NHS at 75: What next?

NHS at 75: What next? As the NHS turns 75 this week, politicians will use the moment to underline their loyalty to the service and how they would improve it – before their attention moves onto their manifestos ahead of the general election. Rishi Sunak has already set out the five ‘people’s priorities’ for voters to judge his premiership, including cutting the NHS waiting list. Keir Starmer recently launched Labour’s NHS ’mission’ to tackle the biggest killers and improve healthy life expectancy. But are these what the NHS actually needs? The Health Foundation

See also:

• The NHS was never meant to go it alone The Health Foundation
• The NHS at 75: How do we meet the needs of future generations? NHS Confederation
• NHS at 75: Still caring from cradle to grave BBC News
• NHS 75th anniversary: What state is the health service in? Channel 4 News
• The NHS is 'collapsing' – leading medic warns Evening Standard
• NHS at 75 - NHS Confederation CEO warns reform is needed to save lives ITV News

First major survey of doctors with Long Covid reveals debilitating impact on health, life and work

First major survey of doctors with Long Covid reveals debilitating impact on health, life and work Lost jobs, lost income, debilitating symptoms that render even the most mundane tasks near-impossible, and huge barriers to accessing treatment: these are the repeated stories of UK doctors living with Long Covid, in response to a major survey from the BMA.

Carried out in partnership with the support group Long Covid Doctors for Action, it is the first comprehensive survey of doctors with post-acute Covid health complications (often referred to as ‘Long Covid’). More than 600 doctors suffering the continuing effects of Covid-19 were asked about the impact the condition is having on their health, daily lives, employment and finances.

Digital transformation in the NHS

Digital transformation in the NHS Successive Governments have recognised the importance of moving the NHS onto a digital footing. “Digital transformation” encompasses “digitising” services and processes that have traditionally been delivered physically, and greater use of innovative approaches to care that are enabled by advances in technology. 

Digital transformation is vital for the long-term sustainability of the health service: the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department) and NHS England believe that a shift to digital channels (such as the NHS App) is necessary to delivering priorities such as reducing care backlogs and improving access to primary care. Digital can also deliver improvements in care to patients, ranging from increased convenience to access to cutting-edge treatments and diagnostics. House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee

Portrait of nurse of 47 years among winners of NHS staff and volunteers photography competition

Portrait of nurse of 47 years among winners of NHS staff and volunteers photography competition Five winners of a photography competition for NHS staff and volunteers to mark 75 years of the health service have been unveiled today at the FUJIFILM House of Photography, with images including long-serving nurse, ‘Mother Obe’, the NHS COVID-19 vaccination effort and an ambulance battling the Beast from the East among the winning images. NHS England

Smartwatches may provide early Parkinson's diagnosis

Smartwatches may provide early Parkinson's diagnosis Smartwatches might help diagnose Parkinson's disease up to seven years ahead of symptoms, a study suggests.

The UK Dementia Research Institute team at Cardiff University used artificial intelligence to analyse data from 103,712 smartwatch wearers.

And by tracking their speed of movement over a single week, between 2013 and 2016, they were able to predict which would go on to develop Parkinson's.

It is hoped this could ultimately be used as a screening tool. BBC News

See also:

• Wearable movement-tracking data identify Parkinson’s disease years before clinical diagnosis (abstract) Nature Medicine
• Smart watches could spot Parkinson's seven years before key symptoms appear, study suggests The Daily Mail
• Smart watches could detect Parkinson’s seven years before symptoms The Independent
• Smartwatches could help identify symptoms of Parkinson's disease Sky News

PTSD affects 300,000 young people in England and Wales, Channel 4 finds

PTSD affects 300,000 young people in England and Wales, Channel 4 finds Thousands of young people are living with post-traumatic stress disorder, with most cases going untreated, a Channel 4 documentary has revealed.

About 311,000 16- to 24-year-olds in England and Wales have PTSD, with most cases linked to personal assault and violence, according to figures estimated for the show.

Low awareness of the symptoms and the difficulty of diagnosing PTSD means that 70% of cases go untreated. If the NHS offered more early intervention therapy, it could save £2.4bn in taxpayer money, according to Channel 4’s analysis of research by King’s College London and Office for National Statistics data. The Guardian

See also:

• Untold Stories: Trapped in trauma (documentary) Channel 4

Revealed: Thousands dying in hospitals because patients cannot be discharged

Revealed: Thousands dying in hospitals because patients cannot be discharged None of us like to think of our own death, but when we do, most of us hope we will be in our homes, peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.

For thousands of people every year that doesn’t happen.

Instead they die in hospital, not for any good reason, but because the hospital cannot discharge them – because there is no support in the community.

The problems in social care block up hospitals in England denying many the hospital treatment they deserve and others the deaths they might hope for. Channel 4 News

Sight-saving drug to be offered to premature babies, announces NHS

Sight-saving drug to be offered to premature babies, announces NHS Premature babies across England will be offered a sight-saving drug, the NHS has announced.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that can occur among babies who are born early or those born with a low birth weight.

Now the NHS is offering new “life-changing” drug ranibizumab to babies with ROP across England who are unable to receive traditional treatment. The Independent

See also:

• NHS to offer sight-saving drug to premature babies BBC News

‘You reach a point where you can’t live your life’: what is behind extreme hoarding?

‘You reach a point where you can’t live your life’: what is behind extreme hoarding? Hoarding can be distressing and dangerous. But it’s not just a matter of ‘too much stuff’ – it’s a complex condition that requires careful, targeted help. The Guardian

Fewer teens now VIEW themselves as overweight even though record number are MEDICALLY obese

Fewer teens now VIEW themselves as overweight even though record number are MEDICALLY obese The vast majority of teens now underestimate their body weight at the expense of their health, a new global study suggests.

Nearly 14 percent of adolescents aged believed themselves to be lighter than they actually were while over a quarter overestimated their weight 

That is despite ballooning obesity rates nationwide, with 43 percent of adults and 25 percent of youth qualifying as medically too fat or having a body mass index of over 30.  The Daily Mail

See also:

• Cross-national time trends in adolescent body weight perception and the explanatory role of overweight/obesity prevalence (open access) Child and Adolescent Obesity