Thursday 13 June 2019

Health charities make urgent call for £1 billion a year to reverse cuts to public health funding

Health charities make urgent call for £1 billion a year to reverse cuts to public health funding Two leading health charities say that the government must make a clear and urgent commitment to restoring £1 billion of real-terms per head cuts to the public health grant which enables local authorities to deliver vital preventive services that protect and improve health. The King's Fund 

See also:

The best job in the world? - the views of first-time NHS chief executives

The best job in the world? - the views of first-time NHS chief executives  This report contains the observations of nine new NHS chief executives, with tenures from 18 months to 2.5 years. It outlines the views of the new NHS chief executives on the changes in leadership approach and culture that they believe will be required if the NHS is to meet the ambitions of the Long Term Plan. NHS Confederation

    NHS failure to meet waiting times targets risks patients' lives

    NHS failure to meet waiting times targets risks patients' lives Only 38% of NHS trusts meeting 62-day waiting times standard for referral to treatment for cancer patients.

    Waiting list for elective care has increased by 1.5 million since March 2013.

    The NHS treats more and more people each year, and patients have a right to expect to receive treatment within the timescales set out by the NHS Constitution.

    But more and more patients are being let down by the NHS’s continued failure to meet deadlines for waiting times. The percentage of patients treated within waiting times standards continues to get worse for both elective (non-urgent care) and cancer treatment.

    It is unacceptable that less than half of NHS trusts and foundation trusts (trusts) meet the 18-week waiting times standard for elective treatment, and only 38% meet the 62-day standard from referral to treatment for cancer patients.  Commons Public Accounts Committee

    See also:

    Environmental health inequalities in Europe: second assessment report

    Environmental health inequalities in Europe: second assessment report This report documents the magnitude of environmental health inequalities within countries through 19 inequality indicators on urban, housing and working conditions, basic services and injuries. Inequalities in risks and outcomes occur in all countries in the WHO European Region, and the latest evidence confirms that socially disadvantaged population subgroups are those most affected by environmental hazards, causing avoidable health effects and contributing to health inequalities. World Health Organization

    NHS to investigate GP 'fraud' in retaining ghost patients

    Brexit: Care providers say number of EU workers falling

    Brexit: Care providers say number of EU workers falling Providers of social care in the UK have told Newsnight they have seen a "frightening" decline in the numbers of EU nationals applying for jobs in the sector.

    Jane Stewart from Peach Nursing said she currently employed just one British carer out of 44.

    She said a drop in EU nationals applying for jobs meant that for the first time in 14 years she was forced to tell people: "I can't help you."

    But the Department for Health and Social Care said the numbers of EU nationals working in the sector had risen since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

    The department also said they “recognise the invaluable contribution of care workers” and they “remain focused on reaching a deal with the EU which benefits the health and care workforce”. BBC News

    Trust me, I’m a disabled doctor

    Trust me, I’m a disabled doctor An A&E consultant, a psychiatrist, and two junior doctors swap notes on being disabled in the medical profession.

    Emergency medicine consultant Dr Cieran McKiernan speaks on the perils of self-diagnosis. He lost his leg after failing to treat a blister which became a 5cm-sq hole in his foot.

    Trainee GP Dr Hannah Barham-Brown's wheelchair means she's regularly mistaken for a patient, while Dr Emily Burns spotted one patient's 'diagnosis' of Query Malingering - a euphemism for faking it - was actually Ehlers Danlos syndrome, a rare condition she has herself.

    Dr Caroline Walker says she hasn't got to go far to find doctors who, like her, have mental health difficulties.

    The foursome chat about the ups and down of the medical profession, the ambition to embrace diversity and how working less than full-time hours could be beneficial to all junior doctors. BBC News

    Postpartum psychosis: 'I always feared I’d go mad, and when I had my son I did'

    Postpartum psychosis: 'I always feared I’d go mad, and when I had my son I did' Jen Wight lived in fear of mental illness after her elder sister, Jo, was sectioned when they were teenagers. But by the age of 36 she had a good job, was happily married and had just given birth to a healthy baby. It seemed that she had been worrying for no reason. BBC News

    Contaminated blood inquiry: Family's call for justice

    Contaminated blood inquiry: Family's call for justice Jackie Tomkinson is clear what she wants from the Infected Blood Inquiry - justice.

    Her husband David, a haemophiliac, died of Aids after contracting HIV through contaminated blood products supposed to help his condition.

    Mrs Tomkinson and her daughter Rebecca, of Otley in West Yorkshire, have submitted evidence to the inquiry, which could last more than two years.

    Headed by retired judge Sir Brian Langstaff, the inquiry is travelling around the UK to hear personal testimony from people affected by contaminated blood.

    It has just started sitting in Leeds in West Yorkshire for two weeks. BBC News

    See also:

    More funding and support needed for younger people with dementia, says patient

    More funding and support needed for younger people with dementia, says patient Younger people with dementia and those who give up work to support them need more funding, according to a man who developed an early onset form of the disease.

    Paul Hoskins also called for more funds for research into it. The Independent

    Drug shortages are endangering lives and wasting NHS time

    Drug shortages are endangering lives and wasting NHS time | Zara Aziz I shouldn’t have to spend large chunks of my day tracking down certain medicines or researching alternatives

    As a GP, managing patients’ medicine requests has until now been a seamless process of writing prescriptions to send to nominated pharmacies to dispense. But drug shortages mean that many common medications are often “out of stock” so I have to identify and prescribe alternatives. Yet, it is not always apparent which alternatives are in stock and whether a problem is limited to a few pharmacies (with different wholesalers) or is a universal shortage.

    All this takes lots of staff and patient time, and scarce resources, away from healthcare. If a shortage occurs during a busy on-call surgery or just before a holiday break, out-of-stock queries pile up.

    Patients risk running out of medication and suffering adverse reactions. The Guardian

    University students are happy to have their mental health issues shared with their parents, poll finds

    University students are happy to have their mental health issues shared with their parents, poll finds Students would be happy to have their mental health issues flagged with their parents by university, a survey has found.

    Four in five (81 per cent) undergraduates said that their university could share information with their next of kin, according to a poll of over 14,000 students.

    The annual Student Academic Experience Survey, conducted by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) and the sector group Advance HE, also found that students are increasingly anxious. The Daily Telegraph

    See also:

    Men suffering mental health issues can be put off asking for help

    Men suffering mental health issues can be put off asking for help Female GP receptionists can put men off asking for help with mental health issues, experts said yesterday.

    Those seeking assistance can struggle to open up to a member of the opposite sex, especially strangers, MPs were told. Professor Sarah Niblock, of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, told the Commons women and equalities committee of the ‘stigma’ and ‘shame’ many men feel about admitting they need help.

    The committee is looking at barriers men face accessing support. The Daily Mail

    See also:

    Children with rare conditions will be offered DNA sequencing at all intensive-care units in England

    Children with rare conditions will be offered DNA sequencing at all intensive-care units in England Every sick child in England with mysterious conditions will have the chance to have their entire DNA mapped as of next year.

    All youngsters admitted to intensive care in England with an unknown disorder will be offered a genome analysis from January.

    The NHS will be the first in the world to offer the screening, also an option given to the parents of children, carried out via a blood sample.

    Experts say the move could transform the diagnosis of children with rare diseases. The Daily Mail