Guidance: Diabetic eye screening: consent and cohort management

Guidance: Diabetic eye screening: consent and cohort management This document provides guidance for local NHS diabetic eye screening programmes on patient consent, cohort management and how to manage exchanges of information between healthcare providers. Public Health England

Championing the needs of the transgender community

Championing the needs of the transgender community The Chair of the NHS England Gender Task & Finish Group looks at what NHS England is doing to improve health services for transgender and non-binary people.

#LoveOurEUStaff campaign

#LoveOurEUStaff campaign Find out more about our #LoveOurEUStaff campaign, encouraging support for EU staff working in the NHS following the referendum result. NHS Employers

World class stroke care is achievable: Latest quarterly Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) results

World class stroke care is achievable: Latest quarterly Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) results The thirteenth report from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) reveals today that 25 stroke services scored an overall ‘A’ score for the quality of care they provide for patients, demonstrating that a world class service is achievable.

It is evident that services are maintaining the improvements made in recent quarters as 26 services achieved this outstanding grade in the corresponding quarter last year. Achieving an ‘A’ score is a considerable accomplishment and these latest results show that, although the audit sets the bar high to attain a top grade, it is possible. The Royal College of Physicians 

See also:

• Stroke patients waiting three hours to get to hospital The Daily Telegraph

Exclusive: Prescribing overhaul to boost patient safety backed by 84% of GPs

Exclusive: Prescribing overhaul to boost patient safety backed by 84% of GPs More than four in every five GPs believe that the current prescribing model should be overhauled so that every prescription can be traced back to the doctor who issued it, according to a GP Online survey.

50% drop in rate of hospital acquired foot ulcers, audit shows

50% drop in rate of hospital acquired foot ulcers, audit shows Only 1.1% of inpatients with diabetes developed a new foot lesion during their admission to hospital in 2015 – halving from the 2.2% rate when inpatient auditing began in 2010.

The new figures come from the National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA), carried out by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, in collaboration with Diabetes UK.

However, since 2010, similar improvements in the other two main hospital inpatient harms - severe hypoglycaemic episodes and the severe life-threatening and wholly preventable condition diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) - have not occurred. OnMedica

Government cuts are brewing a sexual health crisis

Government cuts are brewing a sexual health crisis Rising demand for sexual health care amid reduced budgets and privatisation puts further strain on an under-resourced sector

Sex has got a lot to answer for. The UK is facing a rising demand for sexual health and contraceptive care. Unacceptable levels of sexual coercion and female genital mutilation (FGM) are being reported, sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses are increasing [pdf], and the UK still has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in western Europe.

Despite all of this, key services are facing monstrous budget cuts alongside so many other sectors of our increasingly weary NHS. This means clinic closures, the dissolution of preventative health programmes, further pressure on already overloaded GP practices, and horrifying long-term financial costs.

Sexual health services play a key role in protecting the health of the nation ... sufficient funding is crucial 'Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• The secret sexual health doctor's diary: 'The waiting room is bursting at the seams The Guardian

Second American patient found with superbug resistant to antibiotics of last resort

Second American patient found with superbug resistant to antibiotics of last resort A second American patient has been infected with a superbug that is highly resistant to antibiotics of last resort, scientists announced on Monday.

Virologists found the rare mrc-1 gene, which causes the resistance, in a strain of E coli from a patient in New York, according to findings published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

"We are very close to seeing the emergence of enterobacteria that will be impossible to treat with antibiotics," said Lance Price of George Washington University. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Second patient in US is infected with 'superbug' resistant to ALL antibiotics The Daily Mail

Dying patients given needless treatment, major study finds

Dying patients given needless treatment, major study finds More than a third of dying elderly patients receive "invasive and potentially harmful" treatments in their last weeks of life, the biggest review of its kind has found.

Analysis of data from 1.2 million patients worldwide found patients being subjected to "excessive" and unnecessary treatments that make no difference to the course of their illness.

Researchers said some of the pressure stemmed from families who struggled to accept that nothing more could be done for their loved ones, and expected "heroic" interventions from doctors. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Non-beneficial treatments in hospital at the end of life: a systematic review on extent of the problem (open access) International Journal for Quality in Health Care
• Families cause loved ones to suffer at the end of life by 'begging doctors for unnecessary treatments' The Daily Mail