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Found 165 results
  1. News Article
    Rising numbers of people will fall sick and see their health worsen unless the government takes further action to limit energy price rises, the NHS says. The NHS Confederation said the UK was facing a "humanitarian crisis". The group, which represents health bosses, said many people would face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes or having to live in cold and damp conditions. But ministers said action was already being taken and the NHS supported. This includes £400 payments to every household this autumn to help pay energy bills. However, in a letter to ministers, NHS leaders said that rapidly rising energy prices, along with other cost-of-living pressures, will still leave individuals and families facing impossible choices. They warn that if people are forced to live in cold homes and cannot afford nutritious food, then their health will quickly deteriorate and the NHS will be left to pick up the pieces. Cold conditions can lead to a rise in respiratory conditions, and in older people can also increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and falls. Cold homes are already linked to 10,000 deaths a year, the NHS Confederation said. The group warned the risk of ill-health linked to the energy crisis would come on top of what many expect to be one of the toughest winters on record because of the combination of flu, norovirus and Covid outbreaks. As well as leading to more sickness and illness, the NHS Confederation said it would also have a major impact on mental health and well-being. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 August 2022
  2. News Article
    A 60-year-old woman in England’s poorest areas typically has the same level of illness as a woman 16 years older in the richest areas, a study into health inequalities has found. The Health Foundation found a similarly stark, though less wide, gap in men’s health. At 60 a man living in the most deprived 10% of the country typically has the burden of ill-health experienced by a counterpart in the wealthiest 10% at the age of 70. The thinktank’s analysis of NHS data also shows that women in England’s poorest places are diagnosed with a long-term illness at the age of 40 on average, whereas that does not happen to those in the most prosperous places until 48. The findings underline Britain’s wide and entrenched socio-economic inequalities in health, which the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted. Ministers have promised to make tackling them a priority as part of the commitment to levelling up, but a promised white paper on that has been delayed. Researchers led by Toby Watt said their findings were likely to be the most accurate published so far because they were based on data detailing patients’ interactions with primary care and hospital services, and unlike previous studies did not rely on people’s self-reported health. “In human terms, these stark disparities show that at the age of 40, the average woman living in the poorest areas in England is already being treated for her first long-term illness. This condition means discomfort, a worse quality of life and additional visits to the GP, medication or hospital, depending on what it is. At the other end of the spectrum, the average 40-year-old woman will live a further eight years – about 10% of her life – without diminished quality of life through illness,” Watt said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 August 2022
  3. News Article
    More than 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine have been acquired in order to combat the spread of the virus, the government has said. Last month the NHS stepped up its monkeypox vaccination programme in England as infections rose. Vaccines minister Maggie Throup said the majority of vaccines were being made available in London, with about 75% of confirmed cases in the capital. But she urged people to wait to be invited to receive their jabs. While anyone can get monkeypox, the majority of those with the virus are gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. The latest figures show that nationally there have been 2,436 confirmed cases, with 1,778 of those in London. Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 August 2022
  4. News Article
    Startling numbers from around the world give grim statistical support for the argument that healthcare quality has not only stalled, but is in worrying retreat. Nearly 15 million deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 worldwide. All countries have seen waiting times increase and deaths from cardiac conditions and cancer rise. Mental health problems have been exacerbated, while the frailty of some elderly care services has left families unsupported. The global workforce crisis has been exposed, health inequalities amplified, and life expectancy arrested. Government debt has soared, and livelihoods have been lost. In a new report, health systems leaders from across the world – including the UK, Australia, India, Singapore, Canada, the USA and Europe – raise the alarm. There has been a decline in the focus on quality by the leadership of health systems all over the world with an opportunity cost in terms of patient outcomes, safety issues and people’s experience of healthcare. How do we shift from firefighting to a focus on quality of care? Dr Mark Britnell, chair of the Beamtree Global Impact Committee report, makes a simple argument: the only way to reverse the retreat from quality is to march steadfastly towards it. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 26 July 2022
  5. News Article
    Surgery waiting lists will triple by 2030, triggering a “population health crisis”, unless there is a huge increase in NHS capacity, according to new research. Experts from Birmingham University have said efforts to reduce hospital backlogs are not enough and that it is “impossible” for the existing frontline workers to tackle increasing waiting lists. The most in-depth analysis of the challenge facing hospital waiting lists in England has revealed 4.3 million people need invasive surgery or procedures such as endoscopy, the largest number since 2007. Of these, an estimated 3.3 million are on a “hidden waiting list”, likely to need treatment but yet to be identified by the NHS due to the impact of the pandemic. More than 2.3 million people, 53% of the waiting list, are of working age, meaning their delayed diagnoses and treatments could have an impact on the economy. Without a substantial increase in NHS capacity, the team behind the work say the total figure for those waiting for surgery in England could rise to 14.6 million by 2030. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 26 June 2022
  6. News Article
    A drive to ‘transform’ access to urgent, emergency and planned care will be added to the goals of the NHS long-term plan, a document leaked to HSJ has revealed The long-term plan for the NHS was originally published in January 2019. Last September, NHS England said it was reviewing the commitments made within the plan, with senior officials warning that many of them could not be met after the damage of the pandemic. HSJ has seen a document prepared for the most recent meeting of the NHS Assembly which sets out NHSE’s approach to the refresh. Strategic developments expected include better joined-up community based and preventive care, transform access to urgent, emergency and planned care, improve care quality and operations, and tackle health inequalities, improve population health and develop a sustainable health service through greater collaboration. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 June 2022
  7. News Article
    Public health officials have declared a national incident after routine surveillance of wastewater in north and east London found evidence of community transmission of poliovirus for the first time. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said waste from the Beckton sewage treatment works in Newham tested positive for vaccine-derived poliovirus in February and that further positive samples had been detected since. No cases of the disease or related paralysis have been reported, and the risk to the general public is considered low, but public health officials urged people to make sure that they and their families were up to date with polio vaccinations to reduce the risk of harm. “Vaccine-derived poliovirus has the potential to spread, particularly in communities where vaccine uptake is lower,” said Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA. “On rare occasions it can cause paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated, so if you or your child are not up to date with your polio vaccinations it’s important you contact your GP to catch up or if unsure check your red book.” “Most of the UK population will be protected from vaccination in childhood, but in some communities with low vaccine coverage, individuals may remain at risk,” she added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 June 2022
  8. News Article
    Rises in the cost of living are already having a negative impact of people's health, health professionals warn. BBC News has been told of people skipping meals or cutting back on medication, because of money worries. The Royal College of Nursing says people are having to make heart-wrenching choices that compromise their health and wellbeing. Along with GPs and hospital doctors, they warn health inequalities between rich and poor risk becoming worse. Laura Brant, 28, has already had to make some tough choices about a treatment keeping her alive. Having lived with kidney disease since the age of seven, she has already had two kidney transplants - and now needs another. Laura is dependent on a dialysis machine to carry out the filtering process usually performed by the kidneys. Without it, she could be dead in a week. Laura was having dialysis at home - but the machine used so much electricity and water the bills started to mount rapidly. "I'd say that it's the straw that broke the camel's back, really, with the cost of running the dialysis machine, the water it uses, the electric," she says. "And it was adding to my anxiety, like, 'How am I going to pay to do this treatment every month?'" Royal College of Physicians president Dr Andrew Goddard says some of his respiratory-medicine colleagues are hearing of patients choosing to turn off oxygen supplies to save money. "Respiratory disease disproportionately affects those least able to afford to improve their social circumstances," he says. "It seems likely the cost of living crisis will widen this disparity further." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 June 2022
  9. News Article
    The UK risks a shrinking workforce caused by long-term sickness, a new report warns. Pensions and health consultants Lane, Clark and Peacock (LCP) says there has been a sharp increase in "economic inactivity" - working-age adults who are not in work or looking for jobs. The figure has risen by 516,000 since Covid hit, and early retirement does not appear to explain it. The total of long-term sick, meanwhile, has gone up by 353,000, says LCP. It means there are now nearly 2.5 million adults of working age who are long-term sick, official data from the Labour Force survey reveals. The LCP says pressure on the NHS can account for some of the increase in long-term sickness. Delays getting non-urgent operations and mental health treatment are possible explanations. Others who would otherwise have had a chronic condition better managed may be in poorer health. One of the report authors, Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, said: "The pandemic made clear the links between health and economic prosperity, yet policy does not yet invest in health, to keeping living in better health for longer. NHS pressures have led to disruption of patient care which is likely to be impacting on people's ability to work now and in the future." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 February 2023
  10. News Article
    While some people avoided seeking medical care during the worst of the pandemic, worried about the risk of infection or unable to get an appointment because hospitals and doctors were overwhelmed, now many in the USA are finding that inflation and the uncertain economy have thrown up another barrier. “We are starting to see some individuals who are putting off some care, especially preventive care, due to the costs,” said Dr. Tochi Iroku-Malize, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the chair of family medicine for Northwell Health in New York. Choosing between going to the doctor or paying for rent and food, “the health issue is no longer the priority,” she said. With the prices of prescription drugs, hospital stays and other treatments expected to increase significantly this year and next, some doctors expect families to have an even harder time affording medical care. When Margaret Bell, 71, found that her cancer had returned four years ago, she hesitated to resume her chemotherapy because she could not afford it, and higher prices have made it even harder. She would regularly skip appointments. About one-fourth of respondents in a recent Gallup poll said they put off care last year for what they considered a “serious” condition. Read full story (paywalled) Source: New York Times, 16 February 2023
  11. News Article
    Exploitative and “underhand” marketing of formula milk is preventing millions of women from breastfeeding, according to a series of reports published in the Lancet. The reports, by 25 experts from 12 countries, including paediatricians, public health specialists, scientists, economists and midwives, finds that the commercial milk formula companies “exploit parents’ emotions and manipulate scientific information to generate sales at the expense of the health and rights of families, women and children”. Breastfeeding promotes brain development, protects infants against malnutrition, infectious diseases and death, while also reducing risks of obesity and chronic diseases in later life. It also helps protect mothers against breast and ovarian cancers. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusively breastfeeding babies for the first six months and giving breast milk alongside solid food until the age of two or beyond. Over three reports, the series reveals how, more than 40 years since the World Health Assembly developed a voluntary international code prohibiting the marketing of infant formula, widespread violation of the code persists, with promotion of infant formula milk continuing in about 100 countries in every region of the world since the code was adopted. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 February 2023
  12. News Article
    Ambulance crews say they are treating a growing number of patients who are falling ill because they are unable to afford to heat their homes. The soaring cost of gas and electricity has forced many people to switch off their heating in the winter months. Scottish Ambulance Service crews say they are seeing people who are unwell because their homes are so cold or they cannot afford to eat properly. Charities have warned many people are dealing with a "toxic cocktail" of increasing energy bills, growing inflation and higher interest rates this winter. Glasgow ambulance workers Tanya Hoffman and Will Green say that most weeks they see patients who are facing the stark choice between eating and heating. They have been in homes which feel ice cold, where the patients are clearly struggling to cope. "It is sad to see people are living like that," said Tanya. "There's been quite a few patients I have been out to who can't afford to buy food. They have to choose one or other, heating or food. "So they'll sit quietly at home and it's usually a relative or a friend who will phone for them as they don't want to bother anybody. "They're sitting there [and] you can't get a temperature off them because they're so cold. "So you take them into hospital because they are not managing. You know if you leave that person at home they are probably going to die through the fact they are so cold." Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 January 2023
  13. News Article
    The percentage of Americans reporting they or a family member postponed medical treatment in 2022 due to cost rose 12 points in one year, to 38%, the highest in Gallup’s 22-year trend. The latest double-digit increase in delaying medical treatment came on the heels of two consecutive 26% readings during the COVID-19 pandemic that were the lowest since 2004. The previous high point in the trend was 33% in 2014 and 2019. An average 29% of U.S. adults reported putting off medical treatment because of cost between 2001 and 2021. Americans were more than twice as likely to report the delayed treatment in their family was for a serious rather than a nonserious condition in 2022. In all, 27% said the treatment was for a “very” or “somewhat” serious condition or illness, while 11% said it was “not very” or “not at all” serious. Lower-income adults, younger adults and women in the U.S. have consistently been more likely than their counterparts to say they or a family member have delayed care for a serious medical condition. In 2022, Americans with an annual household income under $40,000 were nearly twice as likely as those with an income of $100,000 or more to say someone in their family delayed medical care for a serious condition (34% vs. 18%, respectively). Those with an income between $40,000 and less than $100,000 were similar to those in the lowest income group when it comes to postponing care, with 29% doing so. Read full story Source: Gallup News, 17 January 2023
  14. News Article
    The government has downgraded the importance of improving public health in its annual ‘mandate’ to the NHS. ‘The government’s 2023 mandate to NHS England’ is noticeably shorter at 18 pages than the previous document from March 2022. Speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference, health secretary Steve Barclay said: “For over a decade, governments have used the mandate to make asks of the system. Sometimes these asks have been excessive, with long documents with many pages full of tests and targets… But what we’ve done this year is make it short and clear… setting out our priorities: Cutting waiting lists; the three recovery plans; tech; and workforce". All the keystone targets for recovering the elective backlog, emergency care waits and cancer care remain in place. However, the latest mandate places significantly less emphasis on public health. For example, one of the five objectives in the 2022 mandate called for the service to “embed a population health management approach within local systems, stepping up action to prevent ill health and tackle health disparities”. It also makes no mention of any vaccination programme. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 June 2023
  15. News Article
    The UK needs at least 11,000 more school nurses to deal with the increasingly complex needs of young people after the pandemic, and help prevent them from developing serious mental health problems, researchers and campaigners say. The number of school nurses has fallen by 35% in the last five years to about 2,000, and research by Oxford Brookes University, the University of Birmingham and the Oxford Health NHS foundation trust has found that a lack of long-term investment has resulted in many local areas scrapping the roles altogether. The researchers surveyed 78 school nurses who shared feelings of exhaustion, stress and low morale, said Dr Georgia Cook, a researcher at Oxford Brookes University. “Policymakers need to recognise and promote the integral role of school nurses in carrying out preventive public health work,” Cook said. “This should be supported by a sufficient workforce though, and bolstering school nurse numbers will be key to meeting the increasingly complex needs of children and young people in the wake of the pandemic.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 May 2023
  16. News Article
    Recreational vaping will be banned in Australia, as part of a major crackdown amid what experts say is an "epidemic". Minimum quality standards will also be introduced, and the sale of vapes restricted to pharmacies. Nicotine vapes already require a prescription in Australia, but the industry is poorly regulated and a black market is thriving. Health Minister Mark Butler says the products are creating a new generation of nicotine addicts in Australia. Also known as e-cigarettes, vapes heat a liquid - usually containing nicotine - turning it into a vapour that users inhale. They are widely seen as a product to help smokers quit. But in Australia, vapes have exploded in popularity as a recreational product, particularly among young people in cities. Vapes are considered safer than normal cigarettes because they do not contain harmful tobacco - the UK government is even handing them to some smokers for free in its "swap to stop" programme.But health experts advise that vapes are not risk-free - they can often contain chemicals - and the long-term implications of using them are not yet clear.Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 May 2023
  17. News Article
    Just three years of breathing polluted air can increase a person’s risk of lung cancer, a study has found. Scientists have found, for the first time, the mechanism that proves air pollution causes lung cancer to develop. Research funded by Cancer Research UK and conducted by the Francis Crick Institute showed that small pieces of carbon particulates, known as PM2.5, enter deep into the lungs and lead to tumour development. A key gene, known as EGFR, mutates and then the presence of the air pollution exacerbates the growth and expansion of these mutated cells, the study found. The scientists are hopeful that by shedding light on how lung cancer develops they can help to prevent it. Prof Charles Swanton, the chief clinician for Cancer Research UK and lead investigator on the study, said a statin-like drug to protect against lung cancer and ensure the inflammation that can lead to the disease is kept under control could be developed in as little as 10 years. Prof Swanton said: “Our study has fundamentally changed how we view lung cancer in people who have never smoked." Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 5 April 2023
  18. Content Article
    In this article for the Byline Times, Consultant David Oliver analyses claims by media and political commentators about spending, waste and inefficiency in healthcare and proposes a ten point plan to restore services to their 2010 level.
  19. Content Article
    Air pollution is an issue that affects us all; it is associated with impacts on lung development in children, heart disease, stroke, cancer, exacerbation of asthma, increased mortality and other health issues. This year’s Chief Medical Officer's report lays out the scale of the challenge of reducing air pollution and the substantial progress that has been made. It highlights achievable solutions across different sectors and makes the case that we need to continue to be active in reducing outdoor air pollution.
  20. Content Article
    Regina Kamoga, Executive Director of the Community Health And Information Network (CHAIN) in Uganda, delivered this presentation to the 6th Annual Pharmacovigilance Stakeholder Meeting on 30 November 2022. The presentation outlines how CHAIN is working to develop and support expert patients and patient groups in underserved communities in Africa, as well as highlighting the key medication safety issues faced by these communities, including low health literacy, poor reporting culture and healthcare worker knowledge gaps. The presentation then looks at how CHAIN implemented the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Patient Safety Challenge in Ugandan communities through patient engagement and healthcare worker education. To conclude the presentation, Regina makes recommendations to improve medication safety: Sustain advocacy for medication safety and become a voice to the voiceless Adopt a culture of safety that incorporates the patient as a care team member not a perceived receiver of care Build and strengthen networks on patient safety Communication and open discussion between healthcare providers and patients to improve patient doctor relationship Increase collaboration with civil society organisations and patient organisations Adopt Start Early In Life initiative to instil a safety culture early in life Establish medication safety multidisciplinary working group Patient, family and community engagement should be at the core of key stakeholders interventions
  21. Content Article
    This blog by a UK-based dentist, who blogs under the name Fang Farrier, highlights the dangers of popular media presenting rumour about dentistry services as fact. She refers to an incident where a presenter on the TV show Good Morning Britain said that NHS doctors were no longer trained to be able to perform tooth extractions, describing it as a "categorical fact [presented] by a private dentist." The blog highlights four related issues concerning public perception of dentists, dentistry training and the impact of fear of complaints and litigation on NHS dentistry services: We need to be more mindful about how we talk about dentistry, particularly other dentists Our new graduates seem to be graduating with less experience and less confidence in most procedures, most notably extractions and root canal Fear of failure and taking risks The NHS question… will it stay or will it go?
  22. News Article
    The World Health Organization has published its first ever list of lethal fungal infections that represent a threat to public health. Experts have noticed an increase in deadly fungal disease, with drug-resistant bacterial infections now responsible for roughly 1.27 million deaths every year. “Fungal pathogens are a major threat to public health as they are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment,” WHO said. The types of fungal infections listed often affect severely ill patients and those with significant underlying problems with their immune system, including people with cancer, HIV or AIDs, organ transplants, chronic respiratory disease or tuberculosis. “Emerging from the shadows of the bacterial antimicrobial resistance pandemic, fungal infections are growing, and are ever more resistant to treatments, becoming a public health concern worldwide,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO assistant director-general, antimicrobial resistance, said. In its new report, the WHO warns that there is only limited access to quality diagnostics and treatment for these developing fungal diseases. Medicines are often unavailable in low and middle income countries, leading to increased deaths among these populations. One deadly fungal pathogen, Candida auris, which is resistant to multiple drugs, is particularly difficult to eradicate from hospitals - even with intensive infection prevention measures, the WHO said. This means hospital wards often have to be shut down for prolonged periods of time when Candida auris is detected. Read full story Source: The Independent, 26 October 2022
  23. News Article
    Cuts to public health budgets will hit poorest communities the hardest, the new government is being warned. Directors of public health say local authorities - which pay for initiatives such as smoking cessation services - are on a financial cliff edge. Rising inflation means ventures will cost more to run. Any reduction in funding in next week's spending announcement will have a direct impact on the lives of the most vulnerable, they said. David Finch, assistant director of healthy lives at The Health Foundation, said: "Public health interventions have been shown to be really cost effective. Investing in these preventative measures that help to keep people in good health in the first place means you're protecting against future costs to the economy and society by keeping people healthy and reducing poor health in the future." Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 October 2022
  24. News Article
    Researchers are calling on five million UK adults to join what they hope will be one of the biggest studies in the world, to create the most detailed picture ever of the nation's health. The aim is it to find better ways to prevent, spot and treat illnesses like cancer and dementia early on. It will involve collecting health and genetic data and creating a long-term repository of health information. Our Future Health is part-funded by government, industry and charities. They hope to get their first set of results in the next few years. Chairman of the programme, Prof Sir John Bell, said the ambition is to use the results to fundamentally shift the focus of healthcare systems to earlier diagnosis and prevention. Invitations will go out this autumn to more than three million people in London, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. Over time it will be open to all UK adults. Volunteers will: fill in questionnaires about their lifestyles and any health problems have blood tests for measurements such as blood sugar and cholesterol have their height, weight and blood pressure measured take genetic tests consent to share their NHS records. According to the plans the information will be used in a number of different ways. Scientists will collate and combine this information and store it so that people cannot be identified, building up a bank of health and genetic data. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 October 2022
  25. News Article
    People could die because of Thérèse Coffey’s “ultra-libertarian ideological” reluctance to crack down on smoking and obesity, a Conservative ex-health minister has warned. The strongly worded criticism of the health secretary came from Dr Dan Poulter, a Tory MP and NHS doctor who served as a health minister in the coalition government from 2012 to 2015. Poulter claims Coffey’s “hostility to what the extreme right call ‘nanny statism’” is stopping her from taking firm action against the “major killers” of tobacco and bad diet. His intervention – in an opinion piece for the Guardian – was prompted by Coffey making clear that she opposed banning adults from smoking in cars containing children, even though the practice was outlawed in 2015 and is credited with reducing young people’s exposure to secondhand smoke. The government’s widely anticipated scrapping of measures to curb obesity such as the sugar tax and ditching of the tobacco control plan and health inequalities white paper – both of which previous health ministers had promised to publish – have led Poulter to brand Coffey’s stance “deeply alarming”. He writes: “More smoking and more obesity means more illness, more pressure on the NHS and shorter lives, particularly amongst the poorest in society. “I am acutely concerned that the health secretary’s ideological hostility to what history shows is government’s potentially very positive role in protecting us against these grave threats to our health will exacerbate the problems they already pose. “At its worst such a radically different approach to public health could cost lives, as it will inevitably lead to more people smoking and becoming dangerously overweight.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 October 2022
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