Reducing emergency admissions: unlocking the potential of people to better manage their long-term conditions

Reducing emergency admissions: unlocking the potential of people to better manage their long-term conditions This briefing summarises research that explores the link between how well patients feel able to manage their long-term conditions such as asthma, diabetes and depression and their use of health care.

The findings show the NHS could reduce avoidable health care use and improve people's quality of life, if they were better supported to manage their long-term conditions.

It also points to solutions and calls for national policy makers and the local NHS to take action now, including by prioritising support for self-management in the NHS long-term plan. The Health Foundation

Information for the health and care sector about planning for a potential no-deal Brexit

Information for the health and care sector about planning for a potential no-deal Brexit This collection of resources brings together guidance, correspondence and news for people involved in the health and care sector. Service providers should consider this guidance in the context of their existing business continuity plans. The latest guidance published covers regulation, testing and labelling if the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with 'no deal'. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Nuffield Trust response to Brexit technical notices on healthcare Nuffield Trust
• Don't hoard medicines for Brexit, health secretary says The Guardian
• Government tells drug companies to stockpile six weeks' worth of medicine in case of no-deal Brexit. The Independent

Mental health problems among GPs 'deeply concerning' but not surprising given workload pressures, says College

Mental health problems among GPs 'deeply concerning' but not surprising given workload pressures, says College She said: "GPs, indeed most healthcare professionals, are renowned for putting their patients' health before their own – and given the intense pressures currently facing general practice, this very high proportion of GPs living with mental health problems is deeply concerning, but not a total surprise.

"GPs work incredibly hard, often putting in 12-hour days in clinic, making upwards of 60 patient contacts a day, and dealing with huge amounts of administrative work. This relentless workload will inevitably take its toll on both doctors' physical and mental health and wellbeing, however resilient they may be. Royal College of General Practitioners

See also:

• New workforce figures 'demoralising and distressing' to struggling GPs, says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners

Anti-vaccine myths are being promoted by social media bots and Russian trolls, study finds

Anti-vaccine myths are being promoted by social media bots and Russian trolls, study finds Online arguments trying to trick people into believing vaccines are spreading across the internet, according to a new study.

Social media bots and trolls are sewing division by promoting "anti-vaxx" conspiracy theories and other myths, the new research has found.

Experts suggest that the arguments are being used to divide the country as well as to trick them into clicking on malicious links and other attacks. The Independent

See also:

• Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate American Journal of Public Health
• Russia trolls 'spreading vaccination misinformation' to create discord BBC News
• What's behind the 'anti-vax' movement? BBC News
• Russian trolls and Twitter bots are driving the global anti-vaxxer movement online, study reveals The Daily Mail
• Russian trolls and bots fuelled anti-vaccination debate The Daily Telegraph

Cornish hospital says sorry after 'neglect' of woman who died

Cornish hospital says sorry after 'neglect' of woman who died Katy Lowry, a 30-year-old with disabilities, died after failure to carry out basic checks

A hospital has apologised to the family of a woman with disabilities who died after staff failed to carry out basic checks when she was admitted suffering from a bout of vomiting.

Katy Lowry, 30, who had physical and learning disabilities, collapsed and died shortly after arriving at the Royal Cornwall hospital. Continue reading... The Guardian

I’ve been told to wait three years for a wheelchair that ‘can go outside’

I’ve been told to wait three years for a wheelchair that ‘can go outside’ | Frances Ryan It is surely a societal failure when 5,000 children wait months for an NHS chair, while others receive no help to cover costs

One of my abiding childhood memories was being given my first wheelchair. Until I was six, I had to resort to a large buggy, a mass of translucent plastic frames and ugly grey wheels. It was through the charity Whizz-Kidz that I finally got my first wheelchair, a streamlined seat in midnight purple. I remember taking my newfound freedom to my local Morrisons, home of the shiniest floor in town. I had gone from being trapped in plastic to sitting in a rocket ship, throwing myself down the crisps and snacks aisle.

A decade later, I had outgrown the chair and my family were back to working out how we would pay for a new one – this time a pricier, electric wheelchair that cost at least £5,000. My mum wrote to the board of local charities, we saved what we could, and Whizz-Kidz again filled in the rest.

Turning to charity feels particularly disconcerting if you’re disabled​​. It’s reminiscent of the pre-welfare state era Continue reading... The Guardian

Patient diagnosed with deadly MERS virus in Leeds as fellow passengers on flight from Middle East sought

Patient diagnosed with deadly MERS virus in Leeds as fellow passengers on flight from Middle East sought A man has been diagnosed with the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in England - the first such diagnosis in this country since 2013.

Health officials said the case involves a patient who was initially admitted to a hospital in Leeds before being transferred to Royal Liverpool Hospital, which treats respiratory infectious diseases.

The man is believed to have fallen ill after flying to Britain from the Middle East, where he lives. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• MERS-CoV case in England Public Health England

British women now among top drinkers in the world

British women now among top drinkers in the world British women are now among the world's biggest drinkers - matching men drink for drink, a major global study published in The Lancet reveals.

The figures, which track 195 countries across the globe, show that the UK is almost unique in having no difference in the amount of alcohol men and women consume.

Experts described the trends as “alarming”, warning of growing rates of liver disease among middle-aged women who had continued the “ladette” drinking habits of their youth. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• No level of alcohol consumption improves health The Lancet
• Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 The Lancet
• No alcohol safe to drink, global study confirms BBC News
• No safe level of alcohol consumption, major study concludes The Independent
• Alcohol sales would fall nearly 40% if everyone in England drank within guidelines, research finds The Independent

Two thirds of NHS hospital trusts have unsafe bed occupancy levels

Two thirds of NHS hospital trusts have unsafe bed occupancy levels Two thirds of hospital trusts had unsafe bed occupancy levels between the start of April and end of June, NHS figures have revealed.

Damning statistics published today show 131 trusts - which run hospitals - were at least 85 per cent full, the safe limit set by health chiefs.

Two even reported 100 per cent occupancy rates during the busy three-month period - Oxford Health Foundation Trust and Bedford Hospital Trust. The Daily Mail