Wednesday 24 August 2016

Call centre to help healthy patients get home from Northamptonshire hospitals quicker

Call centre to help healthy patients get home from Northamptonshire hospitals quicker

Healthcare staff at a new Northampton call centre are to help bed blocking patients get home from hospital more quickly. Northampton Chronicle

Good practice guide to demand management

Good practice guide to demand management

NHS England has published a good practice guide to demand management.
NHS Networks

When prescribed in small doses and for a short time, HRT is an effective form of treatment, says RCGP

When prescribed in small doses and for a short time, HRT is an effective form of treatment, says RCGP

She said: “The menopause can cause great distress for many women – and for some specific symptoms, such as hot flushes, hormone replacement therapy is the only medical treatment for which we have good evidence.
“While many women are understandably concerned about the link that has been made between HRT and increased risk of breast cancer, the research today confirms that there are no adverse effects from the simpler type of HRT given to women who have had a hysterectomy (oestrogen only), and only a slightly increased risk from the combined treatment, used in women who still have their womb. “It is important to remember that the increased breast cancer risk is closely related to prolonged use of HRT in older women and that these risks reduce substantially after treatment is stopped – usually within a year or two. “When HRT is prescribed, best practice is to prescribe the lowest possible dose, for the shortest possible time - and any decision to issue a prescription needs to come out of a discussion between GPs and individual patients about their unique circumstances, the pros and cons of treatments, and how to achieve the best possible health outcome. “Patients shouldn’t panic and stop taking HRT as result of reading about this study, but instead see their GP in a routine review appointment if they have any concerns and want to discuss the matter fully.”
RCGP

Depression: A revolution in treatment?

Depression: A revolution in treatment?

Can treating the immune system lead to a revolution in treating depression?
BBC News

Syphilis is on the rise when it should be confined to history

Syphilis is on the rise when it should be confined to history As the old saying goes, “Laughter is the best medicine. Unless you have syphilis in which case penicillin is the best choice”. The disease, caused by the bacterium Treponema Pallidum and passed on through unprotected oral, vaginal and anal sex, has affected the famous through the ages (Al Capone and, reportedly, Hitler, to name just two).

But syphilis is in no way confined to big names, nor is it a sexually transmitted infection (STI) of the past. The 2016 Public Health England (PHE) syphilis reporthas shown that infection rates are on the up, with disproportionate rates in London. In 2015, the capital accounted for 56% of all cases in England, with a 22% increase in diagnoses in the year 2014-15. Since 2010 the number of cases of syphilis in Londoners has increased by 163%, with a 22% increase in the year from 2014 to 2015. The borough of Lambeth has the highest rates, closely followed by the City of London and Southwark. The Guardian

The Guardian view on the seven-day NHS: the figures don’t add up | Editorial

The Guardian view on the seven-day NHS: the figures don’t add up | Editorial


Memo to Theresa May: leaked health department documents show Jeremy Hunt’s reform plans are running out of credibility on health, economic and political grounds

At first reading, the words in the health department’s private internal briefing can seem measured and unsensational: “The current financial context means we need to demonstrate that 7DS [seven-day services in the NHS] is achievable and realistic.” Who could disagree with that? Lift the stone and peer beneath, however, and the Whitehall calm soon crumbles as the full implications sink in.

The reality underlying the studied words in the latest departmental document seen by the Guardian and Channel 4 News is that internal anxiety over the health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s flagship 7DS pledge for the NHS is still churning. Is 7DS achievable as the budget stands? Is it realistic? The answers to these apparently innocent questions are extremely uncertain. They signal huge economic and political problems for Theresa May’s government, which cannot afford to be seen as anti-NHS.

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Improving Population Health Management Strategies: Identifying Patients Who Are More Likely to Be Users of Avoidable Costly Care and Those More Likely to Develop a New Chronic Disease

Improving Population Health Management Strategies: Identifying Patients Who Are More Likely to Be Users of Avoidable Costly Care and Those More Likely to Develop a New Chronic Disease

This Commonwealth Fund–supported study explored whether considering a patient’s self-management skills and confidence—as predicted by the commercially available Patient Activation Measure (PAM)—might help health care delivery systems pinpoint additional high-risk patients who could benefit from supportive interventions. Commonwealth Fund

Meningitis could be diagnosed in minutes: Pin-prick blood test could save hundreds of children's lives

Meningitis could be diagnosed in minutes: Pin-prick blood test could save hundreds of children's lives

The test - which ascertains if an illness is being caused by bacteria or a virus - could be available on the NHS within five years, said Imperial College London researchers. Daily Mail

One in five pairs of prescription glasses deemed 'unacceptable' or 'unsafe', as elderly told buying specs online is too risky

One in five pairs of prescription glasses deemed 'unacceptable' or 'unsafe', as elderly told buying specs online is too risky Nearly one in five (18pc) pairs pairs of prescription glasses could be putting people at risk of driving illegally or falling over, eye experts have warned, with spectacles bought online posing a heightened safety risk to consumers.

A damning study on the quality of glasses sold in the UK, funded by the College Optometrists, has warned prescription glasses wearers going online in search of a cheaper deal that they may be more exposed to dangers caused by poor vision. The Daily Telegraph