4.55pm Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) has received accreditation by the Department of Health.

Speaking on behalf of the NHS partners in MAHSC, Mike Deegan, Chief Executive of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, commented: “This is excellent news for all the people in our local communities, and the wider population, who will benefit from access to the latest breakthroughs in diagnosis, treatment and care pioneered here in Manchester. MAHSC’s world-class research is providing innovative solutions to changing healthcare needs, and together we can deliver the health and economic benefits that will have a transformational impact on many lives.”

4.16pm The BBC reports that the Home Affairs Committee are urging the government to reverse the ban on the herb khat because they believe the decision was not based on evidence. Home Secretary Theresa May wants to re-grade the plant, a stimulant popular among Yemeni and Somali communities, as a class-C drug.

3.43pm Geriatrician June McKoy writes for The Guardian on “observation purgatory”, where patients can stay in hospital over 72 hours but not be admitted and therefore are unable to get premium insurance cover for extended visits.

3.00pm Here’s a reader comment on our Health Education England story:

“I don’t know which metaphor would be more apt, horses and stable doors or blind leading the blind. This situation is so predictable but shaming that no-one at a senior level nor in a frontline service made a stand when nurses were being made redundant or training numbers were reduced. These solutions will not be in place before next winter and the risk increase will be reflected in more unnecessary harm. Then I guess the regulators will be able to tell the inspected where they went wrong. Round and round…”

2.52pm Joy Warmington argues that staff should be empowered to to address inequality in patient care.

2.42pm Professor Derek Bell has been named as the incoming president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Professor Bell is currently president of the Society for Acute Medicine.

Dr Alan Patick, who is currently a consultant physician in diabetes, endocrinology and acute medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has also been named as vice president. Dr Neil Dewhurst, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh said:“At a time when health services throughout the UK are increasingly diverging, but there is also a need to share and replicate good practice for the benefit of patients, Prof Bell brings extensive experience of working at a senior level in the NHS in both Scotland and England. This will be invaluable in continuing to inform health policy throughout Scotland and the UK. I wish him well in his appointment. I would also like to congratulate Dr Alan Patrick, another highly experienced clinician, on his election as vice president.”

2.28pm Here is more detail from the Professional Standards Authority from Rosalyn Hayles, Director of Scrutiny and Quality.

She said: “The public have a right to expect that senior managers will be held to account for their actions when these place patients at risk of harm, just as much as staff on the front line. We think the NMC panel’s decision to caution Ms Harry is too lenient and not in the public’s interest.”

2.10pm Lord Victor Adebowale looks at the difference between leadership and management in the NHS.

2.05pm The Department of Health has responded to the latest update in the Savile investigations.

A spokesperson said: “As part of the recent Metropolitan Police Service document review in connection with Jimmy Savile, the Department of Health has passed on information relating to 19 further hospitals in England. The information has been passed to the relevant hospital trust for further investigation as appropriate.

“Kate Lampard will provide general assurance of the quality of the final reports of all the NHS investigations on behalf of the Department of Health. We expect the final reports of these investigations to be completed by June 2014, with publication sooner if that is possible.

“It is essential that all the information is considered and investigations are thorough in order to learn the lessons about Jimmy Savile’s pattern of offending.”

2.01pm The health service needs to better manage multiple medicine use according to a report published today by The King’s Fund. The findings show that between 1995-2010 the number of patients taking ten or more medicines trebled reflecting a large increase in patients with complex conditions.

Martin Duerden, the report’s lead author, said: “Currently patients may still be treated in silos where one specialist doctor will look after their care for diabetes, another for their heart condition and a third for their asthma. They will then be prescribed medicines for each condition but these are often not considered in the whole. We need more generalist doctors able to understand a patient’s medicine intake in its entirety and how they are managing, especially if they have to take numerous medicines at different times in the day.”

1.43pm The decision to caution the former chief nurse at Mid Staffordshire was “too lenient” according to the Professional Standards Authority. The PSA has now lodged an appeal with the High Court where it is asking the High Court to either substitute its own judgement on the case or to return it to a new Nursing and Midwifery Council panel to be considered again.

1.30pm: A story we broke this morning - The chief inspector of hospitals has acknowledged plans to inspect mental health services are behind the acute sector but has said he is determined to achieve “parity of inspection”.

Sir Mike Richards revealed details of the Care Quality Commission’s planned approach to inspecting mental health services this morning. Like the new inspection regime for acute hospitals it will feature specialist teams of inspectors and a greater focus on patient experience. Read Sarah Calkin’s full story here.

1.20pm: Six partnerships of England’s leading NHS Trusts and universities have been designated as Academic Health Science Centres.

The Department of Health has designated the Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) for the next five years, which will work to research new treatments and improve health education and patient care, Health Minister Lord Howe announced today.

From April 2014, the six NHS and university partnerships will draw on their world-class research and health education to improve patient care and healthcare delivery. They will bring scientific discoveries from the lab to the ward, operating theatre and general practice, so patients benefit from innovative new treatments.

The centres, which were recommended for designation by a panel of international experts, also drive economic growth through their partnerships with industry, including life sciences companies. Five of the AHSCs already hold the title and are now being designated again for a further five years. Oxford Academic Health Science Centre is a new addition to the list from April 2014.

12.51pm: The National Association of Primary Care is set to be integrated into the ranks of the NHS Confederation over the course of the next 18 months.

Officials have announced that it will become the confederation’s primary care provider network, although it will still retain both its name and leadership. Read more here.

12.43pm: The chief inspector of general practice has revealed the Care Quality Commission has already initiated the close of a number of poor practices.

Speaking at yesterday’s NHS Alliance conference, Steve Field also admitted the first thousand practice inspections were “slightly flawed” due to a lack of GPs participating in the visits. Read the full story here.

12.35pm: Inspectors have ordered Southern Health Foundation Trust to make urgent improvements to the services it provides at two mental health units in Oxford. For more on what inspectors found, click here.

12.18pm: Consultants at a hospital provider have called for an external review of recent disciplinary actions and acknowledged allegations of racial bias in the organisation. The medical staff committee at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Foundation Trust this week published an open letter to the Care Quality Commission, Monitor, commissionersand trust leaders. For more on David Williams’s story click here.

11.50am: At least one medical director has already “fallen on their sword” following a visit from one of the Care Quality Commission’s new inspection teams, the chief inspector of hospitals has said. Sir Mike Richards added that he believed that the new inspection regime’s attention to whether or not healthcare providers were “well led” was “probably the biggest area of difference between what CQC has done before and what it’s doing now”. Read more here.

11.40am: Policy, medical training and clinical practice have failed to adapt to an increase in the number of patients taking multiple prescription drugs, according to a new report published today.

Estimates suggest that from 1995 to 2010 the number of patients taking ten or more medicines trebled, reflecting a large increase in the number of people with complex, or several, long-term conditions –  largely driven by an ageing and increasingly frail population, but also by increasing use of multiple interventions.

While taking numerous prescription drugs has often been seen as something to be avoided, the King’s Fund study shows that taking an evidence-based approach to this practice should improve outcomes for many people.

Martin Duerden, the report’s lead author, said: “Currently patients may still be treated in silos where one specialist doctor will look after their care for diabetes, another for their heart condition and a third for their asthma.

“They will then be prescribed medicines for each condition but these are often not considered in the whole. We need more generalist doctors able to understand a patient’s medicine intake in its entirety and how they are managing, especially if they have to take numerous medicines at different times in the day.”

“A sensible way forward might be to identify those taking ten or more medicines and focus on them first. Their medicine intake should be regularly reviewed so that as well as the option of adding a medicine as a condition worsens, they can also scale back or even stop treatment – particularly recognising that end-of-life quality applies to chronic conditions as well as cancer.”

11.20am: A further 19 hospitals are to be investigated over links to serial sex attacker Jimmy Savile, the BBC reports. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he expected reports examining visits by the late DJ to those hospitals to be delivered by next June.

It brings the total number of hospitals under investigation to 32.

The Independent reports that the 19 new hospitals to be investigated are:

  • Barnet General Hospital
  • Booth Hall Children’s Hospital
  • De La Pole Hospital
  • Dryburn Hospital
  • Hammersmith Hospital
  • Leavesden Secure Mental Hospital
  • Marsden Hospital
  • Maudsley Hospital
  • North Manchester General Hospital
  • Odstock Hospital
  • Pinderfields Hospital
  • Prestwich Psychiatric Hospital
  • Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead
  • Royal Free Hospital, London
  • Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle
  • Seacroft Hospital, Leeds
  • St Mary’s Hospital, Carshalton
  • Whitby Memorial Hospital
  • Wythenshawe Hospital

11.10am: An investigation has been launched by a London trust after it failed to enter more than 2,000 patients on the waiting list, HSJ has learned. Of the trust’s patients who had not been entered onto a computer system, 242 have waited more than a year for treatment. For more details and to read Ben Clover’s full story click here.

11.05am: This week’s issue of HSJ magazine (29 November) is now available to read on our tablet app.

In this week’s issue we exclusively reveal the shortfall of nurses needed to comply with new staffing guidance, with some hospitals providing a third less nursing care per occupied bed than their peers. Plus:

  • BME Pioneers: celebrating the people who have achieved excellence in their roles and championed inclusion in its broadest sense
  • Some patients could see delays to treatment as the waiting list for elective operations grows by 260,000 on last year
  • One hospital’s ambitious plan to cut admissions by 12,000 within three years
  • The chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading rejects calls for changes in the law governing hospital mergers
  • Yvonne Coghill of the NHS Leadership Academy argues that well meaning BME initiatives have not fully understood the complexities of race and equality

To find the latest issue, simply navigate to “This week’s issue” on the app, or tap on the cover image on the homepage.

11.00am: Health Education England is to take a lead in managing the national supply of the NHS workforce, starting with a major campaign to tackle a crisis in nursing numbers,HSJ has been told.

In a significant departure from its statutory role, the £5bn education and training provider is gearing up to become a “system leader” to help individual trusts fill staffing gaps. Read the full exclusive story here.

10.50am: Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt today launched an interactive online map that allows members of the public to see the quality of dementia care and support in their local area.

The map forms part of a ‘state of the nation’ report which examines the quality of dementia care in England. It will show a regional and local picture, based on a range of data including diagnosis rates; referral rates for further investigation; and how often anti-psychotic drugs are prescribed to patients.

By entering their postcode into the interactive map people will be able to see this data in an accessible format and in a way that’s easy to understand

It is hoped that this will give the public the information they need to hold organisations to account over poor services as well as highlighting areas that are performing well as examples of best practice.

Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt said: “We must come together as a society to get better at fighting dementia. We all have a role to play in helping people manage dementia better and supporting them to lead healthier lives.”

While there has been a slight increase nationally in the diagnosis rate from 46 per cent in 2011/12 to 48 per cent in 2012/13, the diagnosis rate varies across the country from 39 per cent in the worst performing areas to 75 per cent in the best.

Read our full story here.

10.35am: The RCN today celebrated those of its staff recognised on the HSJ’s list of BME Pioneers, published earlier this week.

Dr Peter Carter, the college’s chief executive congratulated deputy president Cecilia Anim, and diversity co-ordinators Wendy Irwin and Maxine Hurley, on their positions on the list.

He said: “The RCN is really proud of its work on behalf of BME nursing staff, and this is a prestigious confirmation that we are home to some excellent champions who have real influence in the NHS and beyond. Our Deputy President Cecilia Anim is held in very high esteem by RCN members, and we welcome the fact that her long career is also being recognised in the wider health service.

“Both Wendy and Maxine have been highly valued members of staff, who have between them helped to develop the RCN into an organisation which can be proud of its credentials in supporting the BME workforce. I am certain that their influence will be felt by RCN members and all BME nursing staff for many years to come and I thank them for their commitment and dedication.”

10.30am: The Royal College of Nursing has condemned a rise in attacks on NHS staff in the past year. Commenting on figures showing an increase in assaults, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN said: “NHS staff who are doing an extremely difficult job should not have to be subjected to assault.

“There are instances where these assaults or aggressive behaviour are related to a clinical condition, however employers must do more to prevent incidents. Where appropriate, prosecuting those who assault staff is an important measure, however what is most important is to prevent these attacks from happening in the first place.

“Employers must create environments where staff do not feel threatened by the risk of assault. It is not only better for staff but better for patients to be treated in a positive environment where staff can better deliver compassionate care.

“We are concerned that frontline staff may be at greater risk because of additional pressures on services, leading to a growing level of frustration from some patients. There is no excuse to take out these frustrations on hard working frontline staff, who have no control over the pressure that services are under and are doing everything they can to help patients despite these challenges. If employers fail to provide a safe working environment for their staff it simply increases these pressures and this is bad for staff, bad for patient care and bad for the NHS.”

10.14am: HSJ has launched a new area for healthcare innovators to talk about their work and share ideas.

The HSJ Innovation Network aims to foster discussions and help spread new ideas and emerging best practice.