Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Transforming Integrated Care in the Community (TICC): blueprint
Transforming Integrated Care in the Community (TICC): blueprint This report captures the key lessons of a project undertaken by organisations in four European countries (UK, France, the Netherlands and Belgium) to explore what is involved in taking a highly successful innovation in one national context and applying it in others. The example of Buurtzorg was chosen because of its undoubted and extraordinary success in its country of origin, the Netherlands, where it has revolutionised community-based health and care services. Its achievements - improving care, the jobs of professionals providing care, and resource use - provided the inspiration for the organisations that came together as partners in this project with a view to replicating its achievements in their own countries and localities. Health and Europe Centre
Continuing to pay the price: the impact of prescription charges on people living with long term conditions
Continuing to pay the price: the impact of prescription charges on people living with long term conditions A survey of more than 4,000 people with long-term conditions has found that having to pay for a prescription stops some people getting the medicines they need. The survey also showed people with long-term health conditions who cannot afford their medication are visiting their GPs and A&E more than before. There has also been an increase in hospital stays, mental health issues and time off work. The Prescription Charges Coalition brings together around 50 organisations and professional bodies to campaign to scrap prescription charges in England for people with long-term conditions. Prescription Charges Coalition
NHS slashes longest elective and cancer waits for patients
NHS slashes longest elective and cancer waits for patients The number of people waiting over 18 months for NHS care has fallen again despite continued demand for services, new figures show today.
Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff across the country, the number of patients waiting more than 18 months for care has fallen by more than four fifths since the peak.
Latest figures show a total of 20,101 patients were waiting over 18 months for elective treatment as of 19 March, down from 123,969 in September 2021. NHS England
Road noise makes blood pressure rise, study finds
Road noise makes blood pressure rise, study finds The sound of roaring engines and wailing sirens endured by people who live near busy roads can make their blood pressure rise, academics say.
University of Leicester researchers found a link between noisy road traffic and increased risk of hypertension.
Previous studies suggested it was unclear how noise or air pollution affected blood pressure.
However, academics said the new research was a "game-changer" that could affect future environment policy. BBC News
See also:
- Road Traffic Noise and Incidence of Primary Hypertension: A Prospective Analysis in UK Biobank (open access) JACC Advances
Laughing gas: Experts warn nitrous oxide ban will not stop use
Laughing gas: Experts warn nitrous oxide ban will not stop use A ban on laughing gas will not stop people using it and will drive it into criminal hands, say experts.
The government has defended its plans to tackle anti-social behaviour, including making the possession of nitrous oxide a criminal offence.
The Drug Science scientific charity says a blanket ban "is completely disproportionate" and "would likely deliver more harm than good". BBC News
See also:
- Nitrous oxide: updated harms assessment Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
- Nitrous oxide: What is it and how dangerous is it? BBC News
- Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas overdose left woman unable to walk BBC News
- The government is banning laughing gas. But just how dangerous is it? BBC Science Focus
- Rishi Sunak to ignore independent advice and ban laughing gas in UK The Guardian
- Experts say laughing gas ban ‘will not stop young people using it’ The Independent
- Rishi Sunak says 'entirely reasonable' to ban laughing gas - despite experts advising against it ITV News
- What is nitrous oxide? What you need to know about laughing gas set to be banned by the UK government Sky News
RCN pay vote: Almost 280,000 nursing staff to vote on new NHS pay offer in England
RCN pay vote: Almost 280,000 nursing staff to vote on new NHS pay offer in England Almost 280,000 nurses in England will vote on whether to accept or reject the government's NHS pay offer from today.
Following six days of strike action since mid-December, negotiations were held between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), along with other unions, and health ministers in late February and early March.
The government subsequently made a pay offer on 16 March. The RCN is recommending its members accept the deal. Sky News
See also:
- Voting opens on NHS pay offer for nursing staff in England Royal College of Nursing
- The NHS pay offer - what it means for you UNISON
- Why it’s time to say YES to NHS pay UNISON
- Unite announces consultation on government’s offer to NHS workers in England Unite
- Nursing staff in England to vote on new NHS pay offer The Independent
Doctor took her own life after working in hospital with 'toxic environment'
Doctor took her own life after working in hospital with 'toxic environment' The father of a junior doctor who took her own life says action must be taken to change a "toxic environment" at the hospital where she worked.
Dr Ravi Kumar, who also works for the NHS, was speaking ahead of the publication of a report into allegations of bullying at the University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust, one of the largest hospital trusts in England. Sky News
Covid app for England and Wales discontinued as usage dwindles
Covid app for England and Wales discontinued as usage dwindles The Covid contact-tracing app for England and Wales, which was downloaded 31m times during the course of the pandemic, is being wound down later this week.
Coming about three years since the first nationwide lockdown, the move is part of a drive to encourage people to “learn to live” with the virus. Users of the app will receive a notification on Tuesday telling them it is being discontinued. They will no longer receive alerts informing them when they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. The Guardian
Mindfulness better than CBT for treating depression, study finds
Mindfulness better than CBT for treating depression, study finds Practising mindfulness is much better than taking part in talking therapies at helping people recover from depression, a British study has found.
People who used a mindfulness self-help book for eight weeks and had six sessions with a counsellor experienced a 17.5% greater improvement in recovery from depressive symptoms than those who underwent cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) while being supported by a mental health practitioner. The Guardian
See also:
Bodies of people with mental illness ‘biologically older than their actual age’
Bodies of people with mental illness ‘biologically older than their actual age’ The bodies of people with mental illness could be biologically older than their actual age, according to a new study.
The new research suggests people with a lifetime history of conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorders have signals in their blood that indicate they are older than their years. The Independent
Ouch! Cost of going to the dentist will rise by 8.5% next month
Ouch! Cost of going to the dentist will rise by 8.5% next month The cost of going to a dentist will rise by the largest amount for 17 years next month as part of price hikes branded ‘utterly grotesque’ by the British Dental Association.
NHS dental charges will increase by 8.5 per cent from April 24, the largest single jump since the current system of charges was introduced in 2006.
This means the cost of a filling will rise more than £5 from the current £65.20 to £70.70. The price of a basic check-up will rise from £23.80 to £25.80, while more complicated ‘band 3’ treatments such as crowns or dentures will increase by £24 to £306.80. The Daily Mail
See also:
- Dentists: Charge hike a political choice that will hit millions on modest incomes British Dental Association
New pill for cholesterol when statins don't work
New pill for cholesterol when statins don't work A new daily pill which dramatically lowered cholesterol in trials could soon be available to patients with particularly high levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.
MK-0616 has been shown to reduce levels of cholesterol by more than 60 per cent — depending on the dose. The Daily Mail
See also:
- Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor, MK-0616, Demonstrates Significant LDL-C Reduction in Phase 2b Trial Journal of the American College of Cardiology
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