Dementia care costs set to rise by 93 per cent in next 10 years in Northamptonshire

Dementia care costs set to rise by 93 per cent in next 10 years in Northamptonshire The cost of caring for loved ones living with dementia in Northamptonshire is set to soar by a frightening 93 per cent over the next decade.

Research by the Alzheimer’s Society shows that many families are being forced to sell their homes and empty their life savings to pay for care because they do not qualify for state support.

Latest figures show overall care costs across Northamptonshire will rise from £366million to £676m in 2030. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Mental health services: meeting the need for capital investment

Mental health services: meeting the need for capital investment There there has been prolonged under-investment in facilities across the English NHS. However, while restricted capital funding is affecting all sectors of the NHS, there is a particular need for capital investment within the mental health sector. This briefing summarises the findings of a survey NHS Providers sent to NHS mental health trusts and foundation trusts to gather further evidence on the sector’s capital funding needs, to support the case they are making for the sector to receive its fair share of capital investment in future. NHS Providers

Time is running out: UK women facing fatal delays in ovarian cancer diagnosis

Time is running out: UK women facing fatal delays in ovarian cancer diagnosis Women’s lives are being lost because of delays in ovarian cancer diagnosis, according to our new report: “Time is running out: The need for early diagnosis in ovarian cancer”.

The contrast is stark. A woman with an early stage diagnosis of ovarian cancer has an over 90 per cent chance of surviving the disease. Yet one in five women (20 per cent) are too ill to receive any treatment by the time they finally receive a diagnosis, and a third of women (32 per cent) die within a year of their diagnosis.

Our latest report highlights the way that lives are needlessly being lost due to lost time: the time it takes for a woman to visit her GP, the time it takes for a GP to consider ovarian cancer as a potential diagnosis, and the time it takes to carry out diagnostic tests. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We're calling on UK governments to commit to action. Target Ovarian Cancer

See also:

• Thousands of women's lives are being lost to ovarian cancer because of needless delays in diagnosis The Daily Mail

Poorest women's life expectancy declines, finds report

Poorest women's life expectancy declines, finds report Life expectancy among women living in the poorest communities in England has declined since 2011, says a report warning of growing health inequalities.

Overall, life expectancy growth has stalled over the past decade - for the first time in 100 years.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there was "still much more to do".

The largest decreases were seen in the most deprived areas of north-east England, while the biggest increases were in the richest parts of London.

Similar trends can be seen right across the UK, the report said. BBC News

See also:

• Fair Society Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review) Institute of Health Equity
• Wake-up call to government on immigration and health inequalities NHS Employers
• Life expectancy grinds to a halt in England for the first time in 100 YEARS The Daily Mail
• Health in England 'faltering' after 10 years of austerity, warns damning Marmot review GPonline
• Austerity blamed for life expectancy stalling for first time in century The Guardian
• The Guardian view on inequality and health: a matter of life and death | Editorial The Guardian

Coronavirus: Britons returning from Italy told to self-isolate

Coronavirus: Britons returning from Italy told to self-isolate Britons returning from northern Italy are being told to self-isolate in the UK if they show coronavirus symptoms.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said those people coming back from north of Pisa are asked to stay at home for 14 days.

The advice also applies to anyone who recently returned from Italy's quarantined towns even if they have no symptoms, he said. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus: UK 'well prepared' to deal with cases, says government BBC News
• Coronavirus: Worst-hit countries boost containment efforts BBC News
• Coronavirus: The race to find the source in wildlife BBC News
• Coronavirus: NHS hospitals banned from stockpiling protective masks The Independent

Adults to be automatically enrolled as organ donors under new law

Adults to be automatically enrolled as organ donors under new law All adults in England will be automatically enrolled as organ donors unless they choose to opt out, under a new law due to come into force in May.

MPs are set to approve the system “deemed consent” on Tuesday as part of a bid to boost the number of transplants on the NHS.

It is estimated that the opt-out method, known as Max and Keira’s law, will lead to an additional 700 organ transplants each year by 2023 and cut down the list of 5,200 people waiting for life-changing surgery. The Independent

Guilt and anger surface as infected blood inquiry hears evidence

Guilt and anger surface as infected blood inquiry hears evidence Some victims’ diagnosis of HIV and hepatitis C was withheld from them for years, hearing told

The guilt of infected blood donors and the anger of victims whose diagnosis of HIV and hepatitis C was withheld from them for years has emerged as evidence given in secret was read out to a public hearing in London.

On Monday witnesses who did not want to appear in person had their testimony delivered by intermediaries who interviewed them for the infected blood inquiry. It is examining how as many as 30,000 people became severely ill after being given contaminated blood products by the NHS in the 1970s and 80s; many have since died.

The infected blood inquiry will investigate how thousands of people with the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia were given blood products by the NHS which were contaminated with the HIV virus and hepatitis C. The Guardian

Open-backed NHS gowns which leave patients worried about flashing their buttocks should be scrapped

Open-backed NHS gowns which leave patients worried about flashing their buttocks should be scrapped Anyone who has ever had to walk along a hospital corridor wearing an open-back NHS gown — split from shoulder to buttocks — can confirm it is an undignified experience.

Even if it fits, the slightest draught can cause the gown to flap open, giving anyone passing a glimpse of the nether regions — or, if you're lucky, a pair of paper pants.

Although they're meant to be worn mainly in operating theatres and for X-rays, many patients get stuck in the gowns for the entire time they're in hospital. The Daily Mail

See also:

• David Oliver: There’s no dignity in hospital gowns The BMJ