UK to invest in new research against evolving global health threats

UK to invest in new research against evolving global health threats The Chief Medical Officer has announced funding for projects to help beat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and achieve global universal health coverage. Department of Health

Half of student midwives consider leaving training over financial concerns reveals RCM

Half of student midwives consider leaving training over financial concerns reveals RCM ‘Almost half of student midwives have considered leaving their midwifery courses due to financial pressures and debt’ that’s according to the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) who today have published the results of a new student midwife survey.

See also:

• Half of student midwives might quit courses over money worries OnMedica

Psychological perspectives on obesity: Addressing policy, practice and research priorities

Psychological perspectives on obesity: Addressing policy, practice and research priorities Policymakers must do more than tell people to show greater willpower if government is to crack the obesity problem, says a new report from the British Psychological Society.

See also:

• Obesity not caused by lack of willpower - psychologists BBC News

Individual and local area factors associated with self-reported wellbeing, perceived social cohesion and sense of attachment to one’s community: analysis of the Understanding Society Survey

Individual and local area factors associated with self-reported wellbeing, perceived social cohesion and sense of attachment to one’s community: analysis of the Understanding Society Survey The findings reported here are from an analysis of data from the Understanding Society Survey (USS) which follows a large sample of people from across Britain over time. This study was undertaken to examine questions likely to be especially relevant for those working in the field of public health intelligence, using small area statistics to identify localities where interventions may particularly need to be targeted in order to reduce inequalities in wellbeing across England. What Works Centre for Wellbeing

HTA and payment mechanisms for new drugs to tackle AMR

HTA and payment mechanisms for new drugs to tackle AMR This paper provides an overview of the current state of health technology assessment and contracting for antibiotics in five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK), and of the recent proposals in the literature for revising them. It also includes the recommendations developed following a stakeholder forum on ‘Value Assessment and Contracting for Antibiotics’ held in February 2019. Office of Health Economics

Inspectors discover poor standards at 28 mental health units

Inspectors discover poor standards at 28 mental health units Psychiatrists call for inquiry after report on private units, many occupied by NHS patients

Inspectors have found 28 privately run mental health units to be “inadequate” in the past three years, prompting fears that vulnerable patients are receiving poor and unsafe care.

The disclosure of such widespread substandard care in mental health facilities run by non-NHS providers has prompted psychiatrists to call for a public inquiry to investigate. The Guardian

Labour pledges to break patents and offer latest drugs on NHS

Labour pledges to break patents and offer latest drugs on NHS Jeremy Corbyn says party will create company to make cheap versions of drugs like Orkambi

Labour has pledged to create a publicly-owned company to make cheap versions of medicines the NHS needs but cannot afford, such as Orkambi, which is denied to thousands of children and young people with life-shortening cystic fibrosis.

Jeremy Corbyn told the Labour party conference that he had met nine-year-old Luis Walker, who suffers from the disease which clogs his lungs and makes breathing a struggle. “Every day he needs four hours of treatment and is often in hospital, which keeps him from school and his friends,” said Corbyn. The Guardian

See also:

• Labour proposals highlight urgent need for reform of social care The Health Foundation
• Scrapping prescription charges The King's Fund
• Nuffield Trust response to Labour’s social care announcement Nuffield Trust
• Labour would found state drug company to make medicines cheaper The Independent

Artificial intelligence can diagnose illnesses with as much accuracy as trained doctors, study finds

Artificial intelligence can diagnose illnesses with as much accuracy as trained doctors, study finds Artificial intelligence can identify illnesses as accurately as trained doctors, a major review has claimed.

Research shows AI can spot a host of conditions - ranging from cancer to rare eye diseases - with the same precision as medical professionals.

The computer programs uses 'deep learning' to train itself to spot diseases by analysing thousands of medical images. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Automated deep learning design for medical image classification by health-care professionals with no coding experience: a feasibility study (open access) Lancet Digital Health
• AI can now diagnose heart disease in just four seconds, as study shows machines now 'as good' as doctors The Daily Telegraph
• AI equal with human experts in medical diagnosis, study finds The Guardian
• AI similar to humans in disease diagnostic accuracy OnMedica

Spikes in air pollution can disrupt children's mental health, study finds

Spikes in air pollution can disrupt children's mental health, study finds Air pollution could disrupt children's mental health and worsen symptoms of conditions such as depression and anxiety, a study has found.

Even being exposed for a short time to levels of pollution too low to officially be considered dangerous could have an effect.

The risk of a child being taken to hospital because they had suicidal thoughts was found to increase by 44 per cent after a spike in air pollution. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Short-Term Air Pollution Exposure, Residential Greenspace, Community Deprivation, and Psychiatric Emergency Visits in Children (abstract) Environmental Health Perspectives