Monday 4 February 2019

Kettering hospital says size of A&E department is hampering patient drop off times

Kettering hospital says size of A&E department is hampering patient drop off times Kettering General Hospital says it is working hard to reduce the number of one hour-plus patient handovers from ambulances to A&E but is being hampered by the size of its department and winter pressures. The hospital has been in breach of the government’s target which says there should be no patient handovers to A&E from ambulances that take longer than an hour. These are classified as ‘black breaches’ and latest figures show that in November there were 56 breaches. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Celebrity ads for diet aids should be banned says top doctor

Celebrity ads for diet aids should be banned says top doctor Social media companies should ban "damaging" celebrity-endorsed social media ads promoting weight loss aids, England's top doctor has said.

Some celebrities with large followings are promoting products such as diet pills and detox teas on social media.

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS medical director, argues these products have a damaging effect on the physical and mental health of young people. BBC News

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NHS England to go on Brexit 'tour' of trusts - Health Service Journal

NHS England to go on Brexit 'tour' of trusts - Health Service Journal NHS England will conduct a “rolling tour” of NHS providers to ensure everyone is “geared up” for a possible no-deal Brexit. HSJ

Children as young as 12 'competing to become better self-harmers'

Children as young as 12 'competing to become better self-harmers' Children as young as 12 are competing with each other to commit worsening acts of self-harm on websites, a groundbreaking study reveals.

They described wanting to become “better self-harmers” and match horrific injuries they saw on Tumblr, one of the sites they chose because posts receive little scrutiny.

It is the first time researchers have been able to lift the lid on experience of such sites, after securing approval to interview young self-harmers. The Telegraph

Government urged to cut key childhood vaccine from three doses to two

Government urged to cut key childhood vaccine from three doses to two

The government is being urged to change the dosing schedule of one of the key childhood vaccinations, potentially saving the NHS millions of pounds.

Last July a key advisory group, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), recommended that the dosing schedule for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) be reduced from three to two doses. However, the Department of Health, which normally implements JCVI policy quickly, has still not indicated whether or when it will make the change. The Telegraph

Postcode lottery ‘scandal’ of the stroke patients denied treatment

Postcode lottery ‘scandal’ of the stroke patients denied treatment Stroke sufferers are missing out on a “game-changing” treatment because the NHS is struggling with a lack of specialists to perform the procedure, experts are warning.

The shortfall is so severe that it is threatening to derail efforts to increase tenfold the number of patients who have a mechanical thrombectomy, a revolutionary procedure that can make a huge difference to the prospects of someone who has suffered an ischaemic stroke – the commonest form of the disease. The Guardian

Left in the lurch: mothers-to-be devastated as maternity scheme ends

Left in the lurch: mothers-to-be devastated as maternity scheme ends A midwifery plan held up as a template for future NHS care has suddenly closed – and nobody really knows why. With her first baby due in a few weeks, Gemma Ricketts had made careful plans for a home birth, helped by a midwife she had come to know and trust during her pregnancy. A private maternity service called Neighbourhood Midwives, funded by the NHS, had offered her and many others exactly the kind of attention that was last month trumpeted by Matt Hancock, the health secretary, as he set out plans to make Britain “the best place in the world to give birth” – personalised, continuous care by a named midwife and greater choice for the expectant mother when planning her delivery. The Guardian

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Help NHS obtain cystic fibrosis drug, ministers urged

Help NHS obtain cystic fibrosis drug, ministers urged Campaigners are calling on the government to urgently intervene over the cost of a drug that could extend the lives of thousands of children but which manufacturers have set at £105,000 per patient per year, a price the NHScannot afford.

For more than two years an emotive battle has been raging over Orkambi, which tackles the cause of cystic fibrosis. Previously, children with the genetic disorder did not often survive to adulthood and even today, half will be dead before the age of 32. Orkambi could extend lives, but negotiations over the price the NHS should pay have been in stalemate since July, with the pharma company that makes it refusing to reduce the price. The Guardian

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Provide sanitary products free in all hospitals, says doctors' union

Provide sanitary products free in all hospitals, says doctors' union Two out of five hospital trusts and health boards in the UK do not give sanitary products to patients who need them, or only in emergencies, an investigation by the BMA has found.

The doctors' union says pads and tampons are a basic need and should be available free to inpatients.

But in some trusts, razors and shaving foam were handed out free while sanitary products were not.

The BMA has written to NHS England asking for action to be taken. BBC News

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'Shocking' rise in obesity-related cancers among young adults

'Shocking' rise in obesity-related cancers among young adults

Rates of obesity-fuelled cancers are now rising in successively younger age groups, a landmark study shows.

Experts said "shocking" levels of disease linked to growing waistlines across the globe threaten to reverse decades of progress in the war on cancer.

The Lancet study shows that rates of obesity-related cancers are rising faster in adults aged 25 to 49 than in older generations - despite the fact cancer is seen as a disease of old age. The Telegraph

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‘Dickensian diseases’: gout, whooping cough and scarlet fever on rise

‘Dickensian diseases’: gout, whooping cough and scarlet fever on rise There has been a sharp rise in hospital visits for diseases that were common during the Victorian era, such as scarlet fever, whooping cough and gout, research reveals.

Despite certain illnesses virtually being eradicated in the 1950s, hospital attendances for some “Victorian diseases” have risen by 52% since 2010-11, an increase of over 3,000 admissions a year.

The rise has been put down to sustained cuts to local authority public health budgets, which experts say have resulted in the services that protect against illness being scaled back. The Guardian

300,000 extra operations could be carried out every year 'if surgeons planned holidays in advance'

300,000 extra operations could be carried out every year 'if surgeons planned holidays in advance'

An extra 300,000 operations could be carried out in England if surgeons planned their holidays in advance and managed their time better, watchdogs have suggested.

Regulators said better scheduling of surgery, and planning ahead could mean around 290,000 more operations carried out annually.

NHS Improvement on Monday urged hospitals to use a simple model, which means surgical staff agree their annual leave six weeks in advance and plan their surgical lists afterwards. The Telegraph

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