Events in Kettering as part of World Diabetes Day

Events in Kettering as part of World Diabetes Day A series of events will be held in Kettering as part of World Diabetes Day. Diabetes specialists and a professional cyclist - who is living with the condition - are carrying out a series of awareness events on Wednesday, November 14.

Kettering General Hospital consultant diabetologist, Dr Mike Pierides, is amongst a team of staff from various disciplines who are supporting events that will highlight how local people can best manage their diabetes.

The team is composed of nurse specialists, dieticians, podiatrists and doctors from KGH and Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust who deal with diabetes, and who will be on hand at a number of high profile venues giving lectures, advice and answering questions. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Prevention and early action are key to positive, healthy outcomes

Prevention and early action are key to positive, healthy outcomes The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has named prevention as one of his three priorities. He talks of a ‘radical shift in approach’ towards preventive care centred around individuals, keeping people healthy, treating problems quickly, and empowering people to manage their own health. This ‘radical shift’ would bring the Health Secretary’s plans in line with the approach of many of us in the charity sector, who have been promoting prevention and early action for years. The King's Fund

Report reveals impact of discrimination on health of LGBT people

Report reveals impact of discrimination on health of LGBT people New research from Stonewall, Britain’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality, exposes alarming levels of poor mental health among LGBT people compared to the general population. Stonewall’s study also reveals a shockingly high level of hostility and unfair treatment faced by many LGBT people when accessing healthcare services.

The research, based on YouGov polling of over 5,000 LGBT people, shows more than half of LGBT people (52 per cent) have experienced depression in the last year, and three in five (61 per cent) had anxiety. This compares to one in six adults in England who faced a common mental health problem, such as anxiety and depression, according to Mind.

See also:

• LGBT IN Britain - Health (2018) Stonewall
• Quarter of LGBT+ people have witnessed discrimination from NHS staff while seeking treatment, poll finds  The Independent

Stemming the Superbug Tide: Just A Few Dollars More

Stemming the Superbug Tide: Just A Few Dollars More Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a large and growing problem with the potential for enormous health and economic consequences, globally. As such, AMR has become a central issue at the top of the public health agenda of OECD countries and beyond. In this report, OECD used advanced techniques, including machine learning, ensemble modelling and a microsimulation model, to provide support for policy action in the human health sector. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

See also:

• Antibiotic resistance will kill MILLIONS of people by 2050 The Daily Mail

Fatal heart conditions going undetected due to lack of scanning services

Fatal heart conditions going undetected due to lack of scanning services Cardiac imaging experts have warned that deadly heart conditions are being missed as patients are unable to get CT tests due to a shortage of scanners and radiologists.

New figures released today by The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and the British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (BSCI) to mark the annual International Day of Radiology reveal thousands of angina sufferers are missing out on potentially life-saving scans.

Historically, patients with chest pain are referred to rapid access chest pain clinics to have their heart function assessed by exercise tests.

Cardiac experts have long argued that exercise tests are not accurate enough to rule out underlying causes of angina, such as the plaque that causes fatal heart attacks.

See also:

• NHS scanner and radiologist shortages contributing to thousands of avoidable heart attack deaths, experts warn The Independent

District nurse education report and five year review published

Report on district nurse education The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has published its fifth annual report on education of district nurses in the UK.

The report indicates that the increase in district nurse student numbers seen in recent years has stalled and raises concerns about the sustainability of the workforce.

Comprehensive model of personalised care

Comprehensive model of personalised care The comprehensive model of personalised care helps to establish a whole-population approach to supporting people of all ages and their carers to manage their physical and mental health and wellbeing, build community resilience, and make informed decisions and choices when their health changes. NHS England

Can the government deliver on radical care reform?

Can the government deliver on radical care reform? Another week, another sign that the care system in England is in dire trouble.

News that Allied Healthcare - one of the biggest providers of home care in the country - is at risk of going under, sent shockwaves around the sector.

The 13,000 vulnerable people who rely on its staff for washing, dressing and help with eating now face an anxious wait to see if bosses can get the finances together to keep services going.

But Allied is not alone. The UK Homecare Association, the body which represents the firms providing care, warned only last month that providers were refusing to sign up to council contracts because of the low fees being offered. BBC News

NHS waste firm to sue health trusts over terminated contracts

NHS waste firm to sue health trusts over terminated contracts The firm at the centre of the NHS clinical waste scandal has announced it is suing 17 health trusts in Yorkshire which terminated its contracts.

North Lanarkshire-based Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) is seeking "upwards of £15m" in damages.

The company was stripped of the contracts after reports that tonnes of clinical waste piled up at its sites. BBC News

CCGs failing to offer access to ‘flash’ glucose monitoring devices

CCGs failing to offer access to ‘flash’ glucose monitoring devices Only about 3-5% of patients with type 1 diabetes in England are prescribed the FreeStyle Libre glucose sensor on the NHS as many clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are ‘paying lip service’ to offering access to the device, a BMJ investigation* has found. Experts told the report’s authors that this postcode lottery means that tens of thousands of patients are being denied the potential lifestyle and health benefits of flash glucose monitoring. OnMedica

Fall in number of NHS psychiatrists treating children in England

Fall in number of NHS psychiatrists treating children in England Latest figures are second lowest since NHS Digital began keeping records in 2009 and come as demand surges

The number of NHS psychiatrists treating troubled children and young people is falling, despite a surge in demand among under-18s who need urgent mental health care.

NHS workforce statistics show that the number of full-time equivalent psychiatrists working in child and adolescent mental health services in England fell to 942 in July – its second lowest number on record, down from 970 in January this year. The Guardian

NHS bullying isn't just toxic for staff: it's costing billions | Roger Kline, Duncan Lewis

NHS bullying isn't just toxic for staff: it's costing billions | Roger Kline, Duncan Lewis More than £2bn every year that could be used on patient care is draining away as a result of harassment in the health service

We know the shocking impact of bullying and harassment on NHS staff in England. But, until now, we haven’t known the full financial impact. The appalling truth is that the toxic behaviour of some managers and staff is costing the health service more than £2bn a year – money that could be better spent on patient care.

We have carried out the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the financial costs to the health service of bullying and harassment. It weighs up the cost of staff being sick, leaving their jobs, being less productive, working even when they are sick, and employment relations. The results should set alarm bells ringing in every trust. The Guardian

AI will make doctors 'obsolete' due to robots being 'cheaper to hire and train than medics'

AI will make doctors 'obsolete' due to robots being 'cheaper to hire and train than medics' A scientist has warned AI will eventually make doctors 'obsolete'.

Artificial intelligence has a 'near unlimited capacity' to diagnose diseases and perform surgery more accurately than medics, according to Dr Jörg Goldhahn.

Dr Goldhahn, from ETH Zurich, also argues robots may help overcome healthcare funding shortages due to them being cheaper to hire and train than humans.

But while Dr Vanessa Rampton acknowledges AI may be a useful aid to medics, she argues it will never completely replace human healthcare. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Could artificial intelligence make doctors obsolete? BMJ

Watchdog bans 'distressing' and 'misleading' antivax advert on Facebook

Watchdog bans 'distressing' and 'misleading' antivax advert on Facebook A controversial anti-vaccination advert on Facebook has been banned for claiming that all jabs have the potential to kill a child.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the paid-for post by Stop Mandatory Vaccination was 'distressing' and 'misleading'.

The post included a picture of a baby with its eyes shut, alongside claims he died 48 hours after being given eight vaccines. The Daily Mail