Greater support to help GPs spot the warning signs of cancer

Greater support to help GPs spot the warning signs of cancer NICE is updating its guideline on suspected cancer to help GPs spot the early signs and symptoms of cancer.

See also:

• Statistics on Waiting Times for Suspected and Diagnosed Cancer Patients Q2 2014-15 Key Points – Provider Based NHS England
• Double cancer referrals, GPs urged BBC News
• NHS misses cancer treatment targets BBC News
• GPs told tired patients should be fast-tracked for cancer tests The Daily Telegraph
• Doctors to get more help to spot cancer early The Guardian
• GPs can't be expected to know every cancer symptom, Government says The Independent

How the world could better fight obesity

How the world could better fight obesity Obesity is a critical global issue that requires a comprehensive, international intervention strategy. Obesity is responsible for about 5 percent of all deaths a year worldwide, and its global economic impact amounts to roughly $2 trillion annually, or 2.8 percent of global GDP. This report offers an economic analysis of the issue and looks at a potential global strategy to tackle it. McKinsey

• Report
• Executive summary

See also:

• Obesity 'costing same as smoking' BBC News
• Cost of obesity 'greater than war, violence and terrorism' The Daily Telegraph

HIV in the United Kingdom

HIV in the United Kingdom The report includes a comparison with last year’s data. Department of Health

See also:

• VIDEO: HIV now and then: 1982 vs 2014 BBC News

Covert care camera guidance approved

Covert care camera guidance approved Guidance for people who install hidden cameras to check on standards of their own or a relative's care is approved by the Care Quality Commission. BBC News

See also:

• Information to be published soon on the use of cameras in care settings Care Quality Commission
• Watchdog to advise on how to spy on care home staff The Daily Telegraph

App kitemarking welcomed; but needs work

App kitemarking welcomed; but needs work The National Information Board's plans to establish "kitemarking" for healthcare applications have been cautiously welcomed by the app development community, which says more details about the accreditation process are needed. E-Health Insider

Report links obesity to advanced prostate cancer

Report links obesity to advanced prostate cancer "Being overweight raises risk of men developing aggressive prostate cancer," The Guardian reports.

A major new report from the World Cancer Research Fund has found strong evidence obesity increases the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

This report, which considered the results from 104 studies involving more than nine million men, looked at diet, nutrition, physical activity, weight and the risk of prostate cancer.

It also found strong evidence that being tall – a marker of developmental factors in the womb, childhood and adolescence – increases the risk of prostate cancer.

The report found limited evidence for a link between diets high in dairy products or calcium and an increased risk of prostate cancer, and low blood levels of vitamin E or selenium and an increased risk of developing cancer.

Private firms on course to net £9bn of NHS contracts

Private firms on course to net £9bn of NHS contracts Circle Healthcare, Bupa, Virgin Care and Care UK among big winners since enforced tendering of services introduced.

Private health firms are on course to win more than £9bn of NHS contracts to look after patients as a result of the coalition’s ramping up of competition in the health service, research shows.

Analysis by the NHS Support Federation, an independent campaign group, reveals that profit-driven companies such as Bupa, Virgin Care and Care UK have so far won a total of 131 contracts worth a combined £2.6bn to provide NHS services since the Health and Social Care Act came into force in April 2013. Continue reading... The Guardian

First NHS volunteers set to leave for Sierra Leone on Ebola mission

First NHS volunteers set to leave for Sierra Leone on Ebola mission The 50 volunteers have undergone extensive training designed to ensure none of them return to the UK with the virus.

The first batch of NHS staff who volunteered to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone are to leave the UK for west Africa after undergoing extensive training designed to ensure none return with the virus.

The 50 staff will depart nearly six weeks after they were shortlisted as suitable by UK-Med, the organisation funded by the Department for International Development to recruit NHS staff for secondment. Nearly 1,000 volunteered, but because of the need for careful selection and training, none have yet flown out. Continue reading... The Guardian

Just three surgeons named as having high death rates

Just three surgeons named as having high death rates New data comparing death rates of 5,000 surgeons identifies just three with death rates higher than they should. The Daily Telegraph

International arms firm Lockheed Martin in the frame for £1bn NHS contract

International arms firm Lockheed Martin in the frame for £1bn NHS contract Doctors have expressed dismay at reports that an international arms firm is considering a bid for a £1bn NHS contract to run GP support services in England. The Independent

Family sues Northampton General Hospital for negligence after grandmother died from rare infection three days after fall in snow

Family sues Northampton General Hospital for negligence after grandmother died from rare infection three days after fall in snow The widower of a devoted grandmother who died from a rare flesh-eating bug is suing Northampton General Hospital for negligence. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Grandmother killed by rare flesh-eating bug after cutting herself slipping in the snow at Christmas because bungling medics failed to react quickly enough, court hears The Daily Mail

Commission on Hospital Care for Frail Older People

Commission on Hospital Care for Frail Older People The Commission's report looks at the care of frail older people and the pressures this causes on NHS services. It also argues that the current plans to integrate health and social care will not be sufficient, stating:
"There is a myth that providing more and better care for frail older people in the community, increasing integration between health and social care services and pooling health and social care budgets will lead to significant, cashable financial savings in the acute hospital sector and across health economies. The commission found no evidence that these assumptions are true." Health Service Journal

See also:

• Commission on Hospital Care for Frail Older People: main report Health Service Journal
• Parties’ plans for NHS future are wishful thinking, say experts The Guardian
• The Guardian view on NHS funding: integrating hospital and community care is right, but it won’t save money | Editorial The Guardian

Nearly one in ten doctors in training experience bullying

Nearly one in ten doctors in training experience bullying Bullying and undermining are too common in medical training, according to the General Medical Council.

See also:

• National Training Survey 2014: Patient safety General Medical Council
• National Training Survey 2014: Bullying & undermining General Medical Council
• Report: Junior doctors still lack the confidence to whistle-blow The Independent

The TARGET antibiotics toolkit: trainer resource guide for clinicians and commissioning organisations

The TARGET antibiotics toolkit: trainer resource guide for clinicians and commissioning organisations
This guidance and the accompanying support material aims to support commissioners implement the TARGET toolkit. The toolkit aims to influence prescribers' and patients' attitudes towards the use of antibiotics with the aim of optimising antimicrobial usage. Royal College of General Practitioners

• Guidance
• Further information

See also:

• Press release: Entrenched misconceptions about antibiotics revealed in new survey Public Health England
• Antimicrobial resistance – a real threat to the future of healthcare – Mike Durkin NHS England
• Significant proportion of people still regularly takes antibiotics for coughs and colds OnMedica

Surgery outcomes data published on MyNHS

Surgery outcomes data published on MyNHS NHS England has published the latest surgery outcomes data for ten specialties and will release information on three more soon as part of a push for greater transparency around clinical performance. E-Health Insider

See also:

• Consultant Outcomes Data My NHS
• NHS to publish surgeon outcomes data BBC News
• VIDEO: NHS to publish surgeon data BBC News
• NHS chief: surgeons have ‘moral responsibility’ to publish death rates The Guardian

Diabetics denied vital prescriptions

Diabetics denied vital prescriptions Patients with diabetes are missing out on vital prescriptions that let them keep tabs on their condition, despite repeated warnings, says a UK charity. BBC News

Better sex-and-dementia care call

Better sex-and-dementia care call Better training is needed for dementia carers to deal with issues around relationships, intimacy and sex, the Care Quality Commission says. BBC News

See also:

• Let dementia sufferers find new love in care homes, Alzheimer's society says The Daily Telegraph

GP trainee recruitment hampered by lack of future workforce clarity

GP trainee recruitment hampered by lack of future workforce clarity Lack of consensus over the future size of the workforce is undermining efforts to train more GPs, Health Education England (HEE) has said. GP Online

Why I fear GPs are part of the NHS's problem, not the solution, by surgeon J. MEIRION THOMAS

Why I fear GPs are part of the NHS's problem, not the solution, by surgeon J. MEIRION THOMAS  Despite the heroic efforts of individual doctors, too many GPs no longer try to provide an even remotely personal service, writes NHS surgeon J. MEIRION THOMAS. The Daily Mail

Community services are the future of the NHS

Community services are the future of the NHS The NHS Five Year Forward View focuses on hospitals and primary care – but care in the community is just as important.

The NHS is one of our greatest national achievements

Simon Steven’s NHS Five Year Forward view sets out a vision for the future of the health service.

But the NHS chief executive’s vision seems only to be seen by people as related to hospitals and primary care. Continue reading... The Guardian