Recovering alcohol and drug users leading service planning

Recovering alcohol and drug users leading service planning A new guide showing the benefits of involving recovering alcohol and drug users in the design and development of their own, and others treatment and recovery.

PHE’s Service User Involvement guide describes 4 different levels of service user involvement, from co-developing one’s own care plan through to initiating and running recovery-focused enterprises. The guide showcases a number of examples of unique services from across the country that have been set-up by, or run by, former alcohol and drug users.

Through tailored and flexible approaches that aim to provide skills and training, these services promote and maintain long-term recovery often acting as a crucial step into employment. Their involvement in services at all levels increases confidence in, and suitability of the services, while seeing the successful stories of others in recovery motivates those still working to achieve recovery. Public Health England

New safety standards published for invasive procedures

New safety standards published for invasive procedures A set of new national safety standards have been published today to support NHS hospitals to provide safer surgical care.

The National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs) aim to reduce the number of patient safety incidents related to invasive procedures in which surgical Never Events could occur.

These new standards set out broad principles of safe practice and advise healthcare professionals on how they can implement best practice, such as through a series of standardised safety checks and education and training. The standards also support NHS providers to work with staff to develop and maintain their own, more detailed, local standards and encourage the sharing of best practice between organisations. NHS England

Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: country experience

Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: country experience The financial and economic crisis has had a visible but varied impact on many health systems in Europe, eliciting a wide range of responses from governments faced with increased financial and other pressures. This book maps health system responses by country, providing a detailed analysis of policy changes in nine countries and shorter overviews of policy responses in 47 countries. It draws on a large study involving over one hundred health system experts and academic researchers across Europe. World Health Organisation

See also:

• Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: impact and implications for policy World Health Organisation

Alcohol and the public purse: do drinkers pay their way?

Alcohol and the public purse: do drinkers pay their way? This report estimates that the direct costs of alcohol use to the government in England - including NHS, police, criminal justice and welfare costs - amount to just under £4 billion each year, whilst revenues from alcohol taxes amount to over £10 billion. Institute of Economic Affairs

Blood test for dementia claims are premature

Blood test for dementia claims are premature "Simple blood test … could predict if you'll suffer dementia," the Daily Mail reports.

This study aimed to identify a genetic score that could be used to indicate an individual's biological age. Using muscle and tissue samples from young and old adults, they identified the set of genetic markers that could best differentiate between the young and old samples.

They further tested this "healthy ageing gene score" using other tissue samples, including blood of people with and without Alzheimer's disease. They found that the score was lower in those with Alzheimer's. Overall, this score is suggested as a marker for healthy ageing.

However, it is important to realise this study is in the early experimental stages and the score has so far only been tested in small groups of people with known disease status. It is not known how well it could predict future disease development. NHS Choices

NICE guidance confirms U-turn over 10% statin threshold for GPs

NICE guidance confirms U-turn over 10% statin threshold for GPs Patients with a 10% cardiovascular risk should not automatically be prescribed statins, according to a NICE quality standard that backs down from an earlier statement that the QOF should 'mandate' GPs to offer the treatment at this threshold. GP Online

Charity warns world is running out of snake anti-venom

Charity warns world is running out of snake anti-venom MSF says 100,000 people die from snakebites every year in one of the world's most neglected public health emergencies. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Snakebite antidote is running out BBC News
• VIDEO: Inside a snake venom research lab BBC News

NHS patients to be given option of travelling to Calais for surgical procedures

NHS patients to be given option of travelling to Calais for surgical procedures NHS patients in Kent are set to be offered the choice of travelling to Calais for surgical treatments, local health commissioners have confirmed. The Independent

See also:

• NHS 'to send patients to France' BBC News