Friday, 22 May 2015
Helping to unlock resources: the changing role of the pharmacist
Helping to unlock resources: the changing role of the pharmacist By changing the pharmacist’s role from one of ensuring the prescription is clinically correct to one of doing the prescribing, are we making care safer or adding in additional risks? Wasim Baqir looks at the evidence. The Health Foundation
2015 Heatwave Plan for England
2015 Heatwave Plan for England The 2015 Heatwave Plan for England was published on 20 May 2015, and the Met Office will issue Heatwave Alerts from 1 June to 15 September 2015.
The Heatwave plan for England remains a central part of the Department of Health’s support to the NHS, social care and local authorities, providing guidance on how to prepare for and respond to a heatwave which can affect everybody’s health, but particularly the most vulnerable people in society.
The purpose of this heatwave plan is to reduce summer deaths and illness by raising public awareness and triggering actions in the NHS, public health, social care and other community and voluntary organisations to support people who have health, housing or economic circumstances that increase their vulnerability to heat.
The updated plan, which can be found on the gov.uk website, reflects new NHS England structures. No additional changes will be made to this plan until further notice.
The Heatwave plan for England remains a central part of the Department of Health’s support to the NHS, social care and local authorities, providing guidance on how to prepare for and respond to a heatwave which can affect everybody’s health, but particularly the most vulnerable people in society.
The purpose of this heatwave plan is to reduce summer deaths and illness by raising public awareness and triggering actions in the NHS, public health, social care and other community and voluntary organisations to support people who have health, housing or economic circumstances that increase their vulnerability to heat.
The updated plan, which can be found on the gov.uk website, reflects new NHS England structures. No additional changes will be made to this plan until further notice.
Minor ailment scheme doesn't provide free Calpol for all
Minor ailment scheme doesn't provide free Calpol for all"Thousands discover Calpol has been free on NHS 'for years' as mum's Facebook post goes viral," the Daily Mirror reports.
This and other similar headlines were prompted by a post made by a woman on the social networking site Facebook. In the post, the woman claimed that all medicines for children were available for free on the NHS as part of the minor ailment scheme.
"I was in Boots yesterday buying Calpol and happened to complain to the cashier how expensive it is. She told me, to my amazement, that if you register your details with them under the minor ailments scheme that all medicines for children are free – a scheme that has been going for eight years."
The post went viral, being "shared" and "liked" more than 100,000 times in the space of a few days.
But there are a number of inaccuracies both in the woman's post and in the overall reporting of the study.
This and other similar headlines were prompted by a post made by a woman on the social networking site Facebook. In the post, the woman claimed that all medicines for children were available for free on the NHS as part of the minor ailment scheme.
"I was in Boots yesterday buying Calpol and happened to complain to the cashier how expensive it is. She told me, to my amazement, that if you register your details with them under the minor ailments scheme that all medicines for children are free – a scheme that has been going for eight years."
The post went viral, being "shared" and "liked" more than 100,000 times in the space of a few days.
But there are a number of inaccuracies both in the woman's post and in the overall reporting of the study.
Is paracetamol use in pregnancy harmful for male babies?
Is paracetamol use in pregnancy harmful for male babies? "Paracetamol use in pregnancy may harm male foetus," The Guardian reports. Researchers found evidence that taking paracetamol for seven days may lower the amount of testosterone testicular tissue can produce – using human foetal testicular tissue grafted into mice.
Low testosterone levels in male pregnancies have been linked to a range of conditions, ranging from the relatively benign, such as undescended testicles, to more serious conditions, such as infertility and testicular cancer.
Reassuringly, just taking a one-day course of paracetamol did not affect the level of testosterone. It seems any effect could be from continuous daily use only, rather than occasional use, which is how most people would probably take paracetamol.
An obvious caveat is that as the series of experiments was performed in mice, it is not known what the effect would be in humans. It is also not known whether the effect of regular daily use would be reversible and over what timescale. And we also don't know whether exposure in pregnancy would actually have any detrimental effects in a male child.
Low testosterone levels in male pregnancies have been linked to a range of conditions, ranging from the relatively benign, such as undescended testicles, to more serious conditions, such as infertility and testicular cancer.
Reassuringly, just taking a one-day course of paracetamol did not affect the level of testosterone. It seems any effect could be from continuous daily use only, rather than occasional use, which is how most people would probably take paracetamol.
An obvious caveat is that as the series of experiments was performed in mice, it is not known what the effect would be in humans. It is also not known whether the effect of regular daily use would be reversible and over what timescale. And we also don't know whether exposure in pregnancy would actually have any detrimental effects in a male child.
English drink 'more than estimated'
English drink 'more than estimated' The amount of alcohol people in England drink is underestimated by the equivalent of 12 million bottles of wine a week, according to new research. BBC News
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'Seven day services' won't be won through overheated disputes
'Seven day services' won't be won through overheated disputes ‘Phoney war’ over extended working risks a damaging national showdown. Health Service Journal
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GP workload must be capped to prevent mass exodus, say LMCs
GP workload must be capped to prevent mass exodus, say LMCs Increasing GP workload is leading to an exodus of doctors from UK primary care, according to LMC leaders who have demanded urgent limits on work intensity. GP Online
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Nearly half disability benefit claimants have a mental illness
Nearly half disability benefit claimants have a mental illness The Institute for Fiscal Studies highlights the 'dramatic' rise in the number of people claiming disability benefit because they have a mental illness. The Daily Telegraph
See also:
See also:
- The changing characteristics of UK disability benefit recipients The Institute for Fiscal Studies
- Disability Benefit Receipt and Reform: Reconciling Trends in the United Kingdom Journal of Economic Perspectives
More mental health cuts inevitable without funding reform, warns boss of under-fire trust
More mental health cuts inevitable without funding reform, warns boss of under-fire trust Mental health services will be cut further unless the government reforms the NHS funding system to give them a fairer settlement, the boss of an under-fire provider has warned. Community Care
Biggest NHS trust is failing on safety and quality of care, says watchdog
Biggest NHS trust is failing on safety and quality of care, says watchdog Care Quality Commission rates Barts health trust in London as inadequate due to issues including staff shortages and number of cancelled operations
Inspectors have criticised the NHS’s largest hospital trust after finding it is seriously understaffed, focuses too little on safety and has cancelled operations on numerous occasions because there were too few beds.
The Care Quality Commission has found a series of failings in the safety and quality of care being provided at Barts health trust in London, where major problems – including a deficit approaching £100m – have led to the recent departure of its two main bosses. Continue reading. The Guardian
Inspectors have criticised the NHS’s largest hospital trust after finding it is seriously understaffed, focuses too little on safety and has cancelled operations on numerous occasions because there were too few beds.
The Care Quality Commission has found a series of failings in the safety and quality of care being provided at Barts health trust in London, where major problems – including a deficit approaching £100m – have led to the recent departure of its two main bosses. Continue reading. The Guardian
Trans life: getting help from a gender clinic shouldn’t be a waiting game
Trans life: getting help from a gender clinic shouldn’t be a waiting game My referral led to a two-year wait for a 40-minute conversation. Is speedier NHS support really too much to ask?
Transgender is an umbrella term and it’s important not to forget the diversity beneath it. That said, there is one thing most trans people have in common and that’s the experience of waiting.
First, we wait for referrals from our GPs to a gender clinic. Or – even though the NHS recognises that being trans is not a mental illness – to a psychiatrist, who, I was apologetically told, had more authority to issue gender clinic referrals. Continue reading... The Guardian
Transgender is an umbrella term and it’s important not to forget the diversity beneath it. That said, there is one thing most trans people have in common and that’s the experience of waiting.
First, we wait for referrals from our GPs to a gender clinic. Or – even though the NHS recognises that being trans is not a mental illness – to a psychiatrist, who, I was apologetically told, had more authority to issue gender clinic referrals. Continue reading... The Guardian
Patients waiting longer for help amid nursing shortage
Patients waiting longer for help amid nursing shortage Two fifths of hospital patients said there were 'sometimes or rarely or never' enough nurses on duty to care for them. The Daily Telegraph
Minister warns food industry could face 'sugar tax'
Minister warns food industry could face 'sugar tax' Food companies could be forced to pay a ‘sugar tax’ if they continue to sell unhealthy food, a Government minister has warned. The Independent
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See also:
- Tesco soft drinks gradual sugar cut BBC News
- Sugar tax to pay for treating obesity The Daily Telegraph
- Tesco announces plans to cut sugar content of its soft drinks by five per cent every year The Independent
NHS nurses see their wages fall over the past year - while senior managers enjoy a pay rise
NHS nurses see their wages fall over the past year - while senior managers enjoy a pay rise The average pay of an NHS nurse has fallen over the past year, while the salaries of senior managers have increased by nearly two per cent, latest figures show. The Independent
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Six ways to harness the power of people and place to improve health care
Six ways to harness the power of people and place to improve health care Despite an abundance of ideas that would improve the commissioning and delivery of health care in the UK, there is widespread failure to implement and embed them. Andrew Constable gives his ideas on how to give improvement work every chance of succeeding. The Health Foundation
NHS launches new collaboration to sustain and improve local hospitals
NHS launches new collaboration to sustain and improve local hospitals The NHS invites expressions of interest from hospitals across England interested in developing new ways of delivering and improving their local acute services.
The aim is to enhance the viability of local hospitals through new formal shared working arrangements between clinical specialists at different hospitals, and to improve efficiency by sharing back office administration and management between different sites.
The new ‘vanguard’ sites, to be developed as part of implementing the Five Year Forward View, build on the proposals in the recent report from Sir David Dalton. NHS England
The aim is to enhance the viability of local hospitals through new formal shared working arrangements between clinical specialists at different hospitals, and to improve efficiency by sharing back office administration and management between different sites.
The new ‘vanguard’ sites, to be developed as part of implementing the Five Year Forward View, build on the proposals in the recent report from Sir David Dalton. NHS England
Every patient a research patient? Evaluating the current state of research in the NHS
Every patient a research patient? Evaluating the current state of research in the NHS According to this report, based on interviews with clinicians, nurses and administrators involved in NHS clinical cancer research, daily pressures on the NHS are having a serious impact on its ability to support world-leading research into cancer. It reveals pockets of excellence in clinical research, but also showed how escalating pressures to deliver routine NHS services are squeezing out time for hospital staff to do vital research. It also highlights how financial pressures are affecting research infrastructure and the capacity of host organisations to fund additional research costs. University of Birmingham on behalf of Cancer Research UK
BMA casts doubt on seven-day services plans
BMA casts doubt on seven-day services plans Serious questions must be answered about the feasibility of Government commitments to create a seven-day NHS, the British Medical Association has warned.
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See also:
- Prime Minister's seven-day pledge empty headline grabbing BMA
- Doctors rubbish seven-day GPs plan BBC News
- Ministers must stop 'surreal obsession' with seven day surgeries, top doctor warns The Daily Telegraph
- Ministers must scrap plans for seven-day GP service, warns GPC chairman GP Online
- David Cameron 'must drop obsession' with seven-day access to GPs The Guardian
- Head of British Medical Association: Seven-day GP access plan 'surreal' and must be scrapped The Independent
'Baby deaths' midwife struck off
'Baby deaths' midwife struck off A former midwife at Furness General Hospital who admitted she "made mistakes" that contributed to the deaths of two babies is struck off. BBC News
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NHS fails 'thousands' cancer patients
NHS fails 'thousands' cancer patients The NHS in England is failing "thousands" of cancer patients by treating them too slowly, a charity warns. BBC News
See also:
See also:
- Waiting Times for Suspectedand Diagnosed CancerPatients2014-15 Annual Report NHS England
- NHS failing cancer patients as waiting numbers highest since records began The Daily Mail
- More NHS hospitals breach waiting times for cancer treatment The Guardian
- NHS cancer care faces fresh scrutiny after hospitals miss key targets The Guardian
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