Northampton registrar awarded national prize for groundbreaking research

Northampton registrar awarded national prize for groundbreaking research An ophthalmology registrar at Northampton General Hospital is the 25th recipient of the prestigious Vernon Prize Trophy, for ground-breaking research into the study of nystagmus or ‘dancing eyes’ in young children and infants. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

For a healthier nation, we must solve UK poverty

For a healthier nation, we must solve UK poverty For the first time in two decades our country is experiencing a sustained rise in the number of people struggling to make ends meet. Poverty has a harmful effect on many aspects of people’s lives, especially their physical and mental health.

In the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s latest state of the nation report, UK Poverty 2017, we found that 14 million people are living in poverty – one in five of the population. Over half of these people are living in a working household, facing impossible choices on a daily basis, despite doing all that they can to achieve a decent and secure life for themselves and their families.

This concerning rise in poverty is driven by stagnating earnings, the rising cost of housing and the freeze on working age benefits which are no longer effectively loosening the grip of poverty on people’s lives.

What’s less well known is the damage this is doing to the health of the nation. The Health Foundation

Sexual and reproductive health in England: local and national data

Sexual and reproductive health in England: local and national data Guidance to help health professionals including local government, service providers and commissioners understand the sexual health data that is available across England and how the data can be accessed. It includes data collected by Public Health England and other organisations.

This information provides an overview of the information available on sexually transmitted infection (STIs), HIV, contraception, conception and abortion and where to access it. It is divided into indicators (used for tracking progress), detailed local information (collation and interpretation of local intelligence) and national resources (tables and reports). Public Health England

Home Office denies medical cannabis pleas for boy age six

Home Office denies medical cannabis pleas for boy age six Requests for a medical cannabis licence to help a boy whose rare form of epilepsy improved after taking the drug have been denied by the Home Office.

Six-year-old Alfie Dingley, from Kenilworth in Warwickshire, suffers up to 30 violent seizures a day.

His parents want to treat him with medical cannabis oil, which is illegal in the UK.

The Home Office said the drug "cannot be practically prescribed, administered or supplied to the public".

A spokesperson added that it can only be used for research. BBC News

'Move your van' note left on ambulance in Tunstall

'Move your van' note left on ambulance in Tunstall A woman left an abusive note on an ambulance dealing with a 999 call, ordering paramedics to "move their van".

The writer said she did not care if "the whole street collapsed" and the crew had "no right to be parked here".

The hand-written message was left on an ambulance in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, earlier.

Operational manager Mike Duggan said the paramedics also received verbal abuse.

He shared an image of the note on Twitter saying he was "very angry". BBC News

'We must act before another child is killed': Warning over abuse linked to witchcraft and possession beliefs in UK

'We must act before another child is killed': Warning over abuse linked to witchcraft and possession beliefs in UK Thousands of children could be abused because relatives believe they are witches or possessed by evil spirits in Britain, it has been warned.

Experts fear another child will be murdered if efforts to prevent abuse linked to faith and belief are not urgently stepped up, following the horrific deaths of young victims including Kristy Bamu and Ayesha Ali.

The first ever Government statistics on the issue showed that witchcraft and possession were linked to almost 1,500 potential abuse cases across the UK in a single year but the figure is thought to be an underestimate. The Independent

Ambulances stuck at A&E 'unable to respond quickly to 999 calls'

Ambulances stuck at A&E 'unable to respond quickly to 999 calls' Seriously ill patients having to wait for hours for paramedics to arrive, says NHS boss

Patients who have a stroke or heart attack are at risk of harm because so many ambulances are stuck at A&E units that they cannot respond quickly enough to 999 calls, an NHS boss has said.

The admission by a senior figure in the NHS ambulance service highlights the growing number of seriously ill patients who are having to wait for several hours – far beyond the target response time of eight minutes – for paramedics to arrive. Continue reading... The Guardian

Brexit deal delay could put NHS patients at risk, Tory MP warns

Brexit deal delay could put NHS patients at risk, Tory MP warns Sarah Wollaston tells health secretary medical businesses and services ‘remain in dark’

A delay in agreeing a Brexit transition deal could harm NHS patients, a senior MP has warned.

In a letter to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the Commons health committee, Sarah Wollaston, said that any holdups could put patient care at risk. Continue reading... The Guardian

Calls for inquiry over financial abuse of vulnerable care home residents as figures show 13,000 have been affected

Calls for inquiry over financial abuse of vulnerable care home residents as figures show 13,000 have been affected Care home managers reported almost 13,000 concerns that vulnerable residents were experiencing financial abuse in the past four years, new figures show.

The data, collected from an FOI request to the Care Quality Commission, have prompted experts to call for a Government inquiry into the scale of the issue.

The statistics show that there were 12,968 investigations of potential financial abuse by the CQC between 2013 and June last year.

Care homes have a duty to report concerns about their residents to the regulator, which then investigates the allegation.

The data shows that the majority of alleged victims were over 65, with 85 and over the most common age group. The Daily Telegraph

Patients are facing eight month wait for hip operations

Patients are facing eight month wait for hip operations Patients are having to wait more than eight months in agony for hip and knee replacements, figures reveal.

Waiting times have soared by 40 per cent in four years as the NHS struggles with growing demand.

Many needing the operations are in such severe pain they cannot walk short distances or sleep at night.

Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests show the average wait for a hip replacement is now four and a half months. The Daily Mail

See also:

• NHS brings in three month minimum waiting times despite warnings patients will suffer The Daily Telegraph

Is anything being done about blood-eating hospital bug?

Is anything being done about blood-eating hospital bug? A killer ‘blood-eating’ bacterial infection that may have affected thousands of British heart patients has claimed seven more lives in the past year, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

The death toll from the hospital bug mycobacterium chimaera (MC), spread by contaminated heart surgery machines, continues to rise a year after the problem was exposed by this newspaper. The Daily Mail