Nearly 500 men in Northamptonshire diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, says charity

Nearly 500 men in Northamptonshire diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, says charity More than 450 men in Northamptonshire are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, according to new figures published by Macmillan Cancer Support. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Ruling on Northampton woman’s ‘exaggerated’ care fees could benefit ‘large numbers of people’ in the county

Ruling on Northampton woman’s ‘exaggerated’ care fees could benefit ‘large numbers of people’ in the county Care fees paid by a Northampton woman were illegally high, a High Court judge has ruled, in a judgement that could affect many fee payers in the county. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northampton woman, 39, committed suicide after ‘constant battle’ to receive disability benefit

Northampton woman, 39, committed suicide after ‘constant battle’ to receive disability benefit A 39-year-old Northampton woman who was unable to work due to chronic back pain killed herself after the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) threatened to cut off her disability benefits, an inquest heard. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

What's behind the A&E 'crisis'?

What's behind the A&E 'crisis'? The third policy briefing in the run up to the General Election 2015 examines the real reasons behind England’s A&E ‘crisis’, and warns that the emphasis on the four-hour waiting time target has become disproportionate. It also makes some recommendations to policy makers on how performance management should be approached in the future. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• End 'fixation' with A&E wait target BBC News
• Focus on targets in NHS poses threat to patient care, says thinktank The Guardian

Guidance: Health services that should be commissioned as specialised services

Guidance: Health services that should be commissioned as specialised services PSSAG provides recommendations to ministers on which health services should be considered to be specialised and be nationally commissioned by NHS England, rather than locally commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.

This report sets out the proposals considered by PSSAG at its May and September 2014 meetings, and outlines the Group’s recommendations for each of these proposals. Department of Health

Pivotal new report highlights circumstances where bullying and undermining of doctors in training most likely

Pivotal new report highlights circumstances where bullying and undermining of doctors in training most likely Doctors in training have highlighted circumstances where they believe bullying and undermining is more likely to occur in a pivotal new report published today by the General Medical Council (GMC).

See also:

• Building a supportive environment: a review to tackle undermining and bullying in medical education and training General Medical Council

New mental health and learning disabilities rights proposed

New mental health and learning disabilities rights proposed Proposals to give more rights to people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions are unveiled by the government. BBC News

See also:

• More rights for learning disabled The Daily Mail
• Winterbourne view scandal: legal shake-up planned The Daily Telegraph

Prisoner wins smoking ban ruling

Prisoner wins smoking ban ruling Communal areas of state prisons in England and Wales are subject to smoking ban laws, a judge rules. BBC News

BSI to publish apps standards

BSI to publish apps standards The British Standards Institution is set to publish guidelines on the development of healthcare apps in April this year. E-Health Insider

People with gout have lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease

People with gout have lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease "Gout could help prevent Alzheimer's, research shows," The Independent reports. Researchers think that uric acid, which causes gout, may have a protective effect against Alzheimer's disease.

Uric acid is a waste product that is normally passed out of the body. In cases of gout, the acid builds up around one or more joints, forming tiny crystals. This can then trigger the symptoms of gout, which are typically a sudden severe pain and swelling around the affected joint(s).

Previous research has found that uric acid is also an antioxidant (which helps to protect against cell damage), so researchers wanted to see if uric acid protected against Alzheimer’s.

The researchers used information from a UK database of more than 3.7 million patients. They matched people aged over 40 who developed gout with controls who did not, and followed them, on average, for five years to see how many were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. They took multiple factors into account when analysing the results, such as medication use and age.

They found that 309 out of the 59,224 people with gout (0.5%) developed Alzheimer’s disease, compared to 1,942 out of 238,805 people without gout (0.8%), which translates into a 24% reduction in risk.

The study does not prove that gout is protective against Alzheimer’s, as there could be unmeasured factors that affected the results.

Lancet condemns NHS for creating 'culture of fear' in wake of scandals

Lancet condemns NHS for creating 'culture of fear' in wake of scandals The highly respected Lancet journal has written a highly critical editorial condemning the NHS' response to recent scandals including the disclosures at the mid Staffordshire trust and the crimes of Dr Harold Shipman. The Daily Telegraph