Man arrested at Northampton hospital after making 'threats to kill staff', police say

Man arrested at Northampton hospital after making 'threats to kill staff', police say A man has been arrested following an armed response by police officers outside Northampton General Hospital today.

Four police squad cars were spotted on Cheyne Walk alongside Northampton General at around 3.20pm today (August 12). Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Detailed guide: Overseas visitor charging: no-deal Brexit guidance for NHS service providers

Detailed guide: Overseas visitor charging: no-deal Brexit guidance for NHS service providers How changes to charging rules will affect how you recover costs from overseas visitors and migrants if there is a no-deal Brexit. Department of Health

FGM ‘no longer just an African problem’

FGM ‘no longer just an African problem’ One in 20 girls and women in the world has had some form of female genital mutilation, according the UN.

Former first lady of Somaliland and midwife Edna Adan Ismail has been to meet some of those that live in the UK. BBC News

Chlamydia sex infection vaccine passes safety test

Chlamydia sex infection vaccine passes safety test A vaccine to protect people against the common sexually transmitted infection chlamydia has passed initial safety tests.

It is the first of its kind to enter human trials.

Experts say immunisation may be the best way to tackle the disease that accounts for nearly half of all sex infections diagnosed in the UK.

More trials must check how well it works and what dose to give, The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal says. BBC News

Charity highlights 'worrying' failure to improve cancer survival in England

Charity highlights 'worrying' failure to improve cancer survival in England Macmillan says figures especially disappointing given that UK already lags behind other countries

Survival rates for many cancers, including three of the most common – breast, colon and prostate cancers – have plateaued over the past decade, official figures for England show.

The proportion of adults who survived for one year or five years respectively after being diagnosed with cancer in the four-year period 2013-2017 showed little change from levels in 2008-2012. For bladder cancer, the five-year survival rate apparently deteriorated. The Guardian

See also:

• Cancer survival in England: adult, stage at diagnosis and childhood - patients followed up to 2018 Office for National Statistics
• Macmillan Cancer Support responds to ONS Cancer Survival Data in England Macmillan Cancer

Bladder cancer survival rates drop after shortage of crucial drug

Bladder cancer survival rates drop after shortage of crucial drug Bladder cancer survival rates have fallen due to a world-wide shortage of a crucial drug, figures suggest.

New Office for National Statistics data shows the chances of living five years beyond diagnosis dropped 2.5 per cent between 2016 and 2017 to 52.6 per cent.

It follows a period of limited supplies of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, an immunotherapy that keeps the cancer at bay and prevents it from coming back. The Daily Telegraph

Half of key hospital doctors in the NHS are NOT prepared to respond to a major incident

Half of key hospital doctors in the NHS are NOT prepared to respond to a major incident Half of key hospital doctors in the NHS are not properly prepared to respond to a major incident, a medical survey has revealed.

Hospitals in England are required to have a plan in case of major events such as the Manchester Arena bombing or the Westminster terror attacks.

However, the majority of doctors quizzed in a poll were either unaware of what the plan entails or said they were 'not confident' in what they should be doing. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Preparation for the next major incident: are we ready? A 12-year update (abstract) Emergency Medicine Journal
• NHS hospitals unprepared for terror attack, survey finds The Daily Telegraph
• Half of key UK hospital doctors 'ill-prepared' for major incident The Guardian

Superbug C. difficile is evolving to 'spread in hospitals and thrive on the Western diet'

Superbug C. difficile is evolving to 'spread in hospitals and thrive on the Western diet' The superbug Clostridium difficile (C.diff) may be evolving to spread in hospitals, research suggests.

Scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine discovered the bacteria, which can cause diarrhoea, is gradually 'splitting' into two species.

The new bug spreads easily, is 'immune' to disinfectants and thrives on the Western diet of sugary foods, they found. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Adaptation of host transmission cycle during Clostridium difficile speciation Nature Genetics

New 'symbol of hope' cancer care centre to be built at Northampton General Hospital

New 'symbol of hope' cancer care centre to be built at Northampton General Hospital Plans have been submitted to build a cancer care centre to provide free practical, emotional and social support to cancer sufferers and their family and friends.

If plans are successful the 'Maggie's Centre', named after Maggie Keswick Jencks, will be built on Northampton General Hospital land, just off Cliftonville. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Kettering General Hospital celebrates being MRSA free for four years

Kettering General Hospital celebrates being MRSA free for four years Kettering General Hospital is celebrating being free of MRSA bloodstream infections for four years.

The hospital is reporting that not one patient has contracted the most serious kind of MRSA infection which affects the bloodstream – known as bacteraemia - while being treated at the hospital since May 2015.

It says this is a significant achievement because hospitals are higher risk environments for blood stream MRSA infections because of the large amount of surgery undertaken and the use of devices like catheters and intravenous drips. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Barriers to accessing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on NHS prescription

Barriers to accessing cannabis-based products for medicinal use on NHS prescription This document provides information on the findings and recommendations following NHS England and NHS Improvement’s review of the barriers to prescribing of cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

Pension tax rules - impact on NHS consultants and GPs

Pension tax rules - impact on NHS consultants and GPs This briefing note focuses on the current debate about the impact of pension tax rules on some senior NHS staff. House of Commons Library

UK national eye health and hearing study: case for investment

UK national eye health and hearing study: case for investment This report argues that a lack of accurate data is contributing to a £58 billion bill for vision and hearing loss in the UK. This takes into account, medical costs, for example falls and fractures caused by visual impairment, an increased risk of dementia due to hearing loss, service costs, and reduced employment. It calls on the government to support the first ever national survey of the UK population’s sensory needs. Vision UK

Average GP waiting times exceed two weeks for first time ever

Average GP waiting times exceed two weeks for first time ever The average wait for a routine GP appointment is now more than two weeks, for the first time ever, according to Pulse's annual survey of waiting times.

A midpoint analysis of data from the survey of 901 GPs across the UK found that the average waiting time is now 15 days - the first time it has ever exceeded a fortnight.

More than 22% of GPs said that the wait for a routine appointment was more than three weeks, with 6% said that it was longer than four weeks. Pulse

See also:

• Waiting times for family doctors longer than ever, with patients forced to wait up to six weeks The Daily Mail
• GP waiting time breaches two weeks for first time, as new housing developments blamed for pressure on surgeries The Daily Telegraph
• NHS patients waiting over two weeks to see a GP, shows survey The Guardian
• Patients waiting more than two weeks for routine appointments, GPs warn The Independent

Dementia and how to change your house to make life easier

Dementia and how to change your house to make life easier A house in the UK designed especially to help people with dementia is inspiring families, care-home owners and council workers to make changes to their own homes.

Lighter carpets and carefully chosen paint colours are just some of the tweaks that you can make which can keep people with dementia living independently for longer - saving both families and local authorities money in care fees. BBC News

Drug maker 'will make $21bn from treating cystic fibrosis'

Drug maker 'will make $21bn from treating cystic fibrosis' Vertex is accused of raking in vast profits while making Orkambi unaffordable to NHS

A US company, which is refusing to drop its price for the life-changing cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi to make it affordable to NHS England, is set to make $21bn (£17bn) in profit from that and a sister medicine, according to research.

Countries around the world are struggling to pay for Orkambi, made by Vertex, which has a list price of £104,000 per patient per year and is not a cure. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in England has said it is not cost effective. On Monday, the Scottish Medicines Consortium will decide whether to approve the drug for children. The Guardian

Thousands at risk of type 2 diabetes to be offered wearable tech

Thousands at risk of type 2 diabetes to be offered wearable tech Digital scheme will allow users to access health coaches and will connect to online peer support groups

Thousands of people in England at risk of contracting type 2 diabetes will receive wearable tech to help monitor their exercise level, the NHS has said.

Up to 8,000 people could benefit from the digital scheme designed to combat the disease, which has been spreading rapidly on the back of the obesity epidemic. The Guardian

National HRT shortage leaves 200,000 menopausal women suffering as experts warn alternatives could also run out

National HRT shortage leaves 200,000 menopausal women suffering as experts warn alternatives could also run out A national shortage of HRT which could affect "almost all" of the UK's 200,000 menopausal women on the drug is now threatening the availability of alternatives, experts have warned.

Hormone Replacement Therapy replaces the oestrogen that the body stops producing during menopause. New figures show that around half of these brands are currently unavailable in the country. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• HRT: UK faces shortage for menopausal women BBC News
• HRT shortage 'adds to the stress of menopause' BBC News

DR ELLIE CANNON: Why, for the first time in my career, I'm ashamed to work for the NHS

DR ELLIE CANNON: Why, for the first time in my career, I'm ashamed to work for the NHS For too long, I have stayed silent about the growing catalogue of NHS inadequacies chipping away at my patients’ care.

But this week, yet another inexplicable decision was, for me, the final straw.

It was the first time in my 13-year GP career that I felt embarrassed to work for the NHS. The Daily Mail

Star Northampton nurse Jackie Phillips awarded posthumous prize after passing away in April

Star Northampton nurse Jackie Phillips awarded posthumous prize after passing away in April A nurse from Northampton has become a posthumous winner of a prestigious award for her life's work at Cynthia Spencer Hospice.

Jackie Phillips, the former nurse manager of palliative care for Northamptonshire and a senior clinical nurse at Cynthia Spencer Hospice was praised for going above and beyond for her patients throughout her thirty-year career. Northampton Chronicle and Echo