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Showing results for tags 'Diagnosis'.
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Content ArticleThe COVID-19 Recovery Committee has published its report on Long Covid and post-Covid syndrome, urging the Scottish Government to take action to address the stigma surrounding the condition and improve awareness among the public and healthcare professionals. The inquiry focussed on the awareness and recognition, therapy and rehabilitation, and study and research linked to Long Covid, with the Committee noting “concern” in their findings over reports of patients being unable to get the correct diagnosis and the lack of treatment for common conditions associated with the condition. The Committee said it was “deeply saddened” to learn about the stigma faced by those with lived and living experience of Long Covid, and the report highlights the impact that the lack of awareness and recognition of Long Covid can have on those with the condition.
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News Article
Dr Michael Watt tribunal was 'unlawful corner-cutting exercise'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A tribunal which allowed a doctor's voluntary removal from the medical register was an "unlawful corner-cutting exercise", a judge has said. Neurologist Michael Watt was at the centre of Northern Ireland's biggest recall of patients. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) allowed him to voluntarily remove himself in 2021. It meant he would not face a public hearing about any fitness to practice issues. More 2,500 patients who were in his care had their cases reviewed - with around one in five having their diagnosis changed. Having already quashed the decision to grant removal, Mr Justice McAlinden delivered a scathing assessment of how the application was handled on Monday. In Belfast's High Court, he described the process where Dr Watt's request was heard without the necessary jurisdiction as a "fiasco". The court also heard how Dr Watt appeared to have a "get out of jail free card" where patients were denied public scrutiny of their medical care. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 April 2023 -
News Article
Parkinson's disease biomarker found
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
In an enormous leap forward in the understanding of Parkinson’s disease (PD), researchers have discovered a new tool that can reveal a key pathology of the disease: abnormal alpha-synuclein — known as the “Parkinson’s protein” — in brain and body cells. The breakthrough published in the scientific journal The Lancet Neurology, opens a new chapter for research, with the promise of a future where every person living with Parkinson’s can expect improved care and treatments — and newly diagnosed individuals may never advance to full-blown symptoms. The tool, called the α-synuclein seeding amplification assay (αSyn-SAA), can detect pathology in spinal fluid not only of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but also in individuals who have not yet been diagnosed or shown clinical symptoms of the disease, but are at a high risk of developing it. By helping to identify people at the earliest stages of PD, “We could then study what happens at different biological stages of the disease,” says Dr. Sherer. Says Ken Marek, MD, PPMI principal investigator, “αSyn-SAA enables us to move to another level in effecting new strategies for prevention of disease.” Read full story Source: The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson' research, 13 April 2023 -
News Article
I was in so much pain I’d faint — yet doctors ignored me for decades
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
“You’re just unlucky,” the doctor told me. Whichever GP I saw, wherever I was, male or female, I would be asked the same questions. Do you drink alcohol? Are you sexually active? Is your underwear too tight? If I heard another woman being relentlessly quizzed like that today, I’d probably call it victim blaming." "... when you’re told, over and over, that it’s just bad luck and that some women suffer more than others, you believe it. You put your trust in the professionals. You don’t advocate for yourself because you don’t understand that there’s anything that needs fighting for." Claire Cohen, 39, had spent much of her life since her mid-teens in acute pain, begging for help. Now she’s finally been diagnosed with endometriosis, she looks at how medicine is still failing to treat a condition that can have a devastating effect on one in ten women Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 13 April 2023 -
News Article
Thousands receive diagnosis after 60 new diseases found
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Thousands of children with severe developmental disorders have finally been given a diagnosis, in a study that found 60 new diseases. Children, and their parents, had their genetic code - or DNA - analysed in the search for answers to their condition. There are thousands of different genetic disorders. Having a diagnosis can lead to better care, help parents to decide whether to have more children, or simply provide an explanation for what is happening. The Deciphering Developmental Disorders study, conducted over 10 years in the UK and Ireland, was a collaboration between the NHS, universities and the Sanger Institute, which specialises in analysing DNA. Among the findings, researchers discovered Turnpenny-Fry syndrome. Jessica Fisher's son, Mungo - who took part in the study - was diagnosed with the syndrome. Jessica subsequently started an online support group for the syndrome, which is now made up of 36 families from around the world, including America, Brazil, Croatia and Indonesia. "It's devastating to learn that your child has a rare genetic disorder, but getting the diagnosis has been key to bringing us together," said Jessica. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 April 2023 -
News Article
'Dire' situation for adults waiting for ADHD diagnosis in NI
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Adults in Northern Ireland seeking assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are being forced to go private because of a dire lack of referral services in some areas, a charity has said. Some health trusts have not been able to accept new referrals for adult assessment and diagnosis. ADHD charities said a lack of services or even waiting lists has forced many people to pay for a private diagnosis. The charity's chief executive Sarah Salters added that some people who do get a private diagnosis cannot then get medication from their GP through the NHS. The Department of Health said officials "are considering longer-term arrangements" for ADHD services, with future decisions "likely to be subject to ministerial approval and availability of funding". Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 April 2023 -
News Article
Children must wait for ‘crisis’ before autism diagnosis, say overwhelmed systems
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
New restrictions are being introduced for autism assessments, with some areas now only accepting referrals for patients in crisis, HSJ has learned. Commissioners in North Yorkshire and York have become the latest to introduce new criteria for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder referrals. Getting a diagnosis is key to unlocking care packages such as speech and language therapy, counselling, or special educational needs. They said the changes are due to “unprecedented demand that has exceeded supply, resulting in unacceptable wait times and the need to prioritise resources towards children and most at-risk adults”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 30 March 2023 -
Event
Parliament & HealthTech Networking Reception
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThe event will be hosted by Lord Bethell, Member of the House of Lords and the former Health Minister, who will provide the opening remarks. Health Tech Alliance Chair Dame Barbara Hakin will welcome attendees and chair the event. The event will consist of opening remarks, a keynote address, networking and drinks. This event series follows the successes of our previous Conferences, originating in January 2020 where the launch of the Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award was announced. Our previous keynote speakers include the then-Health Ministers Matt Hancock, Lord Bethell and Lord Kamall, Jeremy Hunt, and Dr Sam Roberts, Chief Executive of NICE. In 2023 we are adding this Networking Reception to address the need for dialogue between politicians, the health system, and industry in helping the NHS to fix much of its current challenges. Drinks and refreshments will be provided to the attendees. The reception is organised by the Health Tech Alliance, a coalition of HealthTech companies and bodies from across the health system working collaboratively to drive up the adoption of vital health technologies, devices and diagnostics that are proven to benefit patient outcomes and deliver cost savings to the NHS. Reserve a place -
Content ArticleCauda Equina Syndrome (CES) is a rare but serious spinal condition and if not diagnosed and treated swiftly, it can result in lifechanging injury. Nearly a quarter of compensation claims for spinal surgery in England relate to CES. This CES pathway and accompanying guidance by the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme, aims to provide healthcare professionals working in all care settings with the ability to effectively diagnose and care for patients presenting with suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome.
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Content ArticleTo mark International Women’s Day, host Helen McKenna speaks with Professor Dame Lesley Regan and Dr Janine Austin Clayton about women’s health journeys from start to finish. They explore why women can struggle to get medical professionals to listen to them and the impact this has on diagnosis and treatment, as well as the mental and physical effects on women themselves.
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Content ArticleMany people see their GP with symptoms that could either get better without treatment, or be a sign of serious illness; their diagnosis is uncertain. This article from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) summarises recent research looking at how GPs and patients can work together to develop follow-up plans (a process known as safety-netting). The study highlights the importance of patients understanding: why they are receiving this advice what actions are required, and by whom.
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Content ArticleThe UK Rare Diseases Framework was published in January 2021 and set out a shared vision for addressing health inequalities and improving the lives of people living with rare diseases across the UK. This is England’s second Rare Diseases Action Plan, following the commitment to publish action plans annually during the lifetime of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. This action plan has been developed in close collaboration with delivery partners across the health system and the rare disease community. It reports on progress against the 16 actions set out in the first Rare Diseases Action Plan and announces 13 new specific, measurable actions for the next year under the framework’s priority areas and underpinning themes.
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Content ArticleThis Quality Standard from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been updated to instruct healthcare professionals to diagnose women under the age of 65 with a urinary tract infection (UTI) if they have two or more key symptoms.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, US family doctor Lisa Baron highlights the role that social media has played in exposing how patients, particularly women, are dismissed and gaslighted by healthcare professionals, resulting in delayed diagnosis, deterioration and trauma. She talks about her own experience of having her symptoms and concerns dismissed by her GP, which led to a two-year delay in being diagnosed with coeliac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome. She goes on to talk about her experience of Long Covid and how her symptoms were dismissed and not taken seriously in spite of the life-limiting nature of her condition. She raises concerns that Long Covid patients are turning to unqualified practitioners offering untested, ineffective and expensive treatments as they are not being taken seriously by mainstream healthcare systems.
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News Article
Colorectal A&G pathway has been ‘barrier’ to cancer diagnoses, GPs warn
Patient_Safety_Learning posted a news article in News
GPs have raised concern about a new colorectal cancer pathway aimed at reducing referrals into one of England’s largest acute hospital trusts. The pathway was implemented in December 2022 to tackle long waiting lists at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) by reducing the number of referrals from primary care. But the Lincolnshire LMC and Primary Care Network Association both raised concerns about the pathway and its impact on general practice in a letter to their ICB earlier this month. Read full story Source: Pulse, 13 February -
Content ArticleUrinary tract infections (UTIs) exert a significant health and economic cost globally. Approximately one in four people with a previous history of UTI continue to develop recurrent or chronic infections. This review aims to present a novel perspective on chronic UTI by linking microbiology with immunology, which are commonly divergent in this field of research. It also describes the challenges in understanding chronic UTI pathogenesis and the human bladder immune response, largely conjectured from murine studies. Lastly, it outlines the shortcomings of current diagnostic methods in identifying individuals with chronic UTI and consequently treating them, potentially aggravating their disease due to mismanagement of prior episodes. This discourse highlights the need to consider these knowledge gaps and encourages more relevant studies of UTI in humans.
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News Article
More than 500,000 people in UK ‘will be diagnosed with cancer each year by 2040’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than 500,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer every year by 2040, according to analysis by Cancer Research UK. In a new report, researchers project that if current trends continue, cancer cases will rise by one-third from 384,000 a year diagnosed now to 506,000 in 2040, taking the number of new cases every year to more than half a million for the first time. While mortality rates are projected to fall for many cancer types, the absolute numbers of deaths are predicted to increase by almost a quarter to 208,000. In total, it estimates that between 2023 and 2040, there could be 8.4m new cases and 3.5 million people could have died from cancer. Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician, Charles Swanton, said: “By the end of the next decade, if left unaided, the NHS risks being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new cancer diagnoses. It takes 15 years to train an oncologist, pathologist, radiologist or surgeon. The government must start planning now to give patients the support they will so desperately need.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 February 2023 -
Content ArticleAhead of World Cancer Day 2023, Cancer Research UK have published a new report that shows that the impact of cancer for people in the UK will only grow, and sets out the challenges that cancer services are already facing today. New modelling published in the report, Cancer in the UK: Overview 2023 shows that if current trends continue, cancer cases will rise from the 384,000 diagnosed each year now, to over half a million by 2040. To put that into context, that means around a third more people will be diagnosed with the condition every year in comparison to current levels. And we could see around a quarter more annual cancer deaths – 208,000 by 2040, With services barely treading water now, Governments across the UK must act if they are to effectively meet the increase in demand that this analysis anticipates, but efforts have been piecemeal so far.
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News Article
NHS set to miss cancer backlog target three years running, NHSE plans reveal
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England has effectively admitted the backlog of cancer long-waiters will still be higher in March 2024 than before covid hit, in a document seen by HSJ. The consultation document, detailing trajectories for reducing numbers waiting 62 days or more from referral, shows the expected national total in March 2024 is 18,755. NHS England previously committed to reducing this to pre-pandemic levels (14,226) by March 2022, then delayed the target until March this year. There are now significant backlogs in diagnostics, with particular challenges in endoscopy and breast screening. NHS Providers director of policy and strategy Miriam Deakin said: “Cancer is a key priority for trusts. They understand the risk to patients who have to wait. “The pandemic left people waiting longer than NHS trusts wanted for diagnosis or to start treatment, with some people not coming forward, but now urgent referrals for suspected cancer are far higher than pre-pandemic. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 February 2023 -
News ArticleA little boy whose headaches turned out to be a brain tumour died in his parent’s arms just four months after his diagnosis. Rayhan Majid, aged four, died after doctors discovered an aggressive grade three medulloblastoma tumour touching his brainstem. His mother Nadia, 45, took Rayhan to see four different GPs on six separate occasions after he started having bad headaches and being sick in October 2017. No one thought anything was seriously wrong, but when his headaches didn’t clear up Nadia rushed him to A&E at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. An MRI scan revealed a 3cm x 4cm mass in Rayhan’s brain. Rayhan underwent surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible and was told he would need six weeks of radiotherapy and four months of chemotherapy. But before the treatment even started another MRI scan revealed the devastating news that the cancer has spread. Read full story Source: The Independent, 30 January 2023
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News Article
Cancer: Urgent action needed amid NHS pressures, warns charity
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Covid-19 pandemic cannot continue being blamed for poor cancer care, a charity boss has said. Judi Rhys, of Tenovus Cancer Care, said urgent action was needed to save lives when more people than ever are living with cancer in Wales. It comes as the Wales Cancer Network publishes a three-year plan to improve cancer outcomes and patient experience. But the group's clinical director warned the immediate priority would be maintaining current services. Prof Tom Crosby, clinical director for Wales Cancer Network, which was tasked by Wales' health minister to draw up the improvement plan, said the biggest pinch point at the moment was access to diagnostics. "We're absolutely trying to shorten overall times for patients coming into the system being diagnosed and then being treated," he said. On average in November, people suspected of having cancer had to wait 17 days for a first appointment and 23 days for a first test. It was an average 31 days from point of suspicion to being told if they had cancer or not and an average 24 days from point of diagnosis to treatment starting. "We hope that this year we will develop the first regional diagnostic centre and that is likely to be in south-east Wales," Prof Crosby said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 31 January 2023 -
Content ArticleCardiovascular disease (CVD) causes 1 in 4 deaths in England, and is a leading cause of morbidity, disability and health inequalities. The Covid-19 pandemic has added to the urgency of tackling CVD because CVD significantly increases the risk of severe disease and death from Covid-19. This report by The King's Fund looks at published data, literature, policy and evidence on CVD. The writers also carried out interviews and a workshop with key stakeholders working in health and care to inform their research.
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Content ArticleMany people see their GP with symptoms that could either get better without treatment, or be a sign of serious illness; their diagnosis is uncertain. Research has explored how GPs and patients can work together to develop follow-up plans (a process known as safety-netting). New recommendations could help GPs manage uncertain diagnoses. To avoid unnecessary referrals, GPs may adopt a ‘watch and wait’ strategy when someone has an uncertain diagnosis. This strategy should come with a clear follow-up plan so that people understand the possible causes of their symptoms, how to look after themselves and what to do if symptoms persist. This is good safety-netting. Without good safety-netting, watch and wait carries risks. For example, late cancer diagnoses have been linked to poor safety-netting. However, professional guidance on safety-netting is lacking. This is a knowledge and practice gap. A study from Friedemann Smith explored the best ways to deliver safety-netting advice. It suggests that people are more likely to follow advice if they are involved in developing the follow-up plan. They need to understand: why they are receiving this advice what actions are required, and by whom. The lack of time within primary care consultations is well known. This may need to be addressed for clinicians to have long enough to develop a safety-netting plan. Professionals may also need training to develop the appropriate communication skills.
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News Article
Record waits for endoscopy as referrals soar
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The waiting list for endoscopies has broken the record set during the height of the covid pandemic, as referrals for suspected colorectal cancer surged, HSJ analysis shows. In November 2022, 110,00 people were waiting for a colonoscopy (or flexible sigmoidoscopy) and the median wait was 4.2 weeks, double the median wait in November 2019. The pandemic peak waiting list for these tests was 107,000 in September 2020. Nearly a quarter of those waiting as of November 2022, the most recent figures, were on the list for more than 13 weeks. In November 2019 only 2.9 per cent of the list waited this long. Health policy manager Matt Sample said: “As with all diagnostic services, endoscopies were hit hard by the pandemic, but the service was under considerable strain even before this as staff numbers and equipment simply weren’t rising to match demand. “The latest data shows that more than two in 10 people who started treatment for bowel cancer in England waited more than 104 days since their urgent referral – this is unacceptable. “Without continued efforts to expand diagnostic capacity, and in particular investment in addressing chronic workforce shortages, people affected by cancer will not receive the care they deserve.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 January 2023 -
News Article
Technology can help the NHS, says AstraZeneca boss
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The chairman of Covid vaccine giant AstraZeneca has said that investment in technology can help the NHS cut costs. Leif Johansson said more spending on areas such as artificial intelligence and screening could prevent illness and stop people going to hospital. The NHS is under severe pressure, with A&E waits at record levels and strike action exacerbating ambulance delays. Mr Johansson said about 97% of healthcare costs come from "when people present at the hospital". He said only the remaining 3% is made up of spending on vaccination, early detection or screening. Mr Johansson told the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "If we can get into an investment mode in health for screening or prevention or early diagnostics on health and see that as an investment to reduce the cost of sickness then I think we have a much better model over time that would serve us well." Commenting on the UK, he said: "All countries have different systems and the NHS is one which we have learned to live with and I think the Brits, in general, are quite appreciative about it." He said he was not talking about "breaking any healthcare systems down". Rather, he said, "we should embrace technology and science". Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 January 2023
