Hospital inspections 'to be tougher'
By Anonymous on Jul 18, 2013 03:00 am 17 July 2013 Last updated at 19:57 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News 
Fourteen hospital trusts have been investigated in light of their high mortality rates
The way hospital inspections in England have been carried out was flawed and they are to become broader and more robust, the new chief inspector says.
Prof Sir Mike Richards said the system used by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been too narrow in focus.
He wants to recruit a "small army" of doctors, nurses, patients and carers to carry out inspections and ratings.
It comes as 11 trusts have been put into special measures after previously unidentified failings were uncovered.
The move was announced on Tuesday after the publication of an independent review led by NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh.
An investigation into 14 hospital trusts was launched earlier this year following the public inquiry into the Stafford Hospital scandal, which said the public had been betrayed by a system which put "corporate self-interest" ahead of patients.
The trusts were identified as they had the highest death rates in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
The probe focused on whether the figures indicated sustained failings in the quality of care and treatment at the trusts.
Only two of the 11 trusts that ended up in special measures had been facing sanctions from the CQC.
'Fair and transparent' Setting out his plans to reform the way hospitals are inspected, Sir Mike, who formally took up his post this week, said: "We are changing it because we recognise it was flawed."
He added the previous system, which involved carrying out themed inspections on issues such as nutrition and infection control, would be replaced by one that looked at the hospital in its entirety.
He said the changes were based on the methods adopted by the Keogh review, which he was invited to take part in.
Sir Mike said the size of the CQC inspection teams would be increased to more than 20 - they have traditionally involved about five people - to reflect the greater scope of the reviews.
They will be made up of patients, doctors, nurses and other professionals to ensure they had greater breadth of knowledge.
"I want to start building a small army of inspectors," Sir Mike said.
"These inspectors need to come from different walks of life, some of them will be practising clinicians who will come and do two or three inspections a year, some others will be retired clinicians, but importantly we are also seeking patients and carers and we will provide training."
Under the new regime, hospitals will also get school-style ratings of "outstanding", "good", "requires improvement" or "inadequate" - something that has already been announced by ministers.
Sir Mike said those deemed inadequate could also face being put into special measures, which involves teams of external experts being brought in to ensure changes take place.
And he said the CQC would be paying close attention to death rates, as well as other triggers such as patient surveys, mistakes and infection rates to see which trusts should be prioritised for inspection.
The new process would be "robust, fair and transparent", he added.
The first wave of 18 inspections is due to start in the next month, with the aim of inspecting all 161 trusts by December 2015.
Funding of £25m for the new initiative will come from extra money announced for the CQC by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in April.
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Nelson Mandela turns 95 in hospital
By Anonymous on Jul 18, 2013 02:56 am 17 July 2013 Last updated at 21:32 ET 
South Africa has been preparing for Mr Mandela's birthday for weeks
Nelson Mandela is set to spend his 95th birthday in hospital in Pretoria, as events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honour.
South Africans are being urged to match the former president and anti-apartheid leader's 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts.
Mr Mandela, who is in critical but stable condition with a recurring lung infection, entered hospital on 8 June.
His daughter Zindzi said on Wednesday that he had made "dramatic progress".
"I should think he will be going home anytime soon,'' she told UK Sky TV.
Mr Mandela's birthday is also Nelson Mandela International Day, a day declared by the UN as a way to recognise the Nobel Prize winner's contribution to reconciliation.
The former statesman is revered across the world for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa. He went on to become the first black president in the country's first all-race elections in 1994.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) said that on this Mandela Day homage was being paid to 95 years of "life well-lived", dedicated to the liberation of South Africans and people all over the world.
Poster project The day kicks off with millions of school children across South Africa singing Happy Birthday to Mr Mandela.
To mark the former statesman's 67 years as a lawyer, activist, prisoner and president, volunteers will spend 67 minutes renovating schools and orphanages, cleaning hospitals and distributing food to the poor.
"Let us return Madiba's sacrifices and contributions through our own efforts to build a better society," said South African President Jacob Zuma, referring to Mandela's clan name.
President Zuma plans to mark the occasion by overseeing the donation of houses to poor white families in the Pretoria area.
A poster project offering a global vision of Mandela, with 700 submissions from around the world, will be unveiled on Wednesday and auctioned off for charity.
"He carries across this concept of humanity and selflessness,'' said Mohammed Jogie, co-founder of the project.
Well-wishers have been gathering outside Mr Mandela's hospital leaving messages of support
Events will also be taking place internationally, with an image of a large Mandela painting by South African artist Paul Blomkamp featured in New York's Times Square.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson has pledged 67 minutes of community service on Thursday to "make the world a better place, one small step at a time", speaking in a recorded message.
Meanwhile, concerts are planned later this week in the Australian city of Melbourne, featuring local and African artists.
His illness gives extra poignancy to this year's Mandela Day, correspondents say.
For South Africans, the best birthday present for Mandela would be to recover and be among the people who love him most, says the BBC's Pumza Fihlani.
As the family and millions around the country reflect the role Mr Mandela played in South Africa, there will be a quiet prayer that he will return home soon, our correspondent adds.
The latest reports from family members indicate that Mr Mandela's condition may have improved.
His third wife, Graca Machel, said on Friday that she was "less anxious" about his health than before and that he was continuing to respond well to treatment.
Meanwhile, his granddaughter Ndileka told the BBC on Wednesday that she had been hurt by a continuing family feud over the burial place of three of Mr Mandela's children, as well as his own resting place.
She also described how difficult it had been for the family to cope with his critical illness, complaining of intrusive media questioning.
Read in browser » Missing actor's body found at cliffs
By Anonymous on Jul 17, 2013 05:32 pm 17 July 2013 Last updated at 17:32 ET 
Paul Bhattacharjee was in a production at the Royal Court Theatre
The body of an actor who appeared in the James Bond film Casino Royale has been found.
Paul Bhattacharjee, 53, was last seen leaving the Royal Court theatre in London's Sloane Square on 10 July.
His body was found at Splash Point cliffs in Seaford, East Sussex, on 12 July. It was confirmed on Wednesday that it was the actor.
Next of kin have been informed. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious.
The actor, from Redbridge, north-east London, was said to be in good spirits when he was last seen but after sending a text message to his girlfriend at 21:00 BST, no-one heard from him and an appeal was launched.
The Met was contacted on Wednesday morning by Sussex Police who said a body matching his description had been found last week.
Twitter appeals Mr Bhattacharjee had been due to appear in this week's play Talk Show at the Royal Court. His role in the play, which began last night, was recast.
Bend It Like Beckham actress Parminder Nagra, Sex in the City star Kim Cattrall and Stephen Fry all took to Twitter to appeal for help to find the actor.
Mr Bhattacharjee played a doctor in Casino Royale in 2006 and appeared in several episodes of EastEnders as Inzamam between 2008 and 2010. He had also appeared in TV shows Waking the Dead, Spooks and The Bill.
Last year he appeared as Benedick opposite Meera Syal in an Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado about Nothing.
Read in browser » Russian activist Navalny convicted
By Anonymous on Jul 18, 2013 02:48 am 17 July 2013 Last updated at 20:43 ET 
Alexei Navalny says the case against him has been fabricated
A court in Russia is due to deliver a verdict in the high-profile corruption trial of protest leader Alexei Navalny.
Prosecutors are calling for a six-year jail term on charges of defrauding a timber firm of 16m roubles (£300,000; $500,000) - a claim he denies.
If convicted, he may not be able to contest September's mayoral elections in Moscow, despite being accepted as a candidate on Wednesday.
He would also have to miss the next presidential poll in 2018.
'Crooks and thieves' The court in the city of Kirov, about 900km (550 miles) north-east of Moscow, is expected to start delivering the verdict at 09:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
Mr Navalny, 37, is accused of defrauding the Kirovles state timber company while working as an adviser to Kirov's governor Nikita Belykh.
During the trial, the prosecutors stopped short of demanding the maximum term of 10 years.
In his closing remarks earlier this month, Mr Navalny was unrepentant, saying the case had been fabricated to remove him from politics.
"We will destroy this feudal society that is robbing all of us," he raged.
"If somebody thought that on hearing the threat of six years in prison I was going to run away abroad or hide somewhere, they were mistaken. I cannot run away from who I am."
Mr Navalny has inspired mass protests against the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin in December 2011, and recently declared he would like to stand for president.
For several years he has been a thorn in the side of the political establishment, campaigning against the endemic corruption, the BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow reports.
Mr Navalny has also coined a phrase to describe the ruling party United Russia that has stuck in everyone's minds - "the party of crooks and thieves".
Read in browser » RAF crew killed in WWII to be buried
By Anonymous on Jul 17, 2013 09:27 pm 17 July 2013 Last updated at 21:27 ET 
The crew's final flight was from Forli near Rimini in April 1945
The crew of an RAF Boston bomber are to be buried in a war cemetery in Italy, 68 years after their deaths.
The crew took off from Forli in northern Italy in the final days of World War II, but never returned and were thought to have been shot down.
The location of the remains of the three Britons and an Australian was unknown until an Italian team of amateur archaeologists discovered them near the city of Ferrara in 2011.
The burial will have military honours.
The plane's pilot, Sergeant David Raikes, from Redhill in Surrey, was 20 years old when he led the ill-fated mission to attack a bridge on the River Po.
Navigator Flight Sergeant David Millard Perkins, from Honour Oak in London, and wireless operator and air gunner Flight Sergeant Alexander Thomas Bostock, from Forest Row in Sussex, were both also 20.
Air gunner Warrant Officer John Penboss Hunt, from Shoalhaven in New South Wales, Australia, was 21.
Relatives of the men will attend the burial at Padua War Cemetery.
The aircraft was unearthed by Italian amateur archaeological society Archeologi dell'Aria, which searches for the remains of aircraft from World War II.
Read in browser » Eight Afghan labourers shot dead
By Anonymous on Jul 18, 2013 02:57 am 18 July 2013 Last updated at 02:05 ET 
Eight Afghan civilians who were on their way to work at a US military base in Logar province have been shot dead, local officials say.
More soon.
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