Tuesday 29 September 2015

Northamptonshire’s Hospital and Outreach team wins BMA award

Northamptonshire’s Hospital and Outreach team wins BMA award A member of Northamptonshire’s Hospital and Outreach Education team has won a national award for her work on an information pack about the impact of cancer on children’s learning. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Responsible, safe and sustainable general practice

Responsible, safe and sustainable general practice A new vision for sustainable, modern and flexible general practice has been published by the British Medical Association (BMA).

Too soon for 'aspirin doubles cancer survival' claim

Too soon for 'aspirin doubles cancer survival' claim "Aspirin could almost double your chance of surviving cancer," the Daily Mail reports, with most of the newspapers featuring similar claims.

According to the Mail: "Three quarters of people with bowel, stomach or throat cancer were still alive five years later, and aspirin is the 'magic bullet' that should be prescribed as soon as someone is diagnosed."

Unfortunately the claims appearing in the media are based solely on a press release and abstract of research being presented at a scientific conference. This means the results and conclusions won’t have been verified by independent experts and we don’t have all the information to appraise such research. For these reasons we need to be cautious about this finding. NHS Choices

Hunt to meet doctors in contract row

Hunt to meet doctors in contract row Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has agreed to meet junior doctors' leaders after the decision to ballot medics on industrial action over a new contract. BBC News

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Public Health England defends NHS Health Checks

Public Health England defends NHS Health Checks Public Health England (PHE) is refuting claims made in a peer review journal, that NHS Health Checks are a waste of time and money. OnMedica

The tragic cost of NHS out-of-hours hotline's descent into meltdown: Two babies died after parents were given wrong advice - as investigation finds ONE nurse on duty for 2 million people

The tragic cost of NHS out-of-hours hotline's descent into meltdown: Two babies died after parents were given wrong advice - as investigation finds ONE nurse on duty for 2 million people The NHS out-of-hours hotline is in meltdown in parts of Britain with chronic staff shortages meaning staff with just three weeks' training are being overwhelmed. The Daily Mail

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More than 100 patients die after their surgery is cancelled as record number of NHS operations are postponed 

More than 100 patients die after their surgery is cancelled as record number of NHS operations are postponed  Heart surgery patients were among the 104 people who died, with some having had their NHS surgery cancelled twice. Hospital chiefs claim it's impossible to say if it contributed to their deaths. The Daily Mail

Almost half of seven-day trial surgeries have cut hours after lack of demand

Almost half of seven-day trial surgeries have cut hours after lack of demand Small number of patients at eight of the 18 pilot schemes raises doubts about viability of David Cameron’s 8am to 8pm GP services pledge

Almost half of the GP surgeries that began opening in evenings and at weekends to fulfil David Cameron’s pledge of 8am to 8pm seven-day access have cut their hours because so few patients came.

Pulse, the magazine for GPs, has learned that eight of the 18 pilot areas in England given money last year to roll out the scheme have scaled back the hours they operate or stopped offering appointments outside normal working hours altogether. Continue reading... The Guardian

It's stupid to believe that the NHS is still 'the best in the world'

It's stupid to believe that the NHS is still 'the best in the world' Instead of treating the NHS as a sacred cow, and holding on to outdated notions about how good it is, we urgently need to fix it, says Alex Proud. The Daily Telegraph