Jump to content
  • articles
    6,946
  • comments
    80
  • views
    5,194,790

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

UK report reveals bias within medical tools and devices

Minority ethnic people, women and people from deprived communities are at risk of poorer healthcare because of biases within medical tools and devices, a report has revealed.

Among other findings, the Equity in Medical Devices: Independent Review has raised concerns over devices that use artificial intelligence (AI), as well as those that measure oxygen levels. The team behind the review said urgent action was needed.

Prof Frank Kee, the director of the centre for public health at Queen’s University Belfast and a co-author of the review, said: “We’d like an equity lens on the entire lifecycle of medical devices, from the initial testing, to recruitment of patients either in hospital or in the community, into the early phase studies and the implementation in the field after they are licensed,.”

The government-commissioned review was set up by Sajid Javid in 2022 when he was health secretary after concerns were raised over the accuracy of pulse oximeter readings in Black and minority ethnic people.

The widely used devices were thrown into the spotlight due to their importance in healthcare during the Covid pandemic, where low oxygen levels were an important sign of serious illness.

The report has confirmed concerns pulse oximeters overestimate the amount of oxygen in the blood of people with dark skin, noting that while there was no evidence of this affecting care in the NHS, harm has been found in the US with such biases leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment, as well as worse organ function and death, in Black patients.

The team members stress they are not calling for the devices to be avoided. Instead the review puts forward a number of measures to improve the use of pulse oximeters in people of different skin tones, including the need to look at changes in readings rather than single readings, while it also provides advice on how to develop and test new devices to ensure they work well for patients of all ethnicities.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 11 March 2024

Read more

UK reliance on foreign nurses at critical level

Britain’s reliance on foreign nurses has reached “unsustainable” levels, the government has been warned as new analysis reveals that international recruits has accounted for two thirds of the rise in numbers since 2019.

Ministers have repeatedly promised to boost the domestic supply of health staff amid warnings that reliance on international workers leaves the NHS at the mercy of global labour markets.

Overall, a fifth of the UK’s nursing, midwifery and nursing associate workforce originally trained overseas.

The figures will reignite concerns that nations such as the Philippines, traditionally a key source for the NHS, are being increasingly targeted by countries including Germany and Canada. Senior NHS leaders fear the health service could be left in a precarious position if increased competition results in nurses choosing alternative destinations, resulting in a shortfall for the UK. The health service in England already has one post in ten vacant.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 18 May 2023

Read more

UK records highest annual cardiovascular deaths since 2008

The rate at which people are dying early from heart and circulatory diseases has risen to its highest level in more than a decade, figures show.

Data analysed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) shows a reverse of previous falling trends when it comes to people dying from heart problems before the age of 75 in England.

Since 2020, the premature death rate for cardiovascular disease has risen year-on-year, with the latest figures for 2022 showing it reached 80 per 100,000 people in England in 2022 – the highest rate since 2011 when it was 83.

This is the first time there has been a clear reversal in the trend for almost 60 years.

Between 2012 and 2019 progress slowed and, from 2020, premature death rates began to clearly rise, the data reveals.

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF and a consultant cardiologist, said: “We’re in the grip of the worst heart care crisis in living memory.

“Every part of the system providing heart care is damaged, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery; to crucial research that could give us faster and better treatments.

“This is happening at a time when more people are getting sicker and need the NHS more than ever.

“I find it tragic that we’ve lost hard-won progress to reduce early death from cardiovascular disease.”

Read full story

Source: Medscape, 22 January 2024

Read more

UK power cut warning prompts fear for people using life-saving machines

Rolling power cuts enforced this winter if gas supplies run extremely low could endanger thousands of people who use life-saving machines at home, health leaders have warned.

They spoke out after National Grid warned on Thursday that households could experience a series of three-hour electricity outages this winter to manage extreme gas shortages, for example if Vladimir Putin shuts off supplies from Russia and cold weather sends demand soaring.

Such an event would mean consumers in different parts of the country being notified a day in advance of three-hour blocks of time during which their power would be cut off.

The prospect of rolling power outages caused alarm among some health groups, with particular concerns for the thousands of vulnerable patients who rely on electrical devices to keep themselves alive and healthy.

Laurie Cuthbert, a director of Kidney Care UK, a health charity, said thousands of adults and children depended on a constant source of power to provide life-saving dialysis at home.

Andy Fletcher, the chief executive of Together for Short Lives, which advocates for the UK’s 99,000 seriously ill children and their families, said: “For seriously ill children a three-hour blackout could deprive them of vital life-saving equipment such as ventilators, oxygen and temperature control. Families would be forced to decide whether to admit their child to hospital, which would be extremely disruptive and distressing.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 6 October 2022

Read more
 

UK poll finds young people's mental health hit by coronavirus

More than 80% of young people with a history of mental ill health have found their conditions have worsened since the coronavirus crisis began in the UK, a survey has found.

In a study by the mental health charity YoungMinds, 2,111 people aged under 25, who had a history of mental health needs, were asked how the pandemic had affected them.

Of the 83% who said the pandemic had made their mental health worse, 32% said it had made it “much worse” and 51% said it had made it “a bit worse”.

Among the respondents who were accessing mental health support leading up to the crisis – including from the NHS, school and university counsellors, charities, helplines and private providers – 74% said they were still receiving support and 26% said they were unable to access support.

Emma Thomas, the chief executive of YoungMinds, said the pandemic was a “human tragedy that will continue to alter the lives of everyone in our society. The results of this survey show just how big an impact this has had, and will continue to have, on the mental health of young people.”

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 31 March 2020

Read more

UK patients affected by infected blood scandal to receive payouts

A compensation scheme for thousands of people affected by the infected blood scandal, described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS, will reportedly be announced within weeks.

Ministers will set up an arm’s-length body to administer the funds, which could run into hundreds of millions of pounds, and recognise culpability for the scandal for the first time, according to the Sunday Times.

As many as 30,000 people became severely ill after being given factor VIII blood products that were contaminated with HIV and hepatitis C imported from the US in the 1970s and 80s, or after being exposed to tainted blood through transfusions or after childbirth. On average, one person affected is dying every four days, with approximately 3,000 having died to date.

Last year, before the then health secretary Matt Hancock’s appearance at the public inquiry into the scandal, the paymaster general, Penny Mordaunt, announced the appointment of Sir Robert Francis QC to examine options for a framework for compensation before the inquiry reports its findings.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson confirmed the review would be published shortly. “The government intends to publish the study by Sir Robert Francis QC in time for the inquiry and its core participants to consider it before Sir Robert gives evidence to the inquiry in July,” they said. “Government will give full consideration to Sir Robert’s recommendations and evidence to the inquiry.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 29 May 2022

Read more
 

UK patient zero? East Sussex family may have been infected with coronavirus as early as mid-January

A family from East Sussex may have been Britain’s first coronavirus victims, catching the virus in mid-January after one of them visited an Austrian ski resort that is now under investigation for allegedly covering up the early outbreak.

If confirmed by official tests, it would mean the outbreak in Britain started more than a month earlier than currently thought.

As things stand, the first recorded UK case was on January 31, and the earliest documented incidence of transmission within Britain occurred on 28 February.

Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said cases like this demonstrated the need for widespread antibody and viral genome sequencing testing. These tests can show who has and has not been exposed to the virus, and therefore help epidemiologists trace the history and spread of the illness.

"A really significant unknown in this epidemic is whether or not the cases that are symptomatic are simply the tip of the iceberg," he said. "If there are hidden cases in large numbers, then it tells us that the infection is more difficult to control than we thought… but it also suggests that there is a possibility herd immunity may have built up."

Read full story

Source: The Telegraph, 25 March 2020

Read more

UK on verge of new dawn for dementia treatments, says taskforce chair

Today’s generation of elderly people could be the last to face the spectre of untreatable Alzheimer’s disease, according to the co-chair of the government’s new dementia mission.

Hilary Evans, the chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, appointed by ministers last month, said the world was “on the cusp of a new dawn” for dementia treatments that meant devastating neurodegenerative illness would no longer be regarded as an inevitable part of old age.

However, she warned that an overhaul of NHS dementia care was required to ensure that patients could access the first effective Alzheimer’s drugs, which could be approved in the UK as soon as next year.

Evans was appointed last month to co-chair the UK government’s national dementia initiative, which aims to draw lessons from the Covid vaccine taskforce to accelerate dementia research and comes with a commitment to double funding for dementia research to £160m a year by 2024–2025.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 26 April 2023

Read more

UK officials investigate 74 child hepatitis cases

Health officials are investigating 74 cases of hepatitis - or liver inflammation - in children across the UK since the start of this year.

They say one potential cause of the illness could be adenoviruses, but they have not ruled out Covid-19 as a cause.

Officials are examining 49 cases in England, 13 in Scotland and 12 across Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said parents should be on the lookout for symptoms such as jaundice.

Dr Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections at UKHSA, said officials were looking at a wide range of possible factors which could be causing children to be admitted to hospital with liver inflammation.

"One of the possible causes that we are investigating is that this is linked to adenovirus infection. However, we are thoroughly investigating other potential causes," she said.

Other possible explanations being investigated include Covid-19, other infections or an environmental trigger.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 13 April 2022

Read more
 

UK newborn baby screening 'not good enough'

UK babies are missing out on checks for rare but serious health conditions, putting lives at risk, according to a report from the charity Genetic Alliance UK. The NHS offers newborns a blood test to screen for up to nine conditions, whereas many other European countries look for 20 or more illnesses and the US screens for more than 50, the charity says. 

The UK National Screening Committee says its recommendations are based on evidence and are regularly reviewed. It is up to the governments in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to decide which tests to provide. Genetic Alliance UK says affordable ways to expand the screening exist, but are not being used.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 23 July 2019

Read more

UK needs to prepare for 'hard winter' of flu and respiratory viruses, says top medic

The UK should steel itself for a “difficult autumn” and “hard winter” of illnesses because people have lived for an unusually long period without exposure to respiratory viruses, one of the country’s top medics has warned.

Dr Susan Hopkins, the head of Covid strategy for Public Health England, said population immunity to viruses other than Covid-19 could be lower than usual and that a surge in flu was probable.

She said the NHS must be better prepared than it was last autumn, when new, faster-spreading variants of coronavirus emerged forcing the country into lockdown for the third time.

Speaking on the BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show Hopkins said: “I think we have to prepare for a hard winter, not only with coronavirus, but we’ve had a year of almost no respiratory viruses of any other type. And that means, potentially the population immunity to that is less."

“So we could see surges in flu. We could see surges in other respiratory viruses and other respiratory pathogens.”

A record number of people, about 30 million in total, were invited for a free flu jab last autumn as ministers feared it would add to strains on the NHS. 

“It’s really important that we’re prepared from the NHS point of view, from public health and contact tracing, that we have everything ready to prepare for a difficult autumn,” she said. “We hope that it won’t occur and it will be a normal winter for all of us.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 7 March 2021

Read more
 

UK needs £102bn boost to NHS and social care, says major report

Spending on the NHS, social care and public health needs to rise by £102bn over the next decade, funded by big tax rises, to improve Britain’s health in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, an inquiry has said.

The massive funding boost would cut avoidable deaths from cancer and heart disease, tackle glaring health inequalities and rebuild the NHS after Covid exposed weaknesses such as a lack of beds and staff, a team of experts have urged ministers.

The money would come largely from increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT, which evidence suggests the public is willing to pay, according to a four-year commission of inquiry by the London School of Economics and the Lancet medical journal.

“Without concerted action and increased funding we risk the UK falling further behind other high-income countries in health outcomes and life expectancy, continued deterioration in service provision and worsening inequalities, increased reliance on private funding and an NHS that is poorly equipped to respond to future major threats to health,” said Dr Michael Anderson of the LSE, the commission’s joint research lead.

Read full story

Source: 6 May 2021

Read more
 

UK minority ethnic transplant patients face double inequity, MPs say

NHS “inaction” for more than a decade is causing unnecessary deaths of black, Asian and minority ethnic transplant patients, a report by MPs has concluded.

An inquiry into organ donation in the UK found that minority ethnic and mixed heritage people faced a “double whammy of inequity”: they are more likely to need donors, because they are disproportionately affected by conditions such as sickle cell and kidney disease, and they are less likely to find the right blood, stem cell or organ match on donor registers.

Matching tissue type is vital to the chances of successful treatment, and compatible donors who are not relations are more likely to be found among donors from a similar ethnic background.

While there are more donors than in previous years, theall-party parliamentary group (APPG) for ethnicity transplantation and transfusion’s inquiry report says just 0.1% of blood donors, 0.5% of stem cell donors and less than 5% of organ donors are of minority ethnic or mixed background. As a result, white people are nearly twice as likely to find a stem cell donor and 20% more likely to find a kidney donor.

The inquiry found a “staggering lack of consistent and detailed ethnicity data” within healthcare systems, which “undermines accountability and jeopardises the lives of those awaiting life-saving treatments”.

Responding to the findings, Habib Naqvi, the chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said such stark ethnic disparities in organ donor participation were of “grave concern” and required “more investment from health providers and targeted campaigns to raise awareness” to build trust in the healthcare system.

Jabeer Butt, the chief executive of the Race Equality Foundation, said the inequalities were unacceptable. “Every person, regardless of ethnic background, deserves an equal chance at receiving life-saving transplants and donations when needed. This is a solvable problem, but it requires a shared commitment to action across government, health organisations and communities. Lives depend on it,” he said.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 4 December 2023

Read more
 

UK ministers face legal challenge for refusal to order PPE inquiry

Ministers are facing a high court legal challenge after they refused to order an urgent investigation into the shortages of personal protective equipment faced by NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Doctors, lawyers and campaigners for older people’s welfare issued proceedings on Monday which they hope will lead to a judicial review of the government’s efforts to ensure that health professionals and social care staff had enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them safe.

They want to compel ministers to hold an independent inquiry into PPE and ensure staff in settings looking after Covid-19 patients will be able to obtain the gowns, masks, eye protection and gloves they need if, as many doctors fear, there is a second wave of the disease.

About 300 UK health workers have so far died of COVID-19, and many NHS staff groups and families claim inadequate PPE played a key role in exposing them.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 8 June 2020

Read more

UK medics call US abortion ban 'catastrophic blow'

The UK response to the removal of the constitutional right to abortion in the US has been one of anger, sadness, and disbelief.

The US Supreme Court has voted to overturn the 1973 case of Roe vs Wade, so in effect revoking the constitutional right to abortion that American women have had since the landmark decision. It means the 50 individual US states will be able to set their own abortion laws. Half are expected to ban abortions, some already have, and already clinics across the US have been closing down.

The ruling has been widely condemned by the UK’s healthcare organisations, including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

The BMA called it "deeply worrying for the future of women’s reproductive health". Dr Zoe Greaves, chair of the BMA’s medical ethics committee said: "Banning or severely restricting abortion prevents only the safe termination of pregnancy, it doesn’t prevent abortions. If women are denied necessary and appropriate care, they will be forced to travel out of their home state to access services, something which is also being suggested will be made illegal. It could also drive abortion services underground and lead to an increase in self-administered abortions, placing the most vulnerable of women at greatest risk of harm. Restricting abortion will harm ‘rural, minority and poor patients’ the most, according to leading health organisations in the US."

Dr Helen Munro, vice-chair of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) said: "Criminalising abortion and hampering access to care only serves to increase the number of unsafe abortions, putting women’s lives at risk.

"All women should be able to receive prompt access to abortion services, which should include good pregnancy decision-making support and access to post-abortion contraception by trained healthcare professionals if they choose."

Read full story

Source: Medscape, 27 June 2022

Read more

UK Long Covid cases hit record high of 2 million

The number of people suspected to be living with Long Covid has risen to a record high of two million, new figures show.

Estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that, as of 1 May, around 3.1% of the population were suffering from persistent symptoms after becoming infected with coronavirus.

This includes 826,000 who have had Long Covid for at least one year – up from 791,000 in April. Some 376,000 people have meanwhile lived with the condition for at least two years, the figures show.

The prevalence of Long Covid in the UK has jumped sharply since the end of the Omicron wave, which infected millions of people over winter. Since the beginning of the year, 700,000 people have developed the condition – more than one-third of the overall total.

Lingering symptoms adversely affected the day-to-day activities of 1.4 million people, the ONS said, with 398,000 reporting that their ability undertake day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”.

Long Covid was found to be most prevalent in people aged 35 to 69 years, women, people living in more deprived areas, those working in healthcare, social care, or teaching and education, and those with another activity-limiting health condition or disability, the ONS said.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 1 June 2022

Read more

UK life expectancy growing at slower rate than rest of G7, research shows

Life expectancy in the UK has grown at a slower rate than comparable countries over the past seven decades, according to researchers, who say this is the result of widening inequality.

The UK lags behind all other countries in the group of G7 advanced economies except the US, according to a new analysis of global life expectancy rankings published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

While life expectancy has increased in absolute terms, similar countries have experienced larger increases, they wrote. In the 1950s, the UK had one of the longest life expectancies in the world, ranking seventh globally behind countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden, but in 2021 the UK was ranked 29th.

The researchers said this was partly due to income inequality, which rose considerably in the UK during and after the 1980s.

Prof Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “That rise also saw an increase in the variation in life expectancy between different social groups. One reason why the overall increase in life expectancy has been so sluggish in the UK is that in recent years it has fallen for poorer groups".

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2023

Read more
 

UK launches new system to achieve 100% clinical trial registration

Clinical trials run in the UK will be automatically registered from 2022, the country’s Health Research Authority has announced.

The new system seeks to ensure that every single clinical trial with be listed on a trial registry from the outset. UK researchers have been formally required to register trials since 2013, but that rule was never enforced, and many trials remained unregistered.

Trial registration is a key pillar of clinical trial transparency. It helps scientists to gain an overview of who is currently researching which treatments, preventing needless duplication of medical research efforts . In addition, because investigators have to specify in advance what exactly they will be measuring, trial registration supports research integrity by discouraging post hoc statistical shenanigans and evidence distortion.

While there are various rules and regulations around trial registration, no other country currently enforces these nationwide.

The new trial registration system forms part of the wider UK national Make it Public strategy, which aims to ensure that every single clinical trial run in the UK is registered and makes its results public.

The strategy was developed in the wake of a 2018-2019 parliamentary enquiry into clinical trial transparency.

Read full story

Source: TranspariMED, 20 October 2021

Read more
 

UK launches new office to tackle health inequalities

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has been officially launched by the UK Government, aimed at preventing health disparities across the country and supporting people to live longer, healthier, and happier lives.

OHID will focus on stopping debilitating health conditions before they develop and represents a distinct step-change in focus from the Government towards a more preventative, rather than reactionary, approach to health.

One of the key intentions of this is to reduce the backlog and also put social care on a long-term sustainable footing, tackling health issues much earlier in their presentation, tackling the underlying causes of many of these, or preventing them altogether.

The new government office will see Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer, provide professional leadership to the organisation.

Announcing the official launch of OHID, the Government pointed to some of the clear trends shown in recent figures, which highlight how geographical location can play a significant role in a person’s life expectancy and the years that they can expect to live a healthy life. For example:

  • men in the most deprived areas in England are expected to live nearly 10 years fewer than those in the least deprived. Women in the same areas can expect to live 7 years fewer
  • smoking is more prevalent in more deprived areas and one of the leading causes of inequalities in life expectancy; an international study found it accounts for half the difference in mortality between the least and most deprived men aged 35 to 69
  • obesity is widespread but more prevalent among the most deprived areas; prevalence is almost 8% higher among those living in the most deprived decile of local authorities (66.6%) compared to those in the least deprived areas (58.8%)

Under its new remit, OHID will work to coordinate across local and central government, the NHS and wider society – utilising expert advice, analysis, and evidence – to drive improvements in the public’s health which may be able to have preventative roles and level up health across the UK.

Preventative approaches to health can, it is intended, reduce the pressure on existing healthcare services, saving significant resource and money, and ensure that record investments into health and social care services can go further.

Source: National Health Executive

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid said: “The pandemic has laid bare the health disparities we face not only as a country, but as communities and individuals.

“This must change, and this body marks a new era of preventative healthcare to help people live healthier, happier and longer lives.

“The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will be the driving force across government, supported by communities, academics, industry and employers, to level up the health of our nation, which will reduce the pressure on our NHS and care services.”

Read more
 

UK lab investigated for false negative Covid tests is not fully accredited

The private laboratory that is under investigation for potentially issuing more than 40,000 false negative Covid tests was not fully accredited to perform the work, contrary to assurances made by health officials.

The UK’s independent accreditation service, Ukas, told the Guardian on Monday that neither Immensa Health Clinics Ltd nor its sister company, Dante Labs, had ever been accredited by the service, and that it had informed the Department of Health that statements suggesting otherwise were incorrect.

The UK Health Security Agency announced on Friday that it was suspending operations at Immensa’s laboratory in Wolverhampton pending an investigation into concerns that at least 43,000 people with coronavirus had been wrongly told their swabs tested negative for the virus.

Because many of the individuals would have believed the typically more accurate PCR tests performed by Immensa over simpler lateral flow tests, there is a substantial risk they unwittingly spread the virus on to thousands more people.

Read more

Source: The Guardian, 18 October 2021

Read more
 

UK inmate gave birth to stillborn in prison toilets, inquiry finds

An inmate gave birth to a stillborn baby in shocking circumstances in a prison toilet without specialist medical assistance or pain relief, an investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has found.

A prison nurse who did not respond to three emergency calls from a prison officer to come to the woman’s aid when she developed agonising stomach cramps has been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Louise Powell, 31, was unaware that she was pregnant. She gave birth on a prison toilet on 18 June 2020 at HMP & YOI Styal in Cheshire.

She previously said she believed her baby girl could have survived had she had more timely and appropriate medical intervention.

Her lawyer said they had obtained expert evidence that also suggested that the baby, who Powell named Brooke, may have survived had things been handled differently.

The report is the second by the PPO in six months to investigate the death of a baby in prison.

While Tuesday’s report found that there had not been failures before the day Powell gave birth, the ombudsman, Sue McAllister, found there were missed opportunities to establish that she needed urgent clinical attention in the hours beforehand.

“It’s not safe to have pregnant women in prison, we are just treated like a number,” Powell told the Guardian in a previous interview. “I can’t grieve for my baby yet because there are still things I don’t know, like why an ambulance wasn’t called. I want to get justice for Brooke and I decided to go public in the hope that things will change and pregnant women will stop being imprisoned.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2022

Read more

UK in ‘rapidly escalating’ diabetes crisis as cases top 5m, report says

The UK is experiencing a “rapidly escalating” diabetes crisis, with cases topping five million for the first time and under-40s increasingly affected, a report has revealed.

About 90% of diabetes patients have type 2, a condition much more likely to develop if people are overweight. About two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.

Statistics published by Diabetes UK reveals an all-time high for type 2 and type 1 combined of 4.3m officially diagnosed cases and another 850,000 people living with one or other of the conditions but still to be diagnosed. Another 2.4 million people are at high risk of developing the type 2 form in the UK.

“These latest figures show we’re in the grip of a rapidly escalating diabetes crisis, with spiralling numbers of people now living with type 2 diabetes and millions at high risk of developing the condition,” said Chris Askew, the chief executive of Diabetes UK.

“These latest figures show we’re in the grip of a rapidly escalating diabetes crisis, with spiralling numbers of people now living with type 2 diabetes and millions at high risk of developing the condition,” said Chris Askew, the chief executive of Diabetes UK.

The stark figures mean millions of Britons are at increased risk of complications including heart attacks, kidney failure, stroke, amputation and blindness.

As a result, the UK faces a public health emergency unless action is taken, Askew said. “Diabetes is serious, and every diagnosis is life-changing. It’s a relentless condition, and the fear of serious complications is a lifelong reality for millions of people across the UK.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right care and support, cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented or put into remission. What we need to see is the will, grit and determination from government and local health leaders to halt this crisis in its tracks and improve the future health of our nation for generations to come.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 13 April 2023

Read more

UK hospitals failing to follow guidelines on group B Strep

Failures to follow national guidelines to prevent group B Strep infections in newborn babies is leading to a postcode lottery of care and opportunities to stop deadly infections being missed, a new report has found. Nearly 90% of hospitals in the UK are not using the recommended test for GBS carriage – which costs around £11- despite clear guidance issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Public Health England (PHE) that the test can significantly decrease false-negative results.

Group B Strep is the UK’s most common cause of severe infection in newborn babies, causing sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Approximately 800 babies a year in the UK develop group B Strep infection in their first 3 months of life, 50 babies will die, with another 70 survivors left with life-changing disabilities. Most of these infections could be prevented.

Only a tiny number of NHS Trusts are following the key new recommendations around giving pregnant women information on group B Strep, offering testing to some pregnant women, and following Public Health England guidelines on testing for group B Strep. As a result, pregnant women face a postcode lottery, potentially receiving significantly different care from recommended practice.

Read full story

Source: Group B Strep Support, 1 February 2021

Read more
 

UK hospital declares major incident as A&E under ‘immense pressure’

A major hospital in the UK has declared a critical incident, warning it is facing “immense pressures” on its services.

Wigan’s Royal Albert Edward Infirmary urged people to avoid its A&E unless suffering a “life or limb-threatening emergency”.

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust warned that “unprecedented attendances” meant the emergency department was “full”. It said it is working with partners to discharge patients who are ready to leave hospital.

The trust, which previously declared a critical incident in December, said the safety of its patients is the “top priority”.

By declaring a critical incident, hospitals are able to take action so that safe services are maintained despite increasing pressures.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 1 February 2023

Read more

UK hospices warn of bed closures and staff cuts as energy bills soar

Hospice charities providing end-of-life services in partnership with the NHS have warned they will have to shut beds and sack staff because of the catastrophic impact of rising energy bills on their day-to-day running costs.

The UK’s network of independent, mainly voluntary-run palliative care providers said hospices were experiencing a perfect storm of soaring costs and rising demand just as revenues from traditional public fundraising methods are collapsing.

They have also warned that many patients who receive palliative care at home are struggling to maintain optimal care standards because they can’t afford to run central heating and the electrical medical equipment used in their everyday clinical care.

Hospices, which typically rely on charitable donations for 70%-80% of their running costs, and which are intensive users of gas and electricity, have reported facing energy bill rises of up to 350%.

Rachel McMillan, the chief executive of one of the UK’s biggest hospices, St Ann’s, in Greater Manchester, said: “We are at the point where we will have to take some very difficult decisions in terms of our business model and our service provision. Closing beds would be a last resort, but we are seriously going to have to think about this.

“The government needs to sit up and listen to hospices; we are an essential part of the care delivery system. We are not a luxury.”

Read full story

Source: 22 December 2022

Read more
×
×
  • Create New...