‘Huge advance’ helps cancer drug reach human brain for first time A new breakthrough ultrasound technique can help transport chemotherapy drugs to the human brain, new research has revealed.
A major hurdle in treating the deadly brain cancer known as glioblastoma has been that even the most potent chemotherapy drugs cannot permeate the blood-brain barrier to reach the aggressive tumour.
But the new advance might lead to improved treatment of such malignant tumours. The Independent
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Tiny spot under woman’s eye revealed as world’s smallest skin cancer A team of dermatologists has identified the world’s smallest skin cancer under a woman’s eye.
Measuring just 0.65 millimetres, the tiny spot on Christy Staats’ cheek was described by the team at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) as “almost invisible to the human eye.”
Identified using state-of-the-art technology, the team was able to confirm that the spot was melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. The Independent
Chance to speak to hospital consultant online about skin issues Skin deep – how to manage common skin complaints and avoid skin cancer - is a free online event held in the county to help identify problems and answer common skin complaint questions.
It is part of the series of free county Your Health Matters events run by Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KGH) Governors to help demystify health conditions and provide practical tips, the next event looks at how to manage common skin problems and avoid skin cancer. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Injection of 'long-termism' vital to deliver an NHS fit for the future As financial pressures continue to mount, the NHS will do everything it can to deliver a stretching efficiency ask, but the government must play its part too.
The NHS is facing immense financial and operational challenges. But its ability to meet those challenges is threatened by short-term fixes. We need a vital injection of long-termism to deliver an NHS fit for the future. NHS Providers
Revealed: Scandal of mentally ill children dumped on the wrong hospital wards Thousands of children in mental health crisis are being treated on inappropriate general wards – with some forced to stay for more than a year and staff not properly trained to care for them, shocking new data reveals.
New figures uncovered by The Independent show at least 2,838 children needing mental health care were admitted to non-psychiatric hospitals last year as the NHS battled with a lack of specialist staff and a surge in patients.
Burnt out or something more? Examining the real root cause of NHS workforce challenges Happy doctors result in happier, healthier patients, as evidenced by the growing body of literature linking higher satisfaction levels among healthcare staff to improved patient satisfaction and care outcomes.
Recognising this, the NHS has several initiatives intended to track and improve staff occupational wellbeing. One initiative is the NHS Staff Survey, launched in 2003 and administered annually across England. In March 2023, the NHS published results from the 2022 Survey against a backdrop of high attrition and widespread workforce shortages. Considering these challenges and the planned Government announcement of a new NHS Workforce Plan, we sought to examine the reasons staff are increasingly dissatisfied. LCP
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New operation launched in Northants to help some early-stage cancer patients A new way of treating certain early-stage bowel and rectum cancers without major abdominal surgery is being introduced to Northamptonshire.
It involves using minimally invasive key-hole surgery techniques to remove early-stage tumours – and some advanced benign polyps that cannot be removed with endoscopic procedures - through the anal opening rather than though major radical surgery of the rectum. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
‘I waited nine months then had to move house to get any mental health care’ New data reveals one-fifth of young people “always feel anxious” amid worsening mental health crisis.
A student nurse said she felt “abandoned” as she struggled to get the mental health support she needed amid a worsening mental health crisis among young people.
Niamh O’Connor has had an eating disorder for six years, which led to her being admitted to hospital. When she left at the end of 2020, she found herself on a waiting list for nine months but it was only when she moved house that she says she was finally offered care. The Independent
Highbury Residential Care Home in Rushden rated inadequate by CQC and placed in special measures he bosses of a Rushden care home are ‘disappointed’ after being rated inadequate, but determined to meet the actions the CQC has asked them to take.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Highbury Residential Care Home in Irchester Road as inadequate and placed it in special measures following an inspection in February. Northamptonshire Telegraph
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Five principles for implementing the NHS Impact approach to improvement in England The NHS is facing an unprecedented range of workforce, financial and performance pressures. The time has come to think and act differently and to do so at pace. What is needed is a strategy and management system capable of maximising the impact and spread of the many promising NHS-led innovations, service improvements and new technologies.
The new NHS Impact approach to improvement could help to meet this need. It rightly articulates the importance of taking an aligned and integrated approach to improvement delivery and capability building across NHS provider organisations and integrated care systems (ICSs). The Health FoundationRestoring public confidence in the NHS will be no easy feat With the latest British Social Attitudes survey showing that public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, Professor Sir John Curtice looks back at satisfaction with the health service over the years and points out that the lesson for policy-makers is much the same as two decades ago. Nuffield Trust
Mental health services to face surprise spot-checks after series of abuse scandals, watchdog warns Unannounced and out-of-hours spot-checks on mental health services are set to ramp up following a string of abuse scandals, The Independent can reveal.
The Care Quality Commission’s new mental health chief Chris Dzikiti said he was “saddened” by “unacceptable” scandals in the last six months, warning the regulator “will use the powers [it has] to hold people to account.”
