Queuing at NHS GP surgery in Wellingborough 'a bit 19th Century'

Queuing at NHS GP surgery in Wellingborough 'a bit 19th Century' Patients have taken to queuing outside a doctors surgery before it opens to try to get an appointment.

Those in the queue at Queensway Medical Centre in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, said they found it difficult to see a GP another way.

David Jones, of Healthwatch Northamptonshire, said "standing out in the rain to see a doctor feels a little bit 19th Century". BBC Northampton

Mounting cycle of pressures on GPs in deprived areas

Mounting cycle of pressures on GPs in deprived areas New analysis released today by the Health Foundation reveals a mounting cycle of pressures that is impacting disproportionately on GPs in the most deprived areas, increasing GP workload and leading to growing inequality in provision for patients.

See also:

• Primary care networks and the deprivation challenge The King's Fund

The NHS workforce in numbers: facts on staffing and staff shortages in England

The NHS workforce in numbers: facts on staffing and staff shortages in England The data used in this report shows that there has been a recent sustained fall in the number of GPs relative to the size of the population across the UK nations. This does not appear to have happened since the 1960s. For the overall number of GPs to have kept pace with the number of people in the UK since 2014 some 3,400 more GPs would have been needed. The Nuffield Trust

Raising the equality flag: health inequalities among older LGBT people in the UK

Raising the equality flag: health inequalities among older LGBT people in the UK This report highlights new findings from a recent project conducted by researchers at University College London, Cardiff University, and International Longevity Centre UK, funded by the Wellcome Trust, to explore the discrepancies in health outcomes experienced by older LGBT people. The research reveals that a lifetime of prejudice and stigma is leading to worse physical and mental health, poorer access to health and social care, as well as greater levels of social isolation and loneliness among older LGBT people.

NHS England funds £2million to boost system-wide leadership development

NHS England funds £2million to boost system-wide leadership development NHS England has funded a £2million programme to help 23 areas kick-start or boost leadership development activities to support and inspire workforce in health systems across England from GPs, consultants and therapists to nurses, social workers and manag

Restaurants ‘should list all ingredients’ says food agency

Restaurants ‘should list all ingredients’ says food agency Food outlets should list all ingredients in order to protect customers with allergies, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has proposed.

The FSA has recommended ministers adopt strict new rules, which include highlighting the 14 major allergens.

The proposals follow the death in 2016 of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who had eaten a sandwich from Pret a Manger. BBC News

UK girl first in world to have deadly superbug infection treated with bacteria-hunting GM viruses

UK girl first in world to have deadly superbug infection treated with bacteria-hunting GM viruses A British teenager with cystic fibrosis has become the first person in the world to be treated with genetically engineered, bacteria-hunting viruses, after developing a deadly infection.

Two years ago Isabelle Holdaway, now 17, was fighting for her life in Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) following a lung transplant and antibiotics were no longer having any effect.

"We were at the point where there was no other hope, they said she wasn't going to leave the hospital and had less than 1 per cent chance of survival," Isabelle's mother Jo Holdaway told The Independent.

See also:

• Phage therapy: 'Viral cocktail saved my daughter's life' BBC News

England lagging behind rest of UK in IVF cycles funded by the NHS

England lagging behind rest of UK in IVF cycles funded by the NHS Fertility treatment in other parts of Britain is far better supported, new data shows

The proportion of IVF treatments funded by the NHS in England has slumped to the lowest level ever recorded by Britain’s fertility regulator, new figures reveal.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said the NHS funded only 35% of IVF cycles in England in 2017, the lowest rate since data collection began in 2009. The figure represents a fall from a peak of more than 40% in 2010. The Guardian

See also:

• Frozen eggs 'are fastest fertility trend' BBC News
• Number of single women having IVF without partner QUADRUPLES in a decade BBC News
• The rise of the modern family: record numbers of gay couples and single women opt for IVF The Daily Telegraph
• Record number of single women and same-sex couples using fertility treatment iNews

Hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers after green light for drug which can delay wheelchair use by seven years

Hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers after green light for drug which can delay wheelchair use by seven years Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients have welcomed an NHS decision to fund a “landmark” drug which can delay the need for a wheelchair by seven years.

Health chiefs have announced they will soon make available ocrelizumab, the first effective medicine for people suffering from the early primary progressive form of the disease.

It follows an outcry last September after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which decides which treatments should be routinely paid for by the health service, rejected the drug due to its cost. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• We both now have hope - MS sisters BBC News
• Health watchdog approves first ever treatment for progressive form of MS in massive U-turn The Daily Mail
• New drug for multiple sclerosis patients after maker drops price The Guardian

Bikes to be prescribed on NHS for first time in attempt to improve health of overweight patients

Bikes to be prescribed on NHS for first time in attempt to improve health of overweight patients Bicycles are to be prescribed on the NHS for the first time in attempts to improve the health of overweight patients.

GPs in Wales will be able to assign six months of bike hire subscriptions on prescription for patients without charge.

The move is said to help patients by reducing their chances of a premature death as well as lessening their reliance on medication. The Daily Telegraph

NHS figures show obesity-related hospital admissions have risen 15% in a year

NHS figures show obesity-related hospital admissions have risen 15% in a year The number of people taken to hospital because of fat-related conditions shot up by 15 per cent last year.

More than 700,000 people seen in hospitals in England needed help for a problem which was either caused or made worse by the fact they were obese.

This was almost 100,000 more people than in 2017 and nine times as many as in 2008.

Women are almost twice as likely to end up in hospital because of their weight, and last year more fat women were hospitalised than people in total in 2014-15. The Daily Mail

See also:

• 711,000 hospital admissions where obesity was a factor in 2017/18 NHS Digital
• Soaring numbers of hospital admissions linked to obesity – and two thirds are female The Daily Telegraph
• Obesity-related hospital admissions in England rise by 15% The Guardian
• Number of obesity-related hospital admissions has increased by 15 per cent in just one year, NHS figures show The Independent