Monday 10 February 2020

Northampton General Hospital leads the way with artificial intelligence in UK-first for cancer patients

Northampton General Hospital leads the way with artificial intelligence in UK-first for cancer patients Radiotherapy patients at Northampton General Hospital are the first in the UK to be benefitting from the use of artificial intelligence for treating head and neck cancer.

This software learns how treatment plans have been generated for up to a hundred previous patients treated at NGH.

It then predicts the best possible plan for a new patients with head and neck cancer. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

It’s the Year of the Nurse, but will 2020 see nursing student numbers recover?

It’s the Year of the Nurse, but will 2020 see nursing student numbers recover? The previous Conservative government hoped that removing the nursing bursary in 2017 would mean universities would offer more training places, eventually leading to 10,000 more nursing students. Instead the number of nursing applications dropped, while acceptances remained broadly static. The new Conservative government has restored elements of the bursary, but will this be enough to address the decrease in applications of recent years? The King's Fund

Secretary of State makes new regulations on Coronavirus

Secretary of State makes new regulations on Coronavirus In light of the recent public health emergency from the novel Coronavirus originating from Wuhan, Secretary of State has made regulations to ensure that the public are protected as far as possible from the transmission of the virus. Department of Health and Social Care

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Sector pulse check: the impact of the changes to the social care sector in 2019

Sector pulse check: the impact of the changes to the social care sector in 2019 According to this report, the number of social care providers who say they have been forced to cut support for vulnerable adults has doubled in the last 12 months as a direct result of financial pressures. The report also highlighted that providers are taking action to promote positive mental health within their organisations, and that the sector recognises the benefits of technology. Hft

    NHS cancer patients 'missing out on basics information'

    NHS cancer patients 'missing out on basics information' Cancer patients in England are missing out on basic information about their diseases because of staff shortages in the NHS, a charity has warned.

    Macmillan Cancer Support said at least 120,000 patients a year felt topics including treatments and side effects were not fully explained.

    The charity blamed "soaring" staffing pressures, which left people "in the dark" about how to prepare.

    The NHS said satisfaction levels with cancer care were at a record high. BBC News

    HIV in older people: 'I thought it was a young person's illness'

    HIV in older people: 'I thought it was a young person's illness' When 59-year-old Ashley was in hospital with appendicitis, neither Ashley nor the doctors considered HIV.

    "They said there's nothing wrong with you, you've had a virus - not knowing that I'd still got the biggest virus you could possibly get," Ashley recalls.

    Ashley was diagnosed with HIV three years ago, after having unprotected sex.

    But the late diagnosis meant the virus had already started to damage Ashley's immune system. BBC News

    Dying doctor warns of asbestos ‘hidden epidemic’ caused by NHS failures

    Dying doctor warns of asbestos ‘hidden epidemic’ caused by NHS failures A doctor and mother of two with just months left to live has warned of a “hidden epidemic” of asbestos-related cancers among NHS staff and patients because hospitals have failed to properly handle the toxic material.

    Kate Richmond, 44, has spoken out to raise awareness after she won a legal case against the NHS for negligently exposing her to asbestos while she was working as a medical student and junior doctor.

    An investigation by The Independent has learnt there have been 13 prosecutions linked to NHS breaches of regulations for the handling of asbestos since 2010, while 381 compensation claims have been made by NHS staff for work-related diseases, including exposure to asbestos, since 2013, costing the health service more than £26m.

    Revealed: how drugs giants can access your health records

    Revealed: how drugs giants can access your health records Experts say information sold on by Department of Health and Social Care can be traced back to individual medical records

    The Department of Health and Social Care has been selling the medical data of millions of NHS patients to American and other international drugs companies having misled the public into believing the information would be “anonymous”, according to leading experts in the field.

    Senior NHS figures have told the Observer that patient data compiled from GP surgeries and hospitals – and then sold for huge sums for research – can routinely be linked back to individual patients’ medical records via their GP surgeries. They say there is clear evidence this is already being done by companies and organisations that have bought data from the DHSC, having identified individuals whose medical histories are of particular interest.

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    New mothers in England to receive health check six weeks after giving birth

    New mothers in England to receive health check six weeks after giving birth Campaigners welcome move to assess women for physical and mental wellbeing

    New mothers will be given a physical and mental health check six weeks after giving birth, in a victory for campaigners.

    From April, the 600,000 women a year who have babies in England will undergo an assessment of their health and wellbeing with either a GP or practice nurse at their surgery. The Guardian

    Just one in 10 GPs working full-time with 40% switching to locum work that earns them up to £200,000

    Just one in 10 GPs working full-time with 40% switching to locum work that earns them up to £200,000 Old-fashioned GPs who work full-time in a family surgery are fast becoming a dying breed, according to figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday.

    Just over one general practitioner in ten is now in a permanent, full-time position, statistics compiled by the General Medical Council (GMC) reveal.

    Instead, four in ten now operate full or part-time as locums where they can earn up to £200,000 a year and avoid the administrative and financial burdens of running a surgery. The Daily Mail

    Boris Johnson plans new law to force Sir Simon Stevens NHS England chief executive to obey orders

    Boris Johnson plans new law to force Sir Simon Stevens NHS England chief executive to obey orders Boris Johnson is planning to bring in a new law that will take power away from the head of the NHS and give it to Downing Street, it has been claimed.

    Staff at No10 are concerned that NHS England's chief executive Sir Simon Stevens wields too much power over the health service.

    Mr Johnson's chief aide Dominic Cummings believes current legislation allows Sir Simon too much freedom and restricts the Government's ability to tweak the healthcare system as it sees fit, reports The Times. The Daily Mail

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