Monday 13 February 2017

Kettering project using skype and facetime to help prostate cancer patients

Kettering project using skype and facetime to help prostate cancer patients Specialist nurses at Kettering General Hospital are using skype and facetime as a way of communicating with concerned patients at home as part of a pioneering project.

The Macmillan Prostate Project is exploring ways to better support stable prostate cancer patients in environments where they are comfortable.

This could include skyping them at home or maybe visiting groups of people at work or in a leisure environment where groups of men regularly meet. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Warning signs: challenges to delivering the Cancer Strategy for England by 2020

Warning signs: challenges to delivering the Cancer Strategy for England by 2020 This report lays out the challenges an under-pressure health service in England faces in areas such as workforce as it seeks to transform cancer services so it can meet increased demand in the coming decades. It finds that 64 per cent of people recently diagnosed with cancer in England have experienced mental health problems such as anxiety and depression while waiting for their treatment to start. It also finds that confidence in delivering the cancer strategy is mixed amongst NHS leaders and GPs and that greater clarity is needed on who is responsible for redesigning cancer services at a local and regional level. Macmillan Cancer Support

Surgeons 'kicking their heels' as bed shortage delays operations

Surgeons 'kicking their heels' as bed shortage delays operations Surgeons at hospitals in England are being left "kicking their heels" because operations are being cancelled due to bed shortages, NHS leaders say.

Royal College of Surgeons president Clare Marx said the "shocking waste" was a symptom of NHS underfunding.

In a joint letter to the Sunday Times with NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson, she said patients and staff deserved better.

NHS England said only 1% of operations were cancelled at the last minute. BBC News

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Mental health therapy for Muslims embraces religion

Mental health therapy for Muslims embraces religion Muslims with mental health issues could be helped by re-embracing their beliefs and religious teachings, it is claimed.

Traditionally, therapists have shied away from talking about religion as part of treatment - and can often see it as part of the illness.

But an NHS project based on research by Leeds University is "showing some individual signs of success".

Those behind the therapy say many Muslims do not get help because of stigma attached to mental illness. BBC News

Hundreds of incidents so serious they should never happen recorded in NHS

Hundreds of incidents so serious they should never happen recorded in NHS Hundreds of incidents so serious they should "never" happen have taken place in the NHS in just nine months.

Fresh figures from the NHS have revealed the frequency of so-called "Never Events" ranging from medical equipment being left inside patients to procedures on the wrong side of the brain.


Statistics published by NHS Improvement outlined 314 incidents took place between April 16 and December 31 last year – more than one a day.

Referred to as Never Events, the NHS described them as “serious, largely preventable” safety breaches, and differ from other grave events as just “even a single Never Event acts as a red flag”, highlighting potentially fatal failings.

The figures come as Jeremy Hunt comes under renewed pressure of the buckling state of the health service. The Independent

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NHS managers are unfairly maligned – we’re the hidden heroes

NHS managers are unfairly maligned – we’re the hidden heroes When I interview people who want to join our NHS Trust Comms team, I always tell them that no two days are ever the same; that it’s rewarding and exhilarating but also a rollercoaster of a challenge. 

It’s busy, and it’s hard. Everyone at our hospital is coping, but you can see the strain of running on adrenaline on their faces – nurses, doctors, bed managers, therapists, support staff. This year so far has been no different. iNews

Two-thirds of young hospital doctors under serious stress, survey reveals

Two-thirds of young hospital doctors under serious stress, survey reveals Trainee anaesthetists complain of fatigue, disillusionment, ‘burnout’ and fears for patients’ safety as pressure mounts on NHS

Almost two out of three young hospital doctors say their physical or mental health is being damaged because pressures on the NHS are putting them under intolerable strain.

Many are so relentlessly busy that they go through entire shifts without eating or drinking, while others suffer stress, burnout, exhaustion and sleeping problems. Relationships with family and friends are also deteriorating as a result of the struggle to cope with the fast-rising demand for care. Continue reading... The Guardian

NHS hasn't improved enough since Mid Staffs, says inquiry lawyer

NHS hasn't improved enough since Mid Staffs, says inquiry lawyer Robert Francis, whose report uncovered poor care in hospital trust, says pressures on health service generally are ‘pretty bad’

Current conditions in the NHS ”sound familiar” to those that existed during the Mid Staffordshire scandal, according to the lawyer who chaired the inquiry into the hospital trust.

Sir Robert Francis QC said the health service was being hit by a combination of financial pressures and high demand. Continue reading... The Guardian

Cosmetic operations fall to lowest in ten years

Cosmetic operations fall to lowest in ten years 28,300 women went under the knife in 2016, down 39 per cent from 2015. Numbers of men having cosmetic surgery has fallen by half this year. Breast enhancement is still the most popular op. The Daily Mail

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Dementia patients 'get second class healthcare'

Dementia patients 'get second class healthcare' Doctors as the Dementias 2017 conference warned that there was an 'ageism inherent in the whole process' of diagnosing dementia and that many dementia patients were being misdiagnosed. The Daily Mail

Half of GP surgeries open for under eight hours a day, Telegraph investigation reveals

Half of GP surgeries open for under eight hours a day, Telegraph investigation reveals More than half of GP practices are opening for fewer than eight hours a day - with more than 1,500 opening for under five hours daily, a Telegraph investigation reveals.

The Health Secretary urged surgeries which closed early to consider the "severe impact” they were having on the rest of the NHS, which is now under the worst strain in its history.

Senior doctors warned that “the vast majority” of practices were struggling to deliver basic care within weekday hours amid rising demand. The Daily Telegraph