Monday 12 August 2019

New 'symbol of hope' cancer care centre to be built at Northampton General Hospital

New 'symbol of hope' cancer care centre to be built at Northampton General Hospital Plans have been submitted to build a cancer care centre to provide free practical, emotional and social support to cancer sufferers and their family and friends.

If plans are successful the 'Maggie's Centre', named after Maggie Keswick Jencks, will be built on Northampton General Hospital land, just off Cliftonville. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Kettering General Hospital celebrates being MRSA free for four years

Kettering General Hospital celebrates being MRSA free for four years Kettering General Hospital is celebrating being free of MRSA bloodstream infections for four years.

The hospital is reporting that not one patient has contracted the most serious kind of MRSA infection which affects the bloodstream – known as bacteraemia - while being treated at the hospital since May 2015.

It says this is a significant achievement because hospitals are higher risk environments for blood stream MRSA infections because of the large amount of surgery undertaken and the use of devices like catheters and intravenous drips. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Barriers to accessing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on NHS prescription

Barriers to accessing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on NHS prescription This document provides information on the findings and recommendations following NHS England and NHS Improvement’s review of the barriers to prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

Pension tax rules - impact on NHS consultants and GPs

Pension tax rules - impact on NHS consultants and GPs This briefing note focuses on the current debate about the impact of pension tax rules on some senior NHS staff. House of Commons Library

    UK national eye health and hearing study: case for investment

    UK national eye health and hearing study: case for investment This report argues that a lack of accurate data is contributing to a £58 billion bill for vision and hearing loss in the UK. This takes into account, medical costs, for example falls and fractures caused by visual impairment, an increased risk of dementia due to hearing loss, service costs, and reduced employment. It calls on the government to support the first ever national survey of the UK population’s sensory needs. Vision UK

      Average GP waiting times exceed two weeks for first time ever

      Average GP waiting times exceed two weeks for first time ever The average wait for a routine GP appointment is now more than two weeks, for the first time ever, according to Pulse's annual survey of waiting times.

      A midpoint analysis of data from the survey of 901 GPs across the UK found that the average waiting time is now 15 days - the first time it has ever exceeded a fortnight.

      More than 22% of GPs said that the wait for a routine appointment was more than three weeks, with 6% said that it was longer than four weeks. Pulse

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      Dementia and how to change your house to make life easier

      Dementia and how to change your house to make life easier A house in the UK designed especially to help people with dementia is inspiring families, care-home owners and council workers to make changes to their own homes.

      Lighter carpets and carefully chosen paint colours are just some of the tweaks that you can make which can keep people with dementia living independently for longer - saving both families and local authorities money in care fees. BBC News

      Drug maker 'will make $21bn from treating cystic fibrosis'

      Drug maker 'will make $21bn from treating cystic fibrosis' Vertex is accused of raking in vast profits while making Orkambi unaffordable to NHS

      A US company, which is refusing to drop its price for the life-changing cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi to make it affordable to NHS England, is set to make $21bn (£17bn) in profit from that and a sister medicine, according to research.

      Countries around the world are struggling to pay for Orkambi, made by Vertex, which has a list price of £104,000 per patient per year and is not a cure. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in England has said it is not cost effective. On Monday, the Scottish Medicines Consortium will decide whether to approve the drug for children. The Guardian

      Thousands at risk of type 2 diabetes to be offered wearable tech

      Thousands at risk of type 2 diabetes to be offered wearable tech Digital scheme will allow users to access health coaches and will connect to online peer support groups

      Thousands of people in England at risk of contracting type 2 diabetes will receive wearable tech to help monitor their exercise level, the NHS has said.

      Up to 8,000 people could benefit from the digital scheme designed to combat the disease, which has been spreading rapidly on the back of the obesity epidemic. The Guardian

      National HRT shortage leaves 200,000 menopausal women suffering as experts warn alternatives could also run out

      National HRT shortage leaves 200,000 menopausal women suffering as experts warn alternatives could also run out A national shortage of HRT which could affect "almost all" of the UK's 200,000 menopausal women on the drug is now threatening the availability of alternatives, experts have warned.

      Hormone Replacement Therapy replaces the oestrogen that the body stops producing during menopause. New figures show that around half of these brands are currently unavailable in the country. The Daily Telegraph

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      DR ELLIE CANNON: Why, for the first time in my career, I'm ashamed to work for the NHS

      DR ELLIE CANNON: Why, for the first time in my career, I'm ashamed to work for the NHS For too long, I have stayed silent about the growing catalogue of NHS inadequacies chipping away at my patients’ care.

      But this week, yet another inexplicable decision was, for me, the final straw.

      It was the first time in my 13-year GP career that I felt embarrassed to work for the NHS. The Daily Mail