dependent local healthcare economy. Issues of clinical and financial sustainability nearly always cross organisational boundaries."

The Care Quality Commission has made a preliminary review of all 161 NHS acute hospital trusts to determine in what order to inspect them and has placed the Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust in the first group to be inspected. RBH scored (just) in the highest risk group of 44 trusts out of 161 The CQC's rating is based on 165 separate measures. A partial version of the data obtained by The Guardian is available here and the CQC's raw data is available together with technical discussions of the risk rating here. The Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust seems to have risk indicated for

• Composite indicator: In-hospital mortality - Gastroenterological and hepatological conditions and procedures
• Composite indicator: In-hospital mortality - Respiratory conditions and procedures
• In-hospital mortality: respiratory medicine
• Healthcare Worker Flu vaccination uptake
• Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (Weekend)
• % Staff receiviing health and safety training over last 12 months
• Governance risk rating assessed by Monitor
• Never event incidence (1 in last 3 months)
• Neonatal readmissions
• Whistleblowing Alerts

It is reported that Government amendments tabled in Pariament today to the Care Bill - due to have its third reading in the Lords on Monday - give the Government or Monitor the right to order any hospital they like to reconfigure - in other words, close - with little consultation, to benefit neighbouring struggling hospitals. Can it be such a little time from "no decision about me without me" to this?