Greater support to help GPs spot the warning signs of cancer

Greater support to help GPs spot the warning signs of cancer NICE is updating its guideline on suspected cancer to help GPs spot the early signs and symptoms of cancer.

See also:

• Statistics on Waiting Times for Suspected and Diagnosed Cancer Patients Q2 2014-15 Key Points – Provider Based NHS England
• Double cancer referrals, GPs urged BBC News
• NHS misses cancer treatment targets BBC News
• GPs told tired patients should be fast-tracked for cancer tests The Daily Telegraph
• Doctors to get more help to spot cancer early The Guardian
• GPs can't be expected to know every cancer symptom, Government says The Independent

How the world could better fight obesity

How the world could better fight obesity Obesity is a critical global issue that requires a comprehensive, international intervention strategy. Obesity is responsible for about 5 percent of all deaths a year worldwide, and its global economic impact amounts to roughly $2 trillion annually, or 2.8 percent of global GDP. This report offers an economic analysis of the issue and looks at a potential global strategy to tackle it. McKinsey

• Report
• Executive summary

See also:

• Obesity 'costing same as smoking' BBC News
• Cost of obesity 'greater than war, violence and terrorism' The Daily Telegraph

HIV in the United Kingdom

HIV in the United Kingdom The report includes a comparison with last year’s data. Department of Health

See also:

• VIDEO: HIV now and then: 1982 vs 2014 BBC News

Covert care camera guidance approved

Covert care camera guidance approved Guidance for people who install hidden cameras to check on standards of their own or a relative's care is approved by the Care Quality Commission. BBC News

See also:

• Information to be published soon on the use of cameras in care settings Care Quality Commission
• Watchdog to advise on how to spy on care home staff The Daily Telegraph

App kitemarking welcomed; but needs work

App kitemarking welcomed; but needs work The National Information Board's plans to establish "kitemarking" for healthcare applications have been cautiously welcomed by the app development community, which says more details about the accreditation process are needed. E-Health Insider

Report links obesity to advanced prostate cancer

Report links obesity to advanced prostate cancer "Being overweight raises risk of men developing aggressive prostate cancer," The Guardian reports.

A major new report from the World Cancer Research Fund has found strong evidence obesity increases the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

This report, which considered the results from 104 studies involving more than nine million men, looked at diet, nutrition, physical activity, weight and the risk of prostate cancer.

It also found strong evidence that being tall – a marker of developmental factors in the womb, childhood and adolescence – increases the risk of prostate cancer.

The report found limited evidence for a link between diets high in dairy products or calcium and an increased risk of prostate cancer, and low blood levels of vitamin E or selenium and an increased risk of developing cancer.

Private firms on course to net £9bn of NHS contracts

Private firms on course to net £9bn of NHS contracts Circle Healthcare, Bupa, Virgin Care and Care UK among big winners since enforced tendering of services introduced.

Private health firms are on course to win more than £9bn of NHS contracts to look after patients as a result of the coalition’s ramping up of competition in the health service, research shows.

Analysis by the NHS Support Federation, an independent campaign group, reveals that profit-driven companies such as Bupa, Virgin Care and Care UK have so far won a total of 131 contracts worth a combined £2.6bn to provide NHS services since the Health and Social Care Act came into force in April 2013. Continue reading... The Guardian

First NHS volunteers set to leave for Sierra Leone on Ebola mission

First NHS volunteers set to leave for Sierra Leone on Ebola mission The 50 volunteers have undergone extensive training designed to ensure none of them return to the UK with the virus.

The first batch of NHS staff who volunteered to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone are to leave the UK for west Africa after undergoing extensive training designed to ensure none return with the virus.

The 50 staff will depart nearly six weeks after they were shortlisted as suitable by UK-Med, the organisation funded by the Department for International Development to recruit NHS staff for secondment. Nearly 1,000 volunteered, but because of the need for careful selection and training, none have yet flown out. Continue reading... The Guardian

Just three surgeons named as having high death rates

Just three surgeons named as having high death rates New data comparing death rates of 5,000 surgeons identifies just three with death rates higher than they should. The Daily Telegraph

International arms firm Lockheed Martin in the frame for £1bn NHS contract

International arms firm Lockheed Martin in the frame for £1bn NHS contract Doctors have expressed dismay at reports that an international arms firm is considering a bid for a £1bn NHS contract to run GP support services in England. The Independent