Official guidance may be delaying mouth cancer diagnosis

Official guidance may be delaying mouth cancer diagnosis Oral facial surgeons have raised concerns that new NICE guidance may be introducing delays for GP referrals of patients with suspected oral cancer for treatment.

A study has been published today in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (BJOMS), which suggests that updated guidance for oral cancer is causing delays in diagnosis and treatment.

Since the introduction of the two-week wait referral pathway for suspected cancer in 2000, diagnosis of lesions in the head and neck has been below 10%. OnMedica

With Men Less Likely To Seek Help With Their Mental Health, Access Must Be Made Easier

With Men Less Likely To Seek Help With Their Mental Health, Access Must Be Made Easier It is a stark and tragic fact that the biggest cause of death among young men in the UK is now suicide. And in the majority of cases, people who lose their life through suicide have not been in contact with mental health services prior to their death.

The mental health of men and boys is the subject of growing concern as a result of the realisation that poor mental health is now a leading cause of ill health and dramatically poorer prospects throughout life. And with evidence that men are less likely to seek help for their mental health, and that only a third of people with a mental health problem get any treatment, the need to improve access to support has become clear. Huffington Post UK

'Poor decisions and lack of compassion' reported at NHS trust

'Poor decisions and lack of compassion' reported at NHS trust Incidents found in secret review of Pennine Acute trust include a premature baby left to die alone in a sluice room

A secret medical review showed mothers and babies died at an NHS trust plagued by clinical errors, bad staff attitudes and chronic shortages.

The review, carried out by new maternity director Deborah Carter at Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust which operates North Manchester General and the Royal Oldham hospitals, outlines a string of avoidable deaths and long-term injuries caused by failures over many years. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Premature baby left to die alone in sluice room, report reveals BBC News
• Mothers and babies died at nhs trust plagued by errors - review The Daily Mail 
• Premature baby ‘left to die alone in sluice room’ at failing NHS hospital The Independent

Promising drug expected to become the first to slow down dementia found to not work

Promising drug expected to become the first to slow down dementia found to not work US pharma giant Eli Lilly announced a trial of 2,000 people had shown solanezumab showed no benefit for people with mild Alzheimer's, causing their share prices to take a tumble. The Daily Mail

Just 1 in 5 of adults really mean it when they tell other people that they are 'fine'

Just 1 in 5 of adults really mean it when they tell other people that they are 'fine' Almost a third of 2,000 Britons polled said they often lie about how they are feeling to other people. While one in ten said they always lie about how they are feeling emotionally, a survey found. The Daily Mail

See also:

• I'm fine The Mental Health Foundation

Premature baby dies after an outbreak of superbug MRSA at a neonatal intensive care unit

Premature baby dies after an outbreak of superbug MRSA at a neonatal intensive care unit Nine newborns were found to be carrying the deadly superbug at the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge, during an outbreak of MRSA in August. The Daily Mail

Northampton knitters called on to help keep dementia patients' hands warm with 'twiddlemuffs'

Northampton knitters called on to help keep dementia patients' hands warm with 'twiddlemuffs' Northampton General Hospital is calling on local knitters and knitting groups to support its latest dementia initiative. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Self care nation: self care attitudes and behaviours in the UK

Self care nation: self care attitudes and behaviours in the UK This research explores how people use GP and A&E services and finds that if they understood their own NHS ‘footprint’, 80 per cent would be more likely to seek advice from pharmacists and use over-the-counter remedies for coughs, colds and other self-treatable conditions. It reveals that the majority of people in the UK (92 per cent) acknowledge the importance of taking responsibility for their own health in order to ease the financial burden on the NHS. However, every year there are an estimated 57 million GP consultations and 3.7 million visits to A&E for self-treatable conditions, costing the NHS an estimated £2.3 billion. Proprietary Association of Great Britain

Sorting the plans

Sorting the plans Despite sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) emerging as a good means of addressing the need for financial stability, some strategies drawn up do not include enough substance to prove they are tackling the problems realistically, according to this report. In the report, CIPFA has analysed nine published STPs out of the 44 that are being developed in England to improve services while reducing costs. It found that although the plans set out proposals to close the widening financial gap, which the NHS estimates to be £30bn by 2020, some fail to set out a credible case for the deliverability of their savings plans. Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy

The financial sustainability of the NHS in England

The financial sustainability of the NHS in England This briefing provides background on the current funding settlement for the NHS in England, the financial and operational performance of the health service, and measures being taken to ensure its future sustainability, including Sustainability of Transformation Plans. The briefing also provides background on the Department of Health’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2015/16 and ongoing Select Committee scrutiny of NHS funding. House of Commons Library

STP checklist for governance and engagement

STP checklist for governance and engagement This resource aims to support those delivering change within their Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprints to work through key governance and accountability challenges. The document sets out a series of questions that can be asked locally and within boards to support effective discussion and decision-making across a place. The questions cover: governance, scrutiny and accountability; system-wide control totals; public engagement; and partnerships and collaborative working. NHS Clinical Comissioners

NHS cancer testing service 'at breaking point'

NHS cancer testing service 'at breaking point' NHS pathology departments are struggling to meet requests for cancer tests, Cancer Research UK warns. BBC News

See also:

• UK’s pathology services at tipping point Cancer Research UK
• Early cancer diagnosis tests are at risk as the NHS are at 'tipping point' due to a lack of staff and an ageing population The Daily Mail
• Cancer diagnosis drive has pushed NHS testing services to the brink The Daily Telegraph
• NHS 'struggling to cope' with increase in people undergoing cancer tests The Guardian

NHS using Google technology to treat patients

NHS using Google technology to treat patients A London NHS hospital trust has teamed up with tech giant Google to share patient data in the hope of saving lives. BBC News

See also:

• Google wins data deal with the NHS and is handed 1.6m medical records The Daily Mail

Hospital drug costs up 18 times faster than primary care since 2010/11

Hospital drug costs up 18 times faster than primary care since 2010/11 Hospital spending on medicines has almost doubled since 2010/11 while primary care prescribing costs have remained flat, official data show. GP Online

See also:

• Prescribing costs in hospitals and the community NHS Digital

Government scolded by watchdog over NHS funding claims

Government scolded by watchdog over NHS funding claims Watchdog investigating Theresa May’s claim of £10bn for NHS tells government to be clearer when presenting statistics

The watchdog overseeing how ministers use official statistics has told the government to be clearer and more exact in its claims about NHS funding after it investigated Theresa May’s contentious claim that she was giving the health service a £10bn boost.

The UK Statistics Authority looked into the prime minister’s repeated use of the £10bn claim after Labour and the British Medical Association complained that the figure was misleading and wrong. It has asked the Treasury to overhaul how government spending on both the NHS and health more widely is presented in order to minimise the risk of further “confusion” about the size of budget rises Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• NHS Funding UK Statistics Authority

The social care system needs a rescue package – to help the NHS survive

The social care system needs a rescue package – to help the NHS survive The chancellor has given no hint that his autumn statement will provide urgent funding to save tottering social care

It speaks volumes about government priorities that the Treasury briefed journalists ahead of Wednesday’s autumn statement that an extra £1.3bn would be spent on roads. Yet we have been kept in the dark over any rescue package for the tottering social care system, on which the chances of the NHS getting through the winter so critically depend.

As it happens, £1.3bn is also the price of a basic rescue for social care. It is the calculation by the Local Government Association (LGA) of the gap between what care providers in England say they need now to sustain threadbare state-funded services for older and disabled people and what councils say they can afford. To meet rising demand, inflation and the costs of the “national living wage” next year would require the same sum again.

Even the Care Quality Commission has stood up and bravely warned of a system almost at tipping point Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Social care cuts take English service to tipping point, regulator warns The Guardian
• The Guardian view on the NHS cash crisis: social care comes first | Editorial The Guardian

Hospitals will be docked NHS funding if they do not try to tackle sepsis

Hospitals will be docked NHS funding if they do not try to tackle sepsis Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, national medical director of NHS England, said 0.25 per cent of each hospital trust’s turnover would be withheld each year unless they made progress. The Daily Mail

Target Ovarian Cancer finds that GPs miss nearly half of ovarian cancer cases

Target Ovarian Cancer finds that GPs miss nearly half of ovarian cancer cases Almost half of women with ovarian cancer were initially misdiagnosed, a charity has found.

And four in ten patients with the cancer said their symptoms were not taken seriously by dismissive GPs.

Research found that women were ‘dying needlessly’ because they were fobbed off by doctors who attributed symptoms to other issues such as digestion problems, the menopause or stress. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Calls for the government to launch a national campaign for ovarian cancer awareness Target Ovarian Cancer
• Pathfinder 2016 Target Ovarian Cancer

Teenage girls with cancer routinely 'not offered' chance to freeze eggs on NHS

Teenage girls with cancer routinely 'not offered' chance to freeze eggs on NHS Teenage girls suffering from cancer are not being offered the same chance to preserve their ability to have children as male patients, a leading fertility expert has said.

While NHS hospitals regularly offer young men facing chemotherapy the chance to freeze their sperm, many routinely fail to remind female patients that they can cryopreserve their eggs. The Daily Telegraph

NHS passport checks have tripled income recouped in first scheme

NHS passport checks have tripled income recouped in first  scheme Passport checks on patients before treatment can almost triple the amount of money the NHS can recoup from health tourists, new figures suggest.

The Health Secretary last night said the findings, from the first such scheme, were “very encouraging” amid furious debate about proposals to extend such measures.

Yesterday Theresa May threw her support behind the plans, saying it was fair that overseas patients should provide “credible evidence” of their eligibility for free healthcare.

But doctors’ unions attacked the idea, saying that the money lost to health tourism was a “pinprick” of a problem for the NHS, while Labour said medics must not be treated as “border guards.” The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Should NHS patients have to show their passport? BBC News
• Passports for NHS access plan: what are the implications? The Guardian
• NHS staff and managers condemn 'passport before treatment' plan The Guardian
• Doctors threaten to boycott plan for patients to show ID at hospitals The Guardian
• I’m a doctor, not a gatekeeper turning ‘health tourists’ away | Rachel Clarke The Guardian
• NHS passport-checking might save a few pence – at the cost of our humanity | Diane Taylor The Guardian
• Proposals to help NHS charge overseas patients ‘go much too far’ OnMedica