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Found 1,115 results
  1. News Article
    Hundreds of people across England with drug and alcohol dependencies who have been prescribed Valium long-term, will have their cases reviewed following an Ombudsman investigation. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Change Grow Live (CGL), on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, has been prescribing benzodiazepines to people long-term, against national guidance. The company also provides drug and alcohol services for 50 other councils. Benzodiazepines – including diazepam (Valium) - are a class of medicines that can relieve nervousness, tension and other symptoms of anxiety and should usually only be prescribed short-term. CGL’s policy explains people use them for anxiety, insomnia, to enhance opiate effects, to deal with mental health issues, improve confidence and to reduce psychotic symptoms like hearing voices. However, if they are prescribed for too long, they can have significant negative effects including dependence, withdrawal symptoms and drug-seeking behaviour. People on these medicines should have their prescriptions reviewed regularly, and those reviews should consider the benefits and risks of continuing with the current dose, reducing or stopping it, with a management plan put in place after each review. However, the Ombudsman’s investigation found CGL were either not reviewing people’s prescriptions regularly enough or not keeping proper records of those reviews. Nigel Ellis, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Chief Executive, said: “Clinicians need to weigh up the benefits and risks for patients who are taking these medicines long-term and should have a clear rationale for continuing to prescribe. “I am pleased that patients in these vulnerable groups will now have their cases reviewed more regularly and comprehensively following my investigation. “Both CGL and the council have co-operated fully with our investigation, and I welcome their ready acceptance of our recommendations.” Read full story Source: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, 23 August 2023
  2. News Article
    In September last year, Ebrima Sajnia watched helplessly as his young son slowly died in front of his eyes. Mr Sajnia says three-year-old Lamin was set to start attending nursery school in a few weeks when he got a fever. A doctor at a local clinic prescribed medicines, including a cough syrup. Over the next few days, Lamin's condition deteriorated as he struggled to eat and even urinate. He was admitted to a hospital, where doctors detected kidney issues. Within seven days, Lamin was dead. He was among around 70 children - younger than five - who died in The Gambia of acute kidney injuries between July and October last year after consuming one of four cough syrups made by an Indian company called Maiden Pharmaceuticals. In October, the World Health Organization (WHO) linked the deaths to the syrups, saying it had found "unacceptable" levels of toxins in the medicines. A Gambian parliamentary panel also concluded after investigations that the deaths were the result of the children ingesting the syrups. Both Maiden Pharmaceuticals and the Indian government have denied this - India said in December that the syrups complied with quality standards when tested domestically. It's an assessment that Amadou Camara, chairperson of the Gambian panel that investigated the deaths, strongly disagrees with. "We have evidence. We tested these drugs. [They] contained unacceptable amounts of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, and these were directly imported from India, manufactured by Maiden," he says. Ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol are toxic to humans and could be fatal if consumed". Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 August 2023
  3. News Article
    Almost 180,000 patients have been prescribed strong painkillers every month for two years, a rise of over a third compared to levels recorded just before the pandemic, data obtained by HSJ shows. The figures collected by the NHS Business Services Authority showed 179,353 patients had been prescribed an opioid analgesic every month between April 2021 and March 2023, a 36% increase compared with 131,876 receiving the same prescription between April 2017 and March 2019. Guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2021 advised clinicians not to prescribe opioids to manage chronic pain. A statement published alongside an earlier draft of these guidelines explained: “While there was little or no evidence that they made any difference to people’s quality of life, pain or psychological distress, there was evidence that they can cause harm, including possible addiction.” In 2020, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency asked healthcare professionals to discuss the risks of dependency and addiction with any patient taking or planning to take an opioid-containing medicine and made sure such warnings were reinforced in the patient information leaflet. The regulator at the time defined long-term use as longer than three months. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 18 August 2023
  4. News Article
    Roughly three in 10 adults have been addicted to opioids or have a family member who has been, and less than half of those with a substance use disorder have received treatment, according to a new survey conducted by KFF, a health policy research group. The survey, which polled more than 1,300 adults in July, underscores the broad and often harmful influence of opioid addiction across the nation, which recorded around 110,000 fatal drug overdoses last year alone. And the findings suggest that some proven medications for helping curb drug cravings, such as buprenorphine and methadone, are still not getting to those who need them. Only 25 percent of participants in the poll who said they or someone in their family had an opioid addiction reported receiving medication for themselves or family members. Mollyann Brodie, the executive director of KFF’s polling program, said that the numbers might be an undercount, as some survey participants might have been hesitant to share histories of opioid addiction. Addiction cuts across class, race and geography, the KFF researchers found. Rural and white Americans were the likeliest to report personal or family opioid addiction, but significant percentages of Black, Hispanic, urban and suburban families did, as well. White families were more likely than Black or Hispanic families to say that they had received treatment. Overdose fatality rates among Black Americans have climbed substantially in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in a study last year. Dr. David Fiellin, an addiction physician at the Yale School of Medicine, said the survey showed the need for a stronger federal response to substance use disorders, akin to the one for AIDS. He said, “There’s often a misunderstanding of what treatment actually looks like and what it is—people often look to a quick fix,” he said, referring to a detox strategy. “Effective treatment tends to be much more long term and requires addressing the denial that can be part of the condition.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: New York Times, 15 August 2023
  5. News Article
    Measures for avoiding medication errors with the injectable agents used routinely in anaesthesia care have been recommended in new guidelines from the Association of Anaesthetists. The guidelines, published in Anaesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, were drawn up "in response to requests for guidance from members in view of continuing incidents of medication errors and patient harm." The working party of UK anaesthesia experts that drew up the guidance emphasised the potential safety benefits of using prefilled and labelled syringes, as well as aids such as colour-coded medication trays. It highlighted that these were not yet in widespread use within the NHS. The group noted that unlike many healthcare workers, anaesthetists usually undertook medication preparation (transfer from labelled ampoules into unlabelled syringes) in a solo capacity, and that there could be an average of 10 medication administrations per anaesthetic procedure. Labelling errors have been reported in around 1–1.25% of peri-operative administrations, and medication substitutions in 0.2% of administrations during anaesthesia. The working party, chaired by Dr Mike Kinsella, honorary consultant in the Department of Anaesthesia at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, said it aimed "to provide pragmatic safety steps" for use within operating theatres, as well as goals for the development of "a collaborative approach to reducing errors" as a basis for "instilling good practice." "It is important to acknowledge that every practitioner is open to error," the authors said, noting that the risk could increase over time during a case, especially if an anaesthetist's performance was diminished by fatigue. Read full story Source: Medscape, 10 August 2023
  6. News Article
    A group of potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes have been linked to a rise in overdoses and deaths in people who use drugs, primarily heroin, in England over the past two months, drug regulators have warned. The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities has issued a National Patient Safety Alert on potent synthetic opioids implicated in heroin overdoses and deaths. In the past 8 weeks there has been an elevated number of overdoses (with some deaths) in people who use drugs, primarily heroin, in many parts of the country (reports are geographically widespread, with most regions affected but only a few cities or towns in each region). Testing in some of these cases has found nitazenes, a group of potent synthetic opioids. Nitazenes have been identified previously in this country, but their use has been more common in the USA. Their potency and toxicity are uncertain but perhaps similar to, or more than fentanyl, which is about 100x morphine. The National Patient Safety Alert provides further background and clinical information and actions for providers.
  7. News Article
    A mental health trust has been served with a warning notice ordering improvements in its processes around rapid tranquillisation of patients. The Care Quality Commission said the trust needed to ensure all staff at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust followed local and national recommendations to monitor and record a patient’s physical health when rapid tranquillisation was administered. Inspectors were concerned staff were not always aware of the potential impact of these medications. Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: “We found some staff weren’t always using the least restrictive options to make sure that people’s behaviour wasn’t controlled by an excessive use of medicines. “As required medication, such as lorazepam and promethazine, was being used quite frequently but we couldn’t always find records to explain why these medications were necessary. There were examples where reviews hadn’t happened for long periods, meaning staff couldn’t be sure it was still appropriate to administer to people." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 August 2023
  8. News Article
    In the U.S., the prescribing label of Ozempic's sister drug, Wegovy, already warns of possible suicidal ideation because of similar side effects linked to other weight loss drugs. Following reports of self-injury and suicidal thoughts among a small number of people who’ve taken Ozempic or Wegovy in Europe and the United Kingdom, health regulators there are investigating whether the drugs carry a risk of these side effects. The European Medicines Agency said last month that it was reviewing 150 such reports from people who took drugs in this class, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which lower blood sugar and suppress appetite by mimicking a hormone in the gut. Then last week, the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency told Reuters that it was reviewing safety data about the drugs following similar reports. Neither Ozempic nor Wegovy, which are both versions of a drug called semaglutide at different dosages, carry warnings about suicidal ideation in Europe or the U.K., since clinical trials have not shown evidence of an increased risk. But in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration requires that medications for weight management that work on the central nervous system carry a warning about suicidal thoughts. Because the agency approved Wegovy as a weight loss treatment, its prescribing label asks medical professionals to monitor for these symptoms and to discontinue the medication if people develop them. Ozempic, which is only FDA-approved to treat diabetes, does not come with that warning. But some patients think it should. Read full story Source: NBC 1 August 2023
  9. News Article
    Drug companies are systematically funding grassroots patient groups that lobby the NHS medicines watchdog to approve the rollout of their drugs, the Observer has revealed. An investigation by the Observer has found that of 173 drug appraisals conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) since April 2021, 138 involved patient groups that had a financial link to the maker of the drug being assessed, or have since received funding. Often, the financial interests were not clearly disclosed in NICE transparency documents. Many of the groups that received the payments went on to make impassioned pleas to England’s medicines watchdog calling for treatments to be approved for diseases and illnesses including cancer, heart disease, migraine and diabetes. Others made submissions appealing NICE decisions when medicines were refused for being too expensive. In one case, a small heart failure charity that gave evidence to a NICE committee arguing for a drug to be approved received £200,000 from the pharmaceutical company, according to the maker’s spending records. In another case, a cancer patient group supplied evidence relating to drugs made by 10 companies – from nine of which it had received funding. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 July 2023
  10. News Article
    Britain’s health regulator has partly suspended the manufacturing licence of Sciensus, a private company paid millions by the NHS to provide vital medicines, after the death of a cancer patient who was given the wrong dose of chemotherapy. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had taken “immediate” action under regulation 28 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 law “where it appears to the MHRA that in the interests of safety the licence should be suspended”. The MHRA found “significant deficiencies” in standards at Sciensus during an investigation triggered by the death of one patient and the hospitalisation of three others. All four patients were administered “incorrect” doses of an unlicensed version of cabazitaxel, a licensed chemotherapy used to treat prostate cancer, according to people familiar with the matter. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 July 2023
  11. News Article
    A nurse-led trial has found that a new electronic tool could reduce the number of preventable injuries and deaths caused by wrongly inserting nasogastric tubes. The study, led by Tracy Earley, a consultant nutrition nurse at Royal Preston Hospital, tested a new fibre-optic device which can tell clinicians definitively if a nasogastric tube – which is inserted through the nose and delivers food, hydration and medicine into the stomach – has been placed correctly. Currently, to check if nasogastric tubes – also referred to as NG tubes – are in the right place, nurses have to extract bodily fluid from the patient through the tube. Clinicians then test this fluid on a pH strip to judge whether the placement is correct. Studies show that interpreting the pH level results in mistakes 12-30% of the time, and that in 46% of cases nurses are unable to draw aspirate at all. This means patients have to undergo x-rays, leaving them without nutrition or treatment for longer. The study tested a device called NGPod, which uses a fibre-optic sensor to retrieve the pH reading from the tip of the NG tube leading to a definitive 'yes' or 'no' result in terms of whether it has been placed correctly – removing the need for aspirate or interpretation from the health professional. It found that the device was as accurate as pH strip testing, and removed all of the risks associated with making subjective pH strip judgements. Read full story Source: Nursing Times, 18 July 2023
  12. News Article
    Concerns codeine-based cough syrup could be addictive and have serious health consequences have led the UK medicines safety regulator to consider stopping its sale over the counter. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is asking the public for their views on changing codeine linctus - which is a syrup with the active ingredient codeine phosphate and is used to treat a dry cough - to a prescription-only medicine. This comes in the wake of multiple reports to the regulator that the medicine is instead being used recreationally for its opioid effects. Since 2018, the MHRA has received 116 reports of recreational drug abuse of, dependence on, and/or withdrawal from codeine medicines, including codeine linctus. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said this can have a severe impact on people’s health. She said: “Codeine linctus is an effective medicine, but as it is an opioid, its misuse and abuse can have major health consequences.” Pharmacists are also “significantly” concerned, especially about the overdose risk. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 July 2023
  13. News Article
    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first over-the-counter contraceptive pill, allowing millions of women and girls in the country to buy contraception without a prescription at a time when some states have sought to restrict access to birth control and abortion. FDA officials said on Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s Opill – an every day, prescription-only hormonal contraception first approved in 1973 – to be sold over-the-counter. The pill will be available in stores and online in the first quarter of next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales. The regulatory approval paves the way for people to purchase the pill without a prescription for the first time since oral contraceptives became widely available in the 1960s. “Today’s approval marks the first time a nonprescription daily oral contraceptive will be an available option for millions of people in the United States,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, the director of the FDA’s center for drug evaluation and research, said in a statement. “When used as directed, daily oral contraception is safe and is expected to be more effective than currently available nonprescription contraceptive methods in preventing unintended pregnancy.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 July 2023
  14. News Article
    Pharmaceutical giants are pouring tens of millions of pounds into struggling NHS services – including paying the salaries of medical staff and funding the redesign of patient treatment – as they seek to boost drug sales in the UK, the Observer can reveal. The spending is revealed in an investigation that lays bare the growing role of Big Pharma in the UK’s health sector, with analysis of more than 300,000 drug company transactions since 2015 showing a surge in spending on activities other than research and development (R&D). Payments to UK health professionals and organisations, including donations, sponsorship, consultancy fees and expenses, reached a record £200m in 2022, excluding R&D with companies seeking to promote lucrative drugs for obesity, diabetes and heart conditions among the biggest spenders. The rise in spending raises concerns about the growing influence of pharmaceutical companies in the NHS as it reaches its 75th anniversary milestone. Amid record pressure on services, drug giants say closer collaboration can help deliver major benefits to patients. NHS England said collaborations with industry helped patients “benefit from faster access to innovative treatments” and that it was “not unusual for industry to provide funding to support service delivery in areas such as improving cardiovascular health, tackling infectious disease or rolling out innovative cancer therapies”. It added that “strict safeguards” were in place for managing conflicts of interest. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 July 2023
  15. News Article
    Europe's drugs regulator has told BBC News it is conducting a review of some weight-loss jabs after being alerted to a possible link to thoughts of suicide and self-harm among users. Member state Iceland notified the European Medicines Agency after seeing three cases. The safety assessment will look at Wegovy, Saxenda and similar drugs, such as Ozempic, that help curb appetite. Product leaflets already list suicidal thoughts as a possible side effect. An EMA official said: "The review is being carried out in the context of a signal procedure raised by the Icelandic Medicines Agency, following three case reports. "A signal is information on a new or known adverse event that is potentially caused by a medicine and that warrants further investigation. "The case reports included two cases of suicidal thoughts - one following the use of Saxenda and one after Ozempic. "One additional case reported thoughts of self-injury with Saxenda. "The EMA will communicate further when more information becomes available." Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 July 2023
  16. News Article
    A cancer patient has died and three others have been hospitalised after they were administered unlicensed versions of chemotherapy by Sciensus, a private company paid millions by the NHS to provide essential medication. Three health regulators have launched inquiries into the incident, according to people familiar with the matter. It was caused by an issue at the firm’s medicines manufacturing unit. In a statement, Sciensus confirmed an “isolated incident” had “affected four patients” and that it was “deeply saddened” that one of them had died. Sciensus offered its “sincere condolences” to the family and friends of the patient who died, and is conducting a thorough investigation, it added. The four patients received unlicensed versions of cabazitaxel, a licensed chemotherapy used to treat prostate cancer. The versions administered to the patients differed from the licensed product and therefore were considered unlicensed medicines. Sciensus is required to comply with official standards to ensure the quality of the products it produces and the protection of public health. Breaches of these standards can result in the MHRA suspending or removing a company’s licence. “Patient safety is our highest priority,” said Dr Alison Cave, the MHRA’s chief safety officer. “We are urgently investigating this issue and we will take any necessary regulatory measures to ensure patients are protected." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 July 2023
  17. News Article
    "Dangerous" muscle-building drugs are being sold illegally in shops around the UK, a BBC investigation has found. The substances, known as Sarms, can cause erectile dysfunction, mood swings and liver problems, doctors warn. Secret filming by the BBC found they were widely available in shops that sell bodybuilding supplements as well as online. Responding to the findings, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) called for the law to be tightened. Sarms - which stands for selective androgen receptor modulators - are body-enhancing drugs that mimic the effects of anabolic steroids, which increase muscle mass and strength. Originally developed as an experimental drug to treat muscle-wasting conditions, they have become popular with gym-goers on social media who want to build muscle and lose fat. Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 July 2023
  18. News Article
    Premature babies across England will be offered a sight-saving drug, the NHS has announced. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that can occur among babies who are born early or those born with a low birth weight. The NHS routinely screens these babies for the condition, which affects blood vessels in the retina, creating damaging scar tissue and causing blindness. Traditionally the condition is treated with laser eye surgery but some babies are too unwell or fragile to have the treatment. Now the NHS is offering new “life-changing” drug ranibizumab to babies with ROP across England who are unable to receive traditional treatment. NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “The impacts of vision loss can be absolutely devastating, particularly for children and young people, so it’s fantastic that this treatment will now give families across the country another life-changing option to help save their child’s precious sight." Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 July 2023
  19. News Article
    Men who take the epilepsy drug sodium valproate could beat increased risk of having children with disabilities, research has found. A study ordered by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has suggested a link between fathers taking the drug three months before babies are conceived and a small increased likelihood that the children will have neurodevelopmental disorders. The drug manufacturer Sanofi has not published the full results, leading to confusion among patients and doctors. Sodium valproate, sold in the UK as Epilim, is prescribed to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraines. It is known to cause deformities in one in ten babies exposed to it in the womb because their mothers are taking the drug. Four in ten babies suffer developmental delays. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 2 July 2023
  20. News Article
    Northern Ireland’s chief pharmaceutical officer has said that the use of prescribed medicines and the associated costs remains too high, exceeding £800m a year. In a blog to reflect on the 75th anniversary of the NHS, Professor Cathy Harrison added that medicine costs in NI are the second largest single investment made in the health service, after staff. “The average number of prescription items a year is 21 per person, at a cost of £227. This cost is the highest in the UK and the volume of prescription items is still rising each year,” she said. “There is an uncomfortable truth that manifests in the prescribing data for medicines. In Northern Ireland, we continue to use more of almost every type of medicine than other parts of the UK. “That includes more antibiotics, more painkillers, more baby milks, more nutritional supplements, even more oxygen.” Read full story Source: Belfast Telegraph, 27 June 2023
  21. News Article
    The American Medical Association and three other major health groups have warned that patients across the nation could suffer “irreparable harm” due to the shattered legal landscape left in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In a statement, co-authored with the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists and the National Community Pharmacists Association, the groups said they were deeply concerned by state efforts to limit access to medically necessary medicine. Ongoing questions about state laws are already impacting patients, and language in newly enacted rules is “vague,” “unclear” and “disrupting care,” they said. “Physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals face a confusing legal landscape due to state laws’ lack of clarity, confusing language, and unknown implementation by regulatory and enforcement bodies,” the statement reads. “Without such guidance, we are deeply concerned that our patients will lose access to care and suffer irreparable harm.” The groups pointed to reports that some hospitals had prioritised caution over healthcare, others that have removed emergency contraceptives from kits for victims of sexual assault and pharmacies that have imposed “burdensome” steps for prescriptions. Read full story Source: HuffPost, 9 September 2022
  22. News Article
    Previously offered as prescription only, estradiol tablets, sold under the brand name Gina10, will now be available to women over the age of 50 who have not had a period for more than a year, as part of hormone replacement therapy treatment (HRT). Pharmacists have been offered training to identify who needs the tablets. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) made the decision as part of a strategy to make menopause treatment more accessible for women. Estradiol tablets treat vaginal symptoms caused by a lack of oestrogen, such as dryness, soreness, itching, burning and uncomfortable sex. The product is inserted into the vagina rather than taken by mouth. MHRA chief healthcare quality and access officer Dr Laura Squire called the move a "landmark reclassification for millions of women in the UK". "In reaching this decision, we have seen positive support from a wide range of people, including many women aged 50 years and above who could benefit from this decision," she said. The MHRA hopes the move will relieve pressure on front-line NHS services and give women more freedom in choosing treatments that work for them. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 September 2022
  23. News Article
    Senior health officials are to face questioning over why pregnant women are still being prescribed sodium valproate despite its known risks as a cause of birth defects or developmental delays. Campaigners for families affected by the drug will also give evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee in a one-off session later this month. Alongside campaigners on sodium valproate, the Committee will also hear from campaigners from Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests and on behalf of “Sling the Mesh” campaign. MPs will examine government progress on recommendations made in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review, which specifically looked into sodium valproate, hormone pregnancy tests and vaginal mesh. An update by Ministers on progress to implement the government’s response was due this summer. A Minister from the Department of Health and Social Care has been invited to appear before the Committee. The IMMDS Review’s report called for better communication to inform women of the risks of sodium valproate in pregnancy. Despite an NHS ‘valproate pregnancy prevention programme’, 247 women since April 2018 were found to have been prescribed the drug in a month in which they were pregnant, 25 as recently as April to September last year. Health and Social Care Committee Chair Jeremy Hunt MP said: “It is incredibly concerning to know that women of child-bearing age can still be prescribed the epilepsy drug sodium valproate despite its known risks as a cause of birth defects or developmental delays. It has been two years since Baroness Cumberlege called for urgent action to prevent this happening. However, dozens of pregnant women were prescribed the drug last year while data published last month has shown that safety requirements were not being fully met. We’re calling in a Minister and senior health officials as well as campaigners to address our concerns.” Read full story Source: UK Parliament, 2 September 2022
  24. News Article
    Major concerns are being raised about the Irish State’s failure to set up an inquiry into a drug that caused serious birth defects and developmental delays in at least 1,200 Irish babies. Sodium valproate, a drug used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder, has been estimated to have caused major malformations in up to 341 Irish children between 1975 and 2015 after it was taken by their mothers during pregnancy. The drug, which is sold in Ireland as Epilim, is also believed to have caused neuro-developmental delays in 1,250 children. Many women were never warned of the risks that taking the drug during pregnancy would pose to their babies. Read full story Source: The Irish Independent
  25. News Article
    Dentists in the UK should be encouraged to give antibiotics to patients at high risk of life-threatening heart infection before invasive procedures, a study has found. Research suggests bacteria from the mouth entering the bloodstream during dental treatment could explain 30% to 40% of infective endocarditis cases. The rare but life-threatening condition occurs when the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves become infected. Antibiotics could limit the number of cases and reduce the risk of heart failure, stroke and premature death in high-risk patients, the study says. Current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) advise against the routine use of antibiotics before invasive dental procedures for those at risk of infective endocarditis. “Ours is the largest study to show a significant association between invasive dental procedures and infective endocarditis, particularly for extraction and surgical procedures,” said Prof Martin Thornhill from the University of Sheffield, who led the study. Nice should review its guidelines advising against antibiotic prophylaxis, the researchers said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 August 2022
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