Making new technologies work for everyone

Making new technologies work for everyone The Office for National Statistics estimates around 1.5 million jobs in England are at high risk of having some of their duties automated in the future, while the World Economic Forum says nearly half of companiesexpect automation to lead to a reduction in their full-time workforce by 2022.

Reports like this understandably generate anxiety about what technological progress means for people’s livelihoods. And while automation – where a machine executes a task with minimal human input – has been with us since the Industrial Revolution, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are pushing the boundaries of what can be automated, not just in relation to manual work but complex cognitive tasks too, including in health care services. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Which health care jobs are the most likely to be affected by automation? The Health Foundation

Drivers of health care expenditure: final report

Drivers of health care expenditure: final report Since the NHS was established growth in health care expenditure (HCE) has outpaced the rise in both GDP and in total public expenditure. Known drivers of HCE growth include demographic factors, income and wealth effects, technology and cost pressures. To identify the challenges and opportunities for developing a model of health care demand, this report looks at drivers of past trends in health care expenditure and how much each of the drivers has contributed to past increases in expenditure. It also investigates how much each type of service contributed to past trends in health care expenditure and why there have been different trends for different types of care. Centre for Health Economics

Call for HPV jab to be offered to older boys

Call for HPV jab to be offered to older boys The Teenage Cancer Trust wants the HPV vaccine programme to be extended to older boys and young men.

Strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) are linked to the majority of cervical cancer cases as well as oral, throat and anal cancers.

Teenage girls have been able to get the HPV jab in the UK since 2008 but now boys aged 11-13 will be offered it too.

The government said that vaccinating older boys would only have "limited benefit". BBC News

See also:

• More than a million teenage boys to miss out on life-saving cancer vaccinations Teenage Cancer Trust
• One million teenage boys are denied HPV vaccine that can prevent cancer The Daily Mail
• Cancer charity fears for boys and men who miss out on HPV vaccination The Guardian
• More than a million teenage boys could miss out on cancer-preventing HPV vaccines, charity warns The Independent

Police 'dealing with more mental health incidents'

Police 'dealing with more mental health incidents' The number of mental health incidents dealt with by police has risen by more than a quarter in four years, figures obtained by BBC Radio 5 Live show.

While there were 385,206 incidents flagged as mental health-related in 2014, in 2018 that figure was 494,159, a rise of 28%.

Police chiefs have said the issue is affecting the amount of time officers can focus on fighting crime. BBC News

More than 120,000 NHS patients kept on ‘hidden waiting lists’ for mental health appointments

More than 120,000 NHS patients kept on ‘hidden waiting lists’ for mental health appointments People seeking help with their mental health are being kept on “hidden waiting lists”, with more than 122,000 patients waiting more than eight weeks to see a doctor again after their first appointment, The Independent can reveal.

Patients who received an initial talking therapy session were then told to wait longer for a follow-up appointment in 90 per cent of NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in 2018-19, according to the Labour Party. CCGs are responsible for the planning of health services in local areas; there are currently 191 across England.

More than 100,000 patients missed out on early cancer diagnosis because of NHS staff shortages, charity claims

More than 100,000 patients missed out on early cancer diagnosis because of NHS staff shortages, charity claims About half of all cancer patients in England failed to be diagnosed with cancer in its early stages in one year, a charity has said, sounding the alarm that NHS staff shortages are contributing to a loss of life.

Some 115,000 people in England were diagnosed with late-stage cancer in 2017, significantly hurting their chances of survival and leaving them with fewer treatment options, according to figures released by Public Health England and analysed by Cancer Research UK. The Independent

See also:

• Lack of government action on NHS staffing undermines ambition to diagnose cancer early Cancer Research UK
• NHS medics fail to spot nearly half of cancers in time because of a crippling staff shortage The Daily Mail
• Cancer patients in England 'diagnosed too late' due to staff shortages The Guardian

NHS reports protester to Prevent for joining Extinction Rebellion

NHS reports protester to Prevent for joining Extinction Rebellion A retired doctor who took part in non-violent environmental protests was visited by police at his home after his local NHS trust reported him to the government’s counter-terrorism programme.

Lyn Jenkins, 69, joined the Extinction Rebellion environmental campaign after he became convinced that urgent action was needed to avert climate breakdown.

His local NHS trust referred him to Prevent, the government’s flagship programme designed to stop people from becoming terrorists. The Guardian

Pharmacies to offer heart checkups in new NHS England scheme

Pharmacies to offer heart checkups in new NHS England scheme Early detection service at 320 pharmacies aims to prevent heart attacks and strokes

Heart checkups are to be offered at high street pharmacies under new plans from NHS England, as part of a programme which seeks to prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks and strokes over the next decade.

General practices will also join the fight against common conditions that lead to cardiovascular disease in a plan launched on Monday, working in specialist teams with pharmacists. Successful pilots of the measures reduced strokes by a quarter. The Guardian

See also:

• Heart checks while you shop: NHS announces plan to have pharmacies check shoppers' heart health in bid to cut deaths The Daily Telegraph

Unvaccinated university students driving rise in mumps cases, experts say

Unvaccinated university students driving rise in mumps cases, experts say Unvaccinated university students have been blamed for a surge in cases of mumps, after the highest total in a decade was recorded.

Some 2,028 cases of mumps were confirmed in the second quarter this year, Public Health England (PHE) said.

This is the highest quarterly figure since 2009, PHE said. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• MMR vaccination call following high numbers of cases Public Health England 
• Research and analysis: Measles, mumps and rubella: lab-confirmed cases in England 2019 Public Health England

NHS saves £300MILLION in a year by telling doctors to stop giving out expensive branded medications

NHS saves £300MILLION in a year by telling doctors to stop giving out expensive branded medications The NHS claims to have saved nearly £294 million this year by telling doctors to stop dishing out expensive branded medications.

Health watchdogs encourage the prescription of generic drugs or 'biosimilars' – near-identical products which are far cheaper but just as effective.

The crackdown has allowed the cash-strapped NHS to slash its bill for the most expensive drug by £110 million alone in the last financial year. The Daily Mail

See also:

• NHS cuts medicines costs by three quarters of a billion pounds NHS England

Patients left without vital IV nutrition threaten to drag the NHS to court

Patients left without vital IV nutrition threaten to drag the NHS to court Patients hit by a shortage of tube-feeding liquid are planning to take the NHS to court, according to their lawyer.

More than 40 people have ended up in hospital after a delay to the supplies of feeds for people who are unable to eat solid food.

After an inspection earlier in the year a manufacturer, Calea, was told to change its manufacturing process overnight and its supply chain was disrupted as a result. The Daily Mail