Helienne Lindvall writes
That's nearly all from us for today but before we go, here's a roundup of this afternoon's news:
• A new study has found that the smoking ban, put into place five years ago, has resulted in a decrease in the number of people admitted to hospital with asthma and heart attacks. The Guardian's Sarah Boseley takes a closer look at the numbers, and concludes that many of the repercussions those opposing the ban warned us about did not, in fact, become reality.
• There are fresh concerns about the care being provided by the privatised health contractor Serco. Sources have told the Guardian that during the four-day jubilee weekend the service was so understaffed that, in one case, a professional carer calling in for a repeat prescription on behalf of a terminally ill patient waited just under six hours for a clinician to call them back, by which time the patient had died.
• In news resembling a science fiction story, the BBC reports that a new brain scanner has been developed to help people who are completely paralysed speak, by enabling them to spell words using their thoughts. As one can imagine, it's an intricate procedure – put simply, it involves functional magnetic resonance imaging which measures the different patterns of blood flow in the brain connected with specific characters of the alphabet.
That's all from us for this week. Have a lovely weekend and check back with us on Monday for a roundup of the weekends news.
Lizzi Easterbrook writes
Here's a Storify of some of the tweets during last night's public health dialogue.
You can see more on Twitter via the hashtag #gdnphd. The next in the series will take place later in the year. Sign up for free membership of the network to receive our email round-up of the latest news and views, exclusive offers and full details of our up-coming events.
Helienne Lindvall writes
Here's a quick roundup of the healthcare stories that are making the news this lunchtime:
• The average English man will live almost three years longer than his Scottish counterpart, according to National Audit Office (NAO) figures, writes the Telegraph. And though Scottish girls born between 2008 and 2010 are expected to live almost two years longer than an English man, that's still two years fewer than English girls.
The difference in life expectancy is largely due to lifestyle, with higher rates of poor diet and smoking across in Scotland. The study also finds that the NHS spends less per person in England than it does in Scotland (£1,900 compared to £2,072). In 2010-11 Scotland health spend was almost 10% higher than England, though Northern Ireland spent even more, coming in at £2,106 a head. Wales's spend was £2,017.
Some of the difference in spend can be attributed to the fact people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now pay nothing for prescriptions, while patients in England are charged £7.65. Eye tests are also free in Scotland, while people in England have to pay for them.
• And here is a map with more detailed statistics regarding UK male life expectancy, courtesy of Quintessential. Turns out that if you want to live a long life, move to Kensington and Chelsea in London. The council has the highest life expectancy in the UK: 84.4 years for men and 89 for women.
The biggest gap, however, is between the longest living part of England and Scotland's Glasgow city. With a life expectancy of 71.1 years for men and 77.5 years for women in the Scottish city, the difference between Kensington and Chelsea and Glasgow is 13.3 years for men and 11.5 for women.
• On a much happier note, Letters of Note has a heart-warming story of how 9-year-old Anthony Hollander wrote to the presenters of Blue Peter, back in 1973, asking for help in his quest to "make people or animals alive", after he discovered a dying bird in his garden.
The programme's editor wrote back an encouraging response, which you can also read on the Letters of Note site.
Today Hollander is a professor of rheumatology and tissue engineering at the University of Bristol. In 2008 he played a key role in the successful implantation of an artificially-grown windpipe, and he credits Blue Peter for encouraging him to pursue his career, saying:
If [Biddy Baxter's] letter had shown any hint of ridicule or disbelief I might perhaps never have trained to become a medical scientist or been driven to achieve the impossible dream, and really make a difference to a human being's life. I remember being thrilled at the time to have been taken seriously. Actually, even nowadays I am thrilled when people take my ideas seriously.
An inspirational tale, and a lesson on how important encouragement is in shaping children's lives – and why we should never laugh at their dreams, no matter how lofty they may seem.
Helienne Lindvall writes
If you listened to the Today show on Radio 4 this morning around 7.35am you would have heard about the controversy surrounding the sacking of the former head of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust Gary Walker, and allegations that he had been "super gagged" by the trust (if you didn't, you can listen back on the BBC iPlayer, starting at around 1.32 into the programme).
Information leaked to the BBC show that Walker was paid more than £500,000, including legal costs, as part of a severence deal which includes a clause stopping him from discussing patient safety – or even that such an agreement existed.
The official reason for Walker's dismissal was that he swore openly at meetings, but on the Today programme the former chairman of the trust, David Bowles, said he believed the dispute was about safe care. "The thing which really shocked me is that I and all the other witnesses who would have been appearing at the employment tribunal received gagging letters as well," he said.
Something tells us this may not be that last we hear about this "whistleblower" case.
Lizzi Easterbrook writes
Thank you to everyone who attending our second Public Health Dialogue last night. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and we were delighted with such a fantastic turn-out despite the sunny weather outside! We will be writing up the panel debate and table discussions on the network over the next few weeks and if you couldn't make it, we will be announcing the dates for the next event soon.
There's also an interesting event taking place in Leeds today and tomorrow looking at how we can use digital and social media to transform health services and create more opportunities for co-production. They will be tweeting all day from @DigiHealthCon , using the hashag #Digihealthcon. They are also live streaming the sessions
They will continue their work tomorrow when they host a digital health hack day, which will look at developing new services, apps and products to enable change and new thinking in the health sector.
Clare Horton writes
Also in the healthcare headlines this morning, the Telegraph says the first official report into differences in the NHS across the country has found that people in England have less spent on their health and fewer nurses to treat them when they fall ill than those in other parts of the UK.
Also in the Telegraph is a warning by the leaders of the Royal College of Nursing and Age UK that the Coalition is failing to live up to its pledge to find an urgent solution to the funding crisis over care for the elderly. In a letter to the paper, Michelle Mitchell, director general of Age UK, and Dr Peter Carter, chief executive of the RCN, say months of delays in announcing a social care white paper are fuelling further uncertainty about the future threatening to land the NHS with a "colossal" and unnecessary bill.
The BBC reports on a US study, which suggests that a new once-a-day pill combining four HIV drugs into a single daily treatment is safe and effective.
And the Independent marks the 75th anniversary of the the 999 emergency call system - the first of its kind in the world.
Clare Horton writes
Good morning and welcome to the daily blog from the Guardian healthcare network. Throughout the day we'll be rounding up the key news stories, comment pieces and analysis from around the sector.
On the network today, , consultant clinical psychologist Dr Judy Eaton discusses a typical day in her life working in a secure hospital near Norwich:
In all my therapy work, I see myself as a bit of a detective, trying to unpick what is behind a patient's behaviour, whether it is mental illness, learning disability or a disruptive family background. Often, something comes out during therapy which will help me understand a patient. For example, a patient might mention something that was never previously disclosed and this can give me a new perspective.
... Satisfaction from any one day comes from helping patients move along a different life trajectory, and being able to help moderate their risk behaviour so they can progress to supported independent living. Therapy and engaging with people are much more effective than locking them away in prison.
The Guardian has updated its report on the British Medical Association's vote of no confidence in Andrew Lansley over his NHS reforms and pension changes.
And Polly Toynbee looks at the role of PFI in the NHS and the regrouped campaign against the Health and Social Care Act. She predicts:
The government should expect a crescendo of trouble as the NHS reaches its 65th birthday next year.
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