Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Thrapston medical staff in fear of youths
Thrapston medical staff in fear of youths Staff at a medical centre in Thrapston say they are being intimidated by large groups of teenagers who leave piles of litter and have caused extensive damage. Northamptonshire Telegraph
A mountain to climb for NHS finances
A mountain to climb for NHS finances With the general election in full swing the NHS has been much in the news, and attention is turning to money. But the main reason why the NHS is struggling is not run away demand pressures, says Anita Charleswroth, the big driver is growing cost pressures. The Health Foundation
Can a perfect week really make a difference to improving health services in the long term?
Can a perfect week really make a difference to improving health services in the long term? ECIST's 'Breaking the Cycle' initiative aims to act as a ‘system reboot’, particularly for those areas that have persistent A&E performance issues. But can it really make a difference in a week? asks Clare Allcock. The Health Foundation
Healthy savings?
Healthy savings? This study reveals that NHS Trusts across the UK could come closer to their targets and make significant savings each year by re-engineering their repair and maintenance (R&M) materials purchasing and management. It argues that R&M currently costs NHS Trusts £4.4 billion every year and so is a key area to target for significant cost savings that won’t compromise on quality of care. Travis Perkins Managed Services
Insights from the clinical assurance of service reconfiguration in the NHS: the drivers of reconfiguration and the evidence that underpins...
Insights from the clinical assurance of service reconfiguration in the NHS: the drivers of reconfiguration and the evidence that underpins it: a mixed methods study This research aimed to determine the current pressures for reconfiguration within the NHS in England and the solutions proposed. It also looked at the quality of evidence used in making the case for change, any key evidence gaps, and the opportunities to strengthen the clinical case for change and how it is made. NHS National Institute for Health Research
A&E waiting hits new worst level
A&E waiting hits new worst level The NHS in England has missed its four-hour A&E waiting time target for the past three months with performance dropping to its lowest level for a decade, figures show. BBC News
VIDEO: Health surcharge for non-EU patients
VIDEO: Health surcharge for non-EU patients From 6 April, all nationals from outside of Europe coming to live in the UK for longer than six months will be required to pay a surcharge. BBC News
Parties row over GP opening hours
Parties row over GP opening hours Almost 600 fewer GP surgeries in England now open at evenings and weekends than in the last Parliament, says Labour, but its figures are disputed by ministers. BBC News
See also:
See also:
- Public 'back tax rises to fund NHS' BBC News
- Responsive policy: the public’s view on funding and delivering NHS care The Health Foundation
- Labour launches attack on Tories over NHS waiting times The Independent
80,000 'might die' in future outbreak
80,000 'might die' in future outbreak About 80,000 people could die if there was a "widespread outbreak" of an antibiotic-resistant blood infection, according to a government document. BBC News
See also:
See also:
- National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies 2015 The Cabinet Office
- New breed of superbugs which are resistant to antibiotics could kill 80,000 Britons in one outbreak as scientists warn even catching the flue could have a serious impact The Daily Mail
- Outbreak of drug-resistant infection could kill 80,000 in UK, report warns The Guardian
- World warned: Prepare for more Ebola-like outbreaks The Independent
New Down’s syndrome test more accurate than current screening
New Down’s syndrome test more accurate than current screening “Blood test for Down’s syndrome 'gives better results'," reports BBC News today. The test, which is based on spotting fragments of "rogue DNA", achieved impressive results in a series of trials.
A study of over 15,000 women found that the new blood test more accurately identifies pregnancies with Down's syndrome than the test currently used.
Down's syndrome is caused by having an extra chromosome (the packages of DNA containing information to grow and develop). The new test is able to detect small fragments of DNA from the baby floating about in the mother’s blood, called cell-free DNA (cfDNA).
This blood test measures the number of chromosomes in the mother’s blood, and from that it can see if there are any of these extra chromosomes.
The cfDNA test performed significantly better than the current test across a range of screening test measures for Down’s syndrome, but was not 100% accurate. Importantly, it had a much lower false positive rate than the current test; false positive is where a healthy baby is wrongly identified as having Down’s. A false positive result often leads to an unnecessary further diagnostic test that carries a small risk of causing a miscarriage.
A study of over 15,000 women found that the new blood test more accurately identifies pregnancies with Down's syndrome than the test currently used.
Down's syndrome is caused by having an extra chromosome (the packages of DNA containing information to grow and develop). The new test is able to detect small fragments of DNA from the baby floating about in the mother’s blood, called cell-free DNA (cfDNA).
This blood test measures the number of chromosomes in the mother’s blood, and from that it can see if there are any of these extra chromosomes.
The cfDNA test performed significantly better than the current test across a range of screening test measures for Down’s syndrome, but was not 100% accurate. Importantly, it had a much lower false positive rate than the current test; false positive is where a healthy baby is wrongly identified as having Down’s. A false positive result often leads to an unnecessary further diagnostic test that carries a small risk of causing a miscarriage.
Survival guide all NHS patients must read: A leading doctor's insider tips on getting the treatment you need
Survival guide all NHS patients must read: A leading doctor's insider tips on getting the treatment you need Evidence now suggests that the more involved you are - and are allowed to be - as a patient, the more likely you are to get the right care for you. The Daily Mail
Technology could prevent mental health waiting times
Technology could prevent mental health waiting times The NHS has to provide face-to-face therapy to 95% of patients within 18 weeks, but we can do better than this
Everyone working in mental health will welcome the new NHS waiting times for talking therapies. They will require the NHS to provide face-to-face therapy to 75% of patients within six weeks and 95% of patients within 18 weeks. I embrace these targets because they make an important statement about mental health and its equal status with physical health.
But underlying any waiting times target approach is the assumption that expanding access is difficult and expensive. We need to be a lot more ambitious about treating people with common mental illnesses. We need to look not at the cost of treating people, but the cost of not treating them. We also need to be aware that the new targets are not far off what the NHS has been doing already. According to the NHS, 61% of the patients that entered treatment in 2013-14 had a first appointment within 28 days of referral and 89% had one within 90 days. Continue reading... The Guardian
Everyone working in mental health will welcome the new NHS waiting times for talking therapies. They will require the NHS to provide face-to-face therapy to 75% of patients within six weeks and 95% of patients within 18 weeks. I embrace these targets because they make an important statement about mental health and its equal status with physical health.
But underlying any waiting times target approach is the assumption that expanding access is difficult and expensive. We need to be a lot more ambitious about treating people with common mental illnesses. We need to look not at the cost of treating people, but the cost of not treating them. We also need to be aware that the new targets are not far off what the NHS has been doing already. According to the NHS, 61% of the patients that entered treatment in 2013-14 had a first appointment within 28 days of referral and 89% had one within 90 days. Continue reading... The Guardian
Basic NHS services could be charged for after general election, BMA chief says
Basic NHS services could be charged for after general election, BMA chief says Exclusive: Dr Mark Porter says finances are so dire it will be ‘inescapable’ the next government will consider fees, though three main parties deny they would
Patients could have to start to pay charges to use basic NHS services such as GPs because the health service’s finances have become so dire, the leader of Britain’s doctors has warned.
Dr Mark Porter, the head of the British Medical Association (BMA), said that whoever takes office after the general election will inevitably be tempted to bring in charges and may not be deterred by the unpopularity of such a seismic change to the health service. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
Patients could have to start to pay charges to use basic NHS services such as GPs because the health service’s finances have become so dire, the leader of Britain’s doctors has warned.
Dr Mark Porter, the head of the British Medical Association (BMA), said that whoever takes office after the general election will inevitably be tempted to bring in charges and may not be deterred by the unpopularity of such a seismic change to the health service. Continue reading... The Guardian
See also:
Scientists begin pioneering cancer vaccine which attacks tumours of individual patients
Scientists begin pioneering cancer vaccine which attacks tumours of individual patients The first step towards a cancer vaccine designed to attack the tumours of individual patients has been taken in a pioneering experiment aimed at developing a completely new approach to cancer treatment. The Independent
See also:
See also:
- Personal cancer vaccines 'exciting' BBC News
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