Thursday 20 August 2015

Stroke 'more likely' with long hours

Stroke 'more likely' with long hours

People working more than 40 hours a week are more likely to have a stroke, a study suggests. BBC News

Probe pinpoints blood clot locations

Probe pinpoints blood clot locations

A new probe sticks to blood clots so they "light up" in a PET scan, and could eventually save time during treatment of stroke and related conditions. BBC News

Vaccine for Mers 'looks promising'

Vaccine for Mers 'looks promising'

A prototype vaccine against the lung infection MERS coronavirus shows promising results, scientists say. BBC News

4 Things to Know About Keeping Personal Health Information Safe

4 Things to Know About Keeping Personal Health Information Safe

Given the large number of breaches of personal health information in recent years, more steps need to be taken to ensure security. Commonwealth Fund

National cover for ‘fit for work’ GP referral process

National cover for ‘fit for work’ GP referral process

The rollout of the ‘fit for work’ scheme is progressing across Great Britain with GPs now being able to refer working patients to the scheme across the whole of England, Wales and Scotland. NHS Networks

Is the NHS delivering enough of the right things?

Is the NHS delivering enough of the right things?

Last week I wrote a blog about the problem of overuse in the NHS: where people get services they don’t want or need, which can lead to unnecessary harm and wasted resources. But this is only part of the story. The flipside is that the NHS faces the problem of underuse too.

Underuse happens when effective care isn’t delivered when it’s needed. It can lead to people needing more complex care as their conditions get worse – for example, if they end up in hospital because their condition isn’t managed properly at home. This means that tackling underuse can sometimes save money for the NHS, by keeping people well and reducing use of costly services. In other cases, reversing the problem of underuse is more likely to increase costs – particularly in the short term – as a result of investment in new services or improved access. In either case, tackling underuse is fundamentally about improving care for people who need it.

So, where might the NHS not be delivering enough of the right things?

Injection which could cure obesity developed at Harvard and MIT

Injection which could cure obesity developed at Harvard and MIT

A cure for obesity could be just an injection away after scientists at Harvard and MIT discovered that a tiny DNA tweak causes the metabolism to burn up excess fat. Telegraph

Changes in vision in older people: causes and impact

Changes in vision in older people: causes and impact

This publication summarises findings from research commissioned by Thomas Pocklington Trust that uses the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to look at the links between development of visual impairment and older peoples’ social and economic position, and the impact of both deteriorating and improving sight on key aspects of their lives. Thomas Pocklington Trust 

Briefing

Press release