Tuesday 21 November 2017

Black and ethnic minority cancer patients patients encouraged to give feedback on their NHS care

Black and ethnic minority cancer patients patients encouraged to give feedback on their NHS care Simon Stevens today issued an appeal for more black and ethnic minority (BME) patients to help improve cancer care by sharing their experiences.

Speaking at the Economist’s War on Cancer event, Simon Stevens will point out that BME patients are less likely to give feedback about treatment, with only 50% of those from ethnic groups taking part in the most recent cancer survey, making it difficult for the NHS to identify areas where care can be improved.

Cancer patients are reporting that they feel increasingly positive about their NHS care with 87.5 per cent of patients saying that they got their cancer tests at the right time and 90% of respondents said they were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist who would support them through their treatment.

However, the significant improvements may not be the full picture with BME communities less likely to participate in the feedback. NHS England

Nutritional care tool report 2017

Nutritional care tool report 2017 The BAPEN nutritional care tool report provides organisational-level data on how nutritional care is organised and patient-level data on the quality of nutrition in hospitals, care homes and community organisations.

Concordia overcharged NHS for thyroid drug, says watchdog

Concordia overcharged NHS for thyroid drug, says watchdog Drug company Concordia overcharged the NHS by millions for a key thyroid treatment, the Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally found.

The CMA said that last year the NHS spent £34m on its drug, liothyronine, up from about £600,000 in 2006.

The amount the NHS paid per pack rose from around £4.46 in 2007 to £258.19 by July 2017, an increase of almost 6,000%.

Concordia said it did "not believe that competition law has been infringed".

The CMA said the price rise took place despite "broadly stable" production costs. BBC News

District nurse numbers under pressure

District nurse numbers under pressure District nurses play a vital role in keeping patients out of hospital by providing care in their own homes, but official figures show their numbers have nearly halved since 2010. BBC News

The growing toll of our ever-expanding waistlines

The growing toll of our ever-expanding waistlines I hope you’re not chomping on a bagel, or worse, a doughnut while you read about what is probably the most serious public health irony of the last half-century in this country. As one major killer – smoking – declined, another rose precipitously to take its place: obesity.

Many cancer deaths were averted after millions quit lighting up, but they are now rising because even greater numbers are unable to keep their waistlines in check.

Today, obesity and smoking remain the two leading causes of preventable deaths in this country. The Independent

Budget boost for NHS to fall well short of management demands

Budget boost for NHS to fall well short of management demands Philip Hammond is set to provide emergency funding but health service bosses say it does not go far enough

Philip Hammond is to give the NHS an emergency cash injection in the budget, though the chancellor will disappoint health service bosses by increasing funding by far less than they believe is needed.

Hammond is understood to be preparing to unveil a plan to give the NHS up to £6bn by 2022 for three different purposes. Continue reading... The Guardian

‘Take these children seriously’: NHS clinic in the eye of trans rights storm

‘Take these children seriously’: NHS clinic in the eye of trans rights storm A specialist NHS centre in London is helping thousands of young people who are having difficulties with gender identity

At a time when transgender issues occupy the centreground of today’s culture wars, a clinic in an unpreposessing 1920s office block in north-west London has found itself on the frontline.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), based at the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust, is the only NHS-run clinic that specialises in helping young people experiencing difficulties with their gender identity.

It is a gender identity service, not a gender transition service. Many children will benefit from talking therapies Continue reading... The Guardian

Common NHS shoulder surgery no better than placebo at relieving pain

Common NHS shoulder surgery no better than placebo at relieving pain An increasingly popular form of shoulder surgery carried out on more than 21,000 people a year is almost entirely pointless, a major new study has found.

Decompression surgery, a keyhole procedure designed to remove small areas of bone and tissue around the joint, proved no better at relieving pain than a placebo in a trial across 32 hospitals.

Experts at Oxford University, who conducted the research, last night questioned why the operation had been allowed to become so commonplace despite no robust evidence supporting its use.

Meanwhile the Royal College of Surgeons, which partly funded the study, suggested the procedure should no longer be offered routinely on the NHS. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

NHS rolls out cancer screening trucks in supermarkets

NHS rolls out cancer screening trucks in supermarkets Patients are being offered cancer scans in supermarket car parks to try to improve disease detection rates.

The scheme is going nationwide after a trial led to a four-fold rise in the number of lung cancers diagnosed early.

NHS chiefs judged it so successful they will pay for more trucks with scanners to be sited at branches of Tesco and Asda. The Daily Mail