Northampton hospice wants to show patients how they can find their independence again

Northampton hospice wants to show patients how they can find their independence again When so much can change in a person's life with the news of a serious illness, it can feel like an old way of life has been lost.

But now a Northampton hospice is offering a new service to help people with life-limiting illnesses find their independence again.

Yesterday (April 8) marked the launch of the Wellbeing Service at the Cynthia Spencer's Hospice Charity, off Kettering Road. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Hepatitis C deaths fall by 16 per cent between 2015 and 2017

Hepatitis C deaths fall by 16 per cent between 2015 and 2017 Deaths from serious hepatitis C related liver disease fell from 380 to 319, thanks to new curative treatments. But while England has exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) target to reduce hepatitis C related mortality by 10% by 2020, challenges still exit to eliminate the disease in this country. Public Health England

New tools to help health professionals boost prevention impact

New tools to help health professionals boost prevention impact Public Health England (PHE) has launched a series of new e-learning tools to boost health and care professionals’ knowledge and skills in dealing with some of the biggest issues in public health.

The new interactive e-learning tools, developed by PHE and Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare, offer bite-sized information on key public health issues to help professionals prevent illness, protect health and promote wellbeing.

EU qualifications recognised after the UK leaves the EU

EU qualifications recognised after the UK leaves the EU The Secretary of State for Health and Social care has announced that EU workers with professional qualifications can continue to practise in the UK after the UK leaves the EU, with or without a deal. NHS Employers

Widespread debate needed on 'disease mongering' and overdiagnosis of patients, says RCGP in response to BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine paper on definitions of disease

Widespread debate needed on 'disease mongering' and overdiagnosis of patients, says RCGP in response to BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine paper on definitions of disease "Disease mongering is scaremongering and it has the potential to cause huge strain for the NHS and other healthcare systems around the world.

"Giving people unnecessary medical labels causes anxiety and distress and, in the worst cases, causes harm that can ruin lives. It also leads to unnecessary workload burdens in general practice and secondary care, and consumes funding that could be much better spent elsewhere on the care of patients who really need it.

"This is a controversial but ground-breaking paper that should spark a widespread debate on the entire industry that has grown up around disease mongering and overdiagnosis. Royal College of General Practitioners

See also:

• Reforming disease definitions: a new primary care led, people-centred approach (abstract) BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine

The long-term impact for babies born with brain injuries

The long-term impact for babies born with brain injuries When Beth Kendall's son Wilder was born, he was immediately rushed to a special care unit after being starved of oxygen.

He suffered a type of brain injury, known as Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE), a condition which affects one in every 1,000 babies when they are born.

Two years later and Wilder, who is from Poole in Dorset, is doing well, but not enough is known about his long-term prognosis.

Researchers at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton are fundraising so they can carry out additional work that will give parents a more detailed diagnosis. BBC News

EU doctors’ Brexit dilemma: do we stay or do we go?

EU doctors’ Brexit dilemma: do we stay or do we go? They believed they were in a welcoming country. Three consultants discuss how their lives have been upended. The Guardian

Mental health problems don't end with age. Older people need help too

Mental health problems don't end with age. Older people need help too | Emily Reynolds Loneliness is sometimes presented as the main reason for older people’s mental ill-health, but that’s not the case

After years languishing in the dark, mental illness is finally getting its moment in the spotlight. Frustrating political football it may be, but one thing can’t be denied – it’s making headlines more than ever. Focus, largely, has been on young people – crises in child and adolescent mental healthcare and in student populations have been both persistent and significant. But mental illness doesn’t end with reaching adulthood – often, in fact, it doesn’t end at all.

New research from the British Journal of Psychiatry into self-harm in older people puts this into stark perspective. A meta-analysis of 40 studies found that yearly self-harm rates were about 65 per 100,000 people, with risk of repetition and of suicide also higher than average. Self-harm is still seen as a problem among younger demographics; and while that remains true, this data proves that the issue is even more complex and diffuse than we thought. The Guardian

Woman who sued NHS for £2.5m claiming operation left her in agony seen in clubs celebrating hen night

Woman who sued NHS for £2.5m claiming operation left her in agony seen in clubs celebrating hen night A woman who tried to claim £2.5m from the NHS after claiming that having vaginal mesh fitted had left her in constant pain has been sent to prison after pictures showed her enjoying her daughter's Ibiza hen party. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Lesley Elder jailed over false £2.5m NHS claim  BBC News
• Jail for mother whose £2.5m NHS claim over op she said left her severely disabled was exposed The Daily Mail

Cyber crime warning as experts say hackers deliberately target hospitals

Cyber crime warning as experts say hackers deliberately target hospitals Hospitals and the health care industry are being deliberately targeted by hackers, cyber criminals and spies seeking a treasure trove of personal and financial information, a business consultancy has warned.

Attacks by organised gangs and even state spy agencies are a growing concern as they hunt for details that can be used for extortion or even espionage. The Daily Telegraph

Asthma inhalers as bad for the environment as 180-mile car journey, health chiefs say

Asthma inhalers as bad for the environment as 180-mile car journey, health chiefs say Asthmatics have been warned by health chiefs that each inhaler they use could be polluting the environment by as much as a 180-mile car journey.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has issued new guidance urging sufferers, where possible, to avoid using the most popular type of inhaler, known as a metered dose inhaler (MDI). The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• NICE encourages use of greener asthma inhalers NICE
• Use a 'greener' inhaler if you can, patients told BBC News

GPs told to take pictures of suspected skin cancers on their PHONES to slash referrals

GPs told to take pictures of suspected skin cancers on their PHONES to slash referrals GPs have been told to take pictures of suspicious moles on their phones before referring patients to a skin-cancer specialist.

Under new plans, general practitioners working across four areas in North East England will have to take three photographs on their mobiles, which then get sent to a consultant for review.

The specialist may then offer the patient an urgent or routine appointment, or decide there is no cause for concern. The Daily Mail

NHSX: digital experts will be part of cancer and mental health teams

NHSX: digital experts will be part of cancer and mental health teams Digital and data specialists from NHSX will team up with NHS England’s cancer and mental health national policy teams to help clinicians and policymakers improve patient experience through technology. Department of Health and Social Care

Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities This report says there has been a persistent failure by national and local policy makers to tackle long standing inequalities facing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in any sustained way. It finds that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have the worst outcomes of any ethnic group across a huge range of areas, including education, health, employment, criminal justice and hate crime. The report of this two year inquiry makes 49 recommendations for change. Women and Equalities Select Committee

Ian Paterson: 'Sheer volume' of victims delays breast surgeon report

Ian Paterson: 'Sheer volume' of victims delays breast surgeon report Victims of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson are still coming forward two years after he was jailed following hundreds of botched operations.

The "sheer volume" of patients giving evidence to an independent inquiry has pushed back a report into his malpractice, an official said.

Paterson is serving a 20-year sentence for 17 counts of wounding with intent.

About 150 patients gave evidence last year and dozens more are understood to have since come forward. BBC News

NHS offering £127m of contracts to private companies despite health secretary pledging: 'No privatisation on my watch'

NHS offering £127m of contracts to private companies despite health secretary pledging: 'No privatisation on my watch' The NHS is offering more than 20 contracts to private companies, despite health secretary Matt Hancock having insisted there would be "no privatisation on my watch", Labour has said.

The party released data showing 21 NHS contracts worth £127m are currently out to tender - 19 of which have been put out since mid-February.

The figures were revealed by House of Commons Library analysis and include a £91m contract to run an NHS assessment service in the South East, a £16m deal to provide health services in Leicestershire and a £6m tender for a GP surgery in High Wycombe. The Independent

NHS patients have cancer scans cancelled after supplier problems

NHS patients have cancer scans cancelled after supplier problems Scan delays in England leading to ‘stress and anxiety’ for those awaiting their prognosis

Concerns have been raised that problems related to the supply of a substance used to screen for cancerous cells is causing delays for NHS patients in England, with many exposed to repeated cancellation of scans at short notice.

Choline is a radiotracer injected into patients an hour before PET-CT scans, predominately when patients are feared to have a recurrence of prostate cancer. Without it the scans cannot go ahead. The Guardian

‘Second-class’ NHS workers struggle as pay gap widens

‘Second-class’ NHS workers struggle as pay gap widens Staff employed on minimum wage by private contractors across England missed out on £2,000 income boost

Tens of thousands of NHS workers are struggling to get by on the minimum wage because their private sector employers are failing to match public sector pay rises.

The estimated 100,000 low-paid cleaners, porters, security guards and catering staff who work for private contractors in hospitals across England are being treated as “second-class employees”, thanks to a growing pay divide between public and private sector workers, according to the country’s leading health union. The Guardian

See also:

• NHS pay gap ‘risks damaging health service beyond repair’, trade union warns The Independent

Molly Case, the NHS nurse who finds poetry on the wards

Molly Case, the NHS nurse who finds poetry on the wards Her impassioned poem defending the NHS thrust Case into the public eye. With a memoir out soon, she talks about how the job of caring continues to inspire her

Read an extract from Molly Case’s memoir How to Treat People

Not so long ago, first-person accounts of what goes on in the operating theatre or the emergency ward – and in the hearts and minds of those who work there – were hard to find. Author William Boyd said recently that when writing his novel about a surgeon, The Blue Afternoon, some years ago, he failed to unearth any descriptions of surgery by surgeons at all. But no more. The medical memoir has become a publishing phenomenon. The Guardian

Dementia patients should be offered music and dance therapy

Dementia patients should be offered music and dance therapy More people with dementia should be given music or dance therapy in a bid to prevent them being "over-medicalised", the Health Secretary has said.

It follows research which found that giving people with dementia personal playlists resulted in a 60 per cent reduction in the need for mind-altering drugs. The Daily Telegraph