Dementia: Brain check-up tool aims to cut risk at any age

Dementia: Brain check-up tool aims to cut risk at any age People of all ages are being encouraged to do more to look after their brains to try to reduce their dementia risk.

A new brain check-up tool from Alzheimer's Research UK offers tips on staying sharp, keeping active and connecting with others.

Getting regular hearing checks in your 40s and 50s is one way to prevent social isolation, it says.

But most cases of dementia cannot be prevented, so early detection and better treatments are still vital. BBC News

See also:

• Experts create checklist of 12 steps to reduce dementia risk The Independent

'Doctors discuss my daughter like she's nothing'

'Doctors discuss my daughter like she's nothing' A doctor in Cambridge is spearheading a project to help to reform medical language that patients and their families can find upsetting.

Ethicist Zoe Fritz said language that "casts doubt, belittles or blames patients" was long overdue for change.

Sixteen-year-old Josselin Tilley from Wiltshire has charge syndrome that reduces her life expectancy.

Her mother Karen said Josselin's death was often referred to in correspondence "like she's not a person". BBC News

30 per cent of public blame government policy for NHS delays

30 per cent of public blame government policy for NHS delays Channel 4 News has commissioned its own poll to find out what the public think is to blame for the crisis in the health service across the country.

See also:

• Strike action and winter pressures leave NHS in ‘vicious cycle’, leader warns The Independent

Victims and families call for prosecutions as contaminated blood inquiry nears end

Victims and families call for prosecutions as contaminated blood inquiry nears end Victims and family members affected by the contaminated blood scandal are calling for criminal charges to be considered as the public inquiry into the tragedy draws to a close.

While the inquiry, which will begin to hear closing submissions on Tuesday, cannot determine civil or criminal liability, people affected by the scandal are keen for the mass of documents and evidence accumulated over more than four years to be handed over to prosecutors to see whether charges can be brought. The Guardian

England’s PCR Covid testing network drops one of three labs as demand falls

England’s PCR Covid testing network drops one of three labs as demand falls England’s PCR testing network for Covid is to be scaled back due to a fall in demand, public health officials have said.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that the Rosalind Franklin laboratory in Leamington Spa – which at its peak was processing about 75,000 Covid PCR tests a day – will cease to operate as part of the processing network. The Guardian

See also:

• COVID-19 PCR testing network scaled down UK Health Security Agency

Is NHS 111 fuelling dire emergency care crisis?

Is NHS 111 fuelling dire emergency care crisis? NHS 111 might be exacerbating the dire emergency care situation, paramedics and patients have warned. 

Brits have been urged to use the free service this winter in an effort to alleviate the extreme demand on overwhelmed ambulance services and A&Es.

The unprecedented crisis has left ambulances taking longer than ever to respond to 999 calls and caused devastating casualty delays with 1,800 patients a day waiting more than 12 hours to be treated.  The Daily Mail

Join free Northamptonshire webinars on diabetes and children's health

Join free Northamptonshire webinars on diabetes and children's health Two more health-focused webinars are being made available, free to the public, offering valuable advice and insight – this time on diabetes and children’s support.

Following on a series of events, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) is encouraging people to join its latest online sessions. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Cobblers players aid NHS with suicide prevention and awareness session at training ground

Cobblers players aid NHS with suicide prevention and awareness session at training ground Players from Northampton Town Football Club have been helping highlight suicide prevention. The squad took time out to team up with Lisa Pearson and Andy Willis from Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT).

The meeting was in aid of Suicide Prevention and Awareness Training at their Moulton training ground. Northants Live

Connected: Remote technology in mental health services

Connected: Remote technology in mental health services The use of digital or remote care has rapidly expanded as a result of the pandemic, becoming a lifeline for many people around the world. But making routine, long-term use of technology requires some significant shifts in the way mental health services work to ensure that the benefits are distributed equitably and that no one is disadvantaged by the use of technology.

This briefing which summarises evidence from six studies on the use of digital and telephone technology to deliver mental health services. Centre for Mental Health

Adults with depression who want to quit antidepressants should be given support on how to do it safely over time

Adults with depression who want to quit antidepressants should be given support on how to do it safely over time Adults with depression who want to stop taking antidepressants should have the dose of their medication reduced in stages to reduce the likelihood and severity of withdrawal symptoms, NICE has said.

A new draft quality standard, which sets out priority areas for quality improvement for the care of adults with depression, includes a statement to help adults who want to come off the medication permanently.

See also:

• Antidepressants exit must happen in stages, says medical watchdog BBC News
• Doctors are urged to wean millions of patients off antidepressants The Daily Mail
• Withdraw antidepressants gradually, says NICE draft guidance GPonline

What's in a name? NHS Talking Therapies for IAPT services

What's in a name? NHS Talking Therapies for IAPT services As clinical advisors who have worked on expanding psychological therapies across our careers, we are delighted that Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services are being renamed as NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression, following a public consultation. NHS England

New nurse strike dates as union escalates dispute

New nurse strike dates as union escalates dispute Two new nurses' strikes will be held on 6 and 7 February in England and Wales - unless there is movement on pay, the Royal College of Nursing says.

The walkouts will be the biggest so far, with more than a third of NHS trusts in England and all but one Welsh health board affected.

It comes as nurses prepare to walk out on Wednesday and Thursday, following the two strike days before Christmas.

As required under trade union laws, emergency care will be covered. BBC News

See also:

• NHS pay dispute: new February strike dates announced for England and Wales Royal College of Nursing
• NHS nurses announce TWO more days of strike action in February The Daily Mail
• ‘Nurses have cried with me’: Pat Cullen on strikes, 16-hour shifts and colleagues who can’t afford shoes The Guardian
• Nurses to stage two more strikes in February as ministers fail to negotiate on pay demands The Independent
• Nurses to stage two more strikes next month as row over pay continues, Royal College of Nursing confirms Sky News

Basildon Hospital maternity staff exposed to 30 times legal gas limit

Basildon Hospital maternity staff exposed to 30 times legal gas limit Staff at a maternity unit were exposed to almost 30 times the legal workplace exposure limit for nitrous oxide, documents have shown.

Testing at Basildon Hospital revealed the levels more than 16 months before colleagues were informed.

The Royal College of Midwives said its members there were considering legal action.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Trust said "significant improvements" had been made. BBC News 

Transgender people lose NHS waiting times High Court case

Transgender people lose NHS waiting times High Court case A group of transgender people have lost their legal case against NHS England over waiting times to get seen by a gender specialist.

The two trans adults and two trans children had tried to get the wait times - more than four years in one of their cases - deemed illegal.

But a High Court judge ruled on Monday the waiting times are lawful. BBC News

Man waits eight years for mental health therapy as services hit by demand

Man waits eight years for mental health therapy as services hit by demand A man waiting for eight years to get adequate mental health care, as waiting lists for therapy grow.

Myles Cook, 47, from Essex, lives with severe depression and has been fighting to get one-to-one counselling for eight years but he has been told there are not enough therapists locally to respond to the demand. The Independent

NHS crisis: Two health workers open up about the daily 'firefight patients lying on floors and 24-hour waits for admission

NHS crisis: Two health workers open up about the daily 'firefight, patients lying on floors and 24-hour waits for admission One doctor described the situation in his A&E as "heartbreaking" while his ambulance service colleague said he dreads going to hospital knowing he will sit outside for hours in the car park with little hope of getting in. Sky News

See also:

• Bring back cottage hospitals to free capacity in NHS, says senior health leader Evening Standard
• Dementia patient’s ‘barbaric’ five-hour ambulance wait and three days on A&E trolley The Independent
• NHS patient trapped in hospital for months due to lack of adequate community care Sky News
• NHS tracker postcode search: See how your local trust is performing Sky News

Private brokers earn millions finding care homes for NHS patients

Private brokers earn millions finding care homes for NHS patients Private brokers are making millions of pounds a year finding care home beds for NHS patients who are fit to leave hospital.

Agencies are being hired to provide “discharge services”, finding suitable places for elderly patients amid pressures on the health system, Observer analysis shows.

Big pharma strikes blow to NHS patients’ hopes of getting breakthrough drugs

Big pharma strikes blow to NHS patients’ hopes of getting breakthrough drugs NHS patients risk missing out on breakthrough drug treatments after two leading pharmaceutical companies pulled out of the UK’s official pricing scheme.

Eli Lilly and AbbVie have left the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS), a long-standing agreement between the Government, NHS and medicine manufacturers designed to limit the cost of drugs for the health service while supporting industry innovation. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• AbbVie and Eli Lilly and Company, two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, have sent a warning signal to the UK government by leaving the voluntary medicines pricing agreement in protest over increasingly punitive revenue clawbacks. Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
• AbbVie and Eli Lilly snub drug pricing agreement PharmaTimes

UCL launches clinical trial to test if cough medicine ambroxol can slow down Parkinson's disease

UCL launches clinical trial to test if cough medicine ambroxol can slow down Parkinson's disease A major trial to test whether a cough medicine will slow down Parkinson’s has been announced.

Early studies suggest the drug, called ambroxol, appears to remove damaging proteins from the brain which are associated with the degenerative disease.

Currently there are no treatments capable of combating the neurological condition, which affects cells in the part of the brain that controls movement of the body. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Ambroxol for Parkinson’s: the story behind the medicine Cure Parkinson's
• Cough medicine offers hope of new treatment to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre

Is 'Orthrus' in YOUR area? Time-lapse maps show the rise of the new Covid variant

Is 'Orthrus' in YOUR area? Time-lapse maps show the rise of the new Covid variant Covid variant Orthrus now accounts for one fifth of Covid cases in England, figures show.

Surveillance data shows how the strain, scientifically called CH.1.1, has snowballed since it was first detected in November. 

Health chiefs have warned that it — or another Omicron sub-lineage nicknamed the 'Kraken' — could soon become dominant. The Daily Mail