Monday 27 June 2016

Guidance: Health matters: preventing bowel cancer

Guidance: Health matters: preventing bowel cancer This resource for health professionals and local authorities focuses on how bowel cancer affects people so that fewer people develop bowel cancer and
more eligible people take part in screening. Public Health England

Children and young people's mental health - policy, services, funding and education

Children and young people's mental health - policy, services, funding and education This briefing provides an overview of mental health service provision for children and young people in England. It looks at key government policies on children and young people's mental health, government inquires, and school interventions. House of Commons Library

Comparator report on patient access to cancer medicines in Europe revisited

 Comparator report on patient access to cancer medicines in Europe revisited A new report that compares the cancer situation in EU28 plus Norway and Switzerland. The report builds on a previous comparative study conducted in 2005 and provides a comprehensive view of the development of cancer in Europe over the past two decades.

The report shows that the number of people diagnosed with cancer continue to increase in Europe, up by 30 percent between 1995 and 2012 due to a growing and ageing population. Despite this growth and an increased spending on cancer medicines the overall spending on cancer care has remained stable at around six percent of total health expenditure largely due to a shift towards outpatient care. Swedish Institute for Health Economics

See also:

NHS psychiatric patients' records found in filing cabinet sold on eBay

NHS psychiatric patients' records found in filing cabinet sold on eBay A couple, who bought second-hand office furniture on eBay, discovered records relating to psychiatric patients from a former NHS Trust administrative body in a filing cabinet, in what is seen as an extremely rare case of a physical data breach. International Business Times

Public Health Service 'ill-equipped' to provide treatment for cannabis users despite surge in numbers seeking help, experts warn

Public Health Service 'ill-equipped' to provide treatment for cannabis users despite surge in numbers seeking help, experts warn Researchers argue that the lack of available treatment and understanding around cannabis dependency is a major public health concern, with users often being ignored. The Independent

The other NHS crisis: the overworked nurses who are leaving in despair

The other NHS crisis: the overworked nurses who are leaving in despair The junior doctors’ dispute may be nearly over, but another crisis is brewing in the nursing profession, where staff shortages, a lack of recruitment and funding cuts have left many feeling they cannot carry on in the job they love

At what point is a qualified nurse – who entered the NHS expecting long hours and low pay – pushed so far that they can no longer carry on? For Stacey, a 27-year-old nurse from Liverpool, it was when she had become so broken that she felt she had lost every one of the “five Cs” that are instilled in nurses during their training: commitment, conscience, competence, compassion, and confidence. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

The NHS has a mountain to climb in its planned programme of change

The NHS has a mountain to climb in its planned programme of change Health service leaders focus on change at the NHS Confederation conference – but as funding growth slows, it will be ‘bloody tough’

There was something akin to desperation in the speeches by health service leaders at last week’s NHS Confederation conference in Manchester.

Wisely, there was little attempt to inspire the troops with misplaced rhetoric. The contributions from the two chief executives – NHS England’s Simon Stevens and NHS Improvement’s Jim Mackey – were business-like and practical. The unspoken title was “this is how we get out of this mess”.

Many of the plans are a long way from ready – a lot of additional work will need to be done Continue reading... The Guardian

Parents of Bristol heart hospital victims fear whitewash report 

Parents of Bristol heart hospital victims fear whitewash report The mother of a four-month-old girl who died after undergoing heart surgery at a scandal hit hospital has slammed an independent report due to be published this week, claiming it is biased towards the hospital.

Emma Poton’s daughter, Lacey-Marie, died in 2013 just ten minutes after returning home from the Bristol Children’s Hospital where she had undergone a heart procedure.

She was one of seven youngsters treated on Ward 32 of the hospital who lost their lives, prompting a major independent review which will be published on Thursday. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

Drug firm accused of 'appalling deception on a grand scale'

Drug firm accused of 'appalling deception on a grand scale' A pharmaceutical company has been accused of "appalling deception on a grand scale" after surreptitiously attempting to market prostate cancer drugs to doctors.

Astellas UK has been suspended as a member of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) over "serious breaches" of the trade group’s code of practice.

The actions relate to an event held by the company in 2014, when more than 100 doctors were invited to an “educational event” in Milan to share their expertise about prostate cancer.

In fact, an investigation found that doctors were chosen because they had limited knowledge of the sector, in the hope they would be persuaded to prescribe Xtandi – a new prostate cancer drug. The Daily Telegraph

NHS ambulance trust allegedly 'rehired six senior managers after spending £1m making them redundant'

NHS ambulance trust allegedly 'rehired six senior managers after spending £1m making them redundant' An ambulance trust has been criticised over its decision to allegedly rehire six senior managers after spending £1 million making them redundant.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is said to have paid an average of more than £150,000 in redundancy to each of the members of staff, spending £922,984 in total, a Freedom of Information request showed. The Daily Telegraph