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Found 165 results
  1. News Article
    An invitation to a cervical screening test upon your 25th birthday has become a necessary but often unwanted coming-of-age present. Despite years of education and advocacy about the benefits of screening, many women still do not attend. About 16 million women in the UK aged 25-64 are eligible for testing, but only 11.2 million took a test in 2022, the lowest level in a decade. There unfortunately remains a false narrative that there are good reasons to be nervous about cervical screening tests. In reality, the test is not physically painful for the vast majority of women, although it can be a bit uncomfortable. However, the test can be needlessly emotionally painful, and for no good reason. This is in part because some women go through the experience of sitting with legs spread apart and “private parts” out, and then hear the nurse call for “the virgin speculum” to be used. This is the archaic and unnecessarily sexualised term for the extra-small speculum. It should have no place being used in 2023, and it clearly creates feelings of vulnerability. Next week it is Cervical Cancer Awareness week, and campaigners are hoping to shine a light on barriers to cervical screening testing that must be removed. By creating feelings of vulnerability around testing, we are allowing cervical cancer to continue to go undetected. All women should be aware of the importance of attending their cervical screening test and do so with confidence, regardless of their sexual status. This will play a valuable role in reducing the mortality rate. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 January 2023 Further hub reading: Doctors’ shocking comments reveal institutional misogyny towards women harmed by pelvic mesh Misogyny is a safety issue: a blog by Saira Sundar Gender bias: A threat to women’s health (August 2020)
  2. News Article
    Prostate cancer patients across the UK face a “postcode lottery” of care, a charity has warned, with men in Scotland almost three times more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage compared with men in London. Prostate Cancer UK said the proportion diagnosed when the disease may be too advanced to treat varied hugely depending on where patients lived. Health leaders called the findings “shocking”. In Scotland, more than a third (35%) of men are only diagnosed when the disease is classed as stage 4, meaning the cancer has spread to another part of the body – known as metastatic cancer. In London, the figure is 12.5%. Chiara De Biase, director of support and influencing at Prostate Cancer UK, said, "We can’t say for sure what’s behind this gap in diagnosis, but it’s clear that men are more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage in areas with higher rates of PSA blood testing. That means the key way to tackle this is by raising awareness – especially in places like Scotland which are worst-affected." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 January 2023
  3. News Article
    The NHS is set to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 due to targeted screening campaigns for those at risk and effective drug treatments, according to health officials. NHS England said the measures are helping to dramatically cut deaths from the virus five years ahead of global targets. Deaths from hepatitis C – including liver disease and cancer – have fallen by 35% since NHS England struck a five-year deal worth almost £1bn to buy antiviral drugs for thousands of patients in 2018. The World Health Organization’s target of a 10% reduction in hepatitis C-related death by 2020 has been exceeded threefold in England. An NHS screening programme launched in September is also enabling up to 80,000 people unknowingly living with the disease to get a diagnosis and treatment sooner by searching health records for key risk factors, such as historic blood transfusions or HIV. Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said the health service was “leading the world” in the drive to save lives and eliminate hepatitis C while also tackling health inequalities. He said: “Thanks to targeted screening and because the NHS has a proven track record of striking medicine agreements that give patients access to the latest drugs, we are on track to beat global targets and become the first country to eliminate hepatitis C.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 December 2022
  4. News Article
    Some patients waiting for an endoscopy in Guernsey may be "at risk" because of a large backlog in procedures, the States medical director has warned. The government has announced a tender process to bring in clinicians to help clear the list, which is three times longer than before the Covid pandemic. More than 430 people were on the gastroenterology waiting list as of Tuesday, Dr Peter Rabey said. "We're worried that there is risk to patients in waiting too long," he said. "Although a lot of patients who get an endoscopy have completely normal results, and some have benign disease which can be treated with tablets and things, there will be some patients who might have cancer and we need to find out as best as possible". Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 December 2022
  5. News Article
    A soft robotic device that moves through the body like a worm could make bowel cancer screening much more comfortable by reducing pain and and discomfort, according to the scientists developing it. Researchers at Imperial College London said they have created a new type endoscope that is soft, flexible, and capable of extending and curling on its own inside the body. Around 900,000 colonoscopies – which involves an endoscope being passed through the bottom – are performed every year in the UK, the majority of which are for screenings for bowel cancer. The procedure is invasive and more than 75% of patients develop significant pain, according to Nisha Patel, a consultant gastroenterologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London, who is running clinical trials with the device. She said: “We know patients experience either discomfort or pain during the procedure and this affects uptake of further procedures and patient experience. The experts are also hoping that compared to current endoscopes, which requires specialist skills, their self-propelling robotic version will be easier to use and could, in future, be deployed in GP surgeries or outpatient clinics. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 June 2023
  6. News Article
    A leading health panel in the USA has recommended the age at which women are regularly screened for breast cancer should be cut from 50 to 40. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said an extra 20 million women in their forties would benefit from a mammogram every two years. The change would save 20% more lives, according to the USPSTF, which has drafted the proposal in response to rising rates among middle-aged women. Currently, all women in the USA aged 50 to 74 are advised to get checked via a mammogram every two years. The number of new breast cancer cases is rising roughly two percent every year, John Wong, an internist and professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, who is on the task force, told the Washington Post. Dr Wong said: "It is now clear that screening every other year starting at age 40 has the potential to save about 20 percent more lives among all women, and there is even greater potential benefit for black women, who are much more likely to die from breast cancer." Read full story Source: Mail Online, 9 May 2023
  7. News Article
    A breakthrough AI model can determine a person's risk of developing pancreatic cancer with staggering accuracy, research suggests. Using medical records and information from previous scans, the AI was able to flag patients at a high risk of developing pancreatic cancer within the next three years with great accuracy. There are currently no full-proof scans for pancreatic cancer, with doctors using a combination of CT scans, MRIs and other invasive procedures to diagnose it. This keeps many doctors away from recommending these screenings. Over time, they also hope these AI models will help them develop a reliable way to screen for pancreatic cancer — which already exists for other types of the diseases. "One of the most important decisions clinicians face day to day is who is at high risk for a disease, and who would benefit from further testing, which can also mean more invasive and more expensive procedures that carry their own risks," Dr Chris Sander, a biologist at Harvard who contributed to the study, said. "An AI tool that can zero in on those at highest risk for pancreatic cancer who stand to benefit most from further tests could go a long way toward improving clinical decision-making." Read full story Source: Mail Online, 9 May 2023
  8. News Article
    Doctors, scientists and researchers have built an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can accurately identify cancer in a development they say could speed up diagnosis of the disease and fast-track patients to treatment. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. It results in about 10 million deaths annually, or nearly one in six deaths, according to the World Health Organization. In many cases, however, the disease can be cured if detected early and treated swiftly. The AI tool designed by experts at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust, the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Imperial College London can identify whether abnormal growths found on CT scans are cancerous. The algorithm performs more efficiently and effectively than current methods, according to a study. The findings have been published in the Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal. “In the future, we hope it will improve early detection and potentially make cancer treatment more successful by highlighting high-risk patients and fast-tracking them to earlier intervention,” said Dr Benjamin Hunter, a clinical oncology registrar at the Royal Marsden and a clinical research fellow at Imperial. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 April 2023
  9. News Article
    Patient safety investigators have issued a warning to the NHS over writing to patients only in English after a Romanian child died following missed cancer scans. The three-year-old, of Romanian ethnicity, had an MRI scan delayed after they were found to have eaten food beforehand. When the appointment for the child’s MRI scan was made by the radiology booking team, a standard letter was produced by the NHS booking system in English asking the child not to eat before the scan, despite the family’s first language being Romanian. Staff at the trust had hand-written on the patient’s MRI request sheet that an interpreter was required. “The family recognised key details in the written information, including the time, date and location of the scan,” the report said. “However, they were not able to understand the instructions about the child not eating or drinking (fasting) for a certain amount of time before the scan.” The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has urged NHS England to develop and implement new rules on supplying written appointment information in languages other than English. Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 April 2023
  10. News Article
    Thousands of women are to be called for smear tests after errors in Scotland's cervical screening programme. In June 2021 it was discovered that several women had died from cervical cancer after being wrongly excluded from NHS Scotland's screening list. Now a further review expects to find 13,000 patients who have had a hysterectomy will need further tests. MSPs were told two years ago that a small number had died from cervical cancer after wrongful exclusion from the programme, and that further incorrect exclusions were possible. The most common reason for exclusion was after a total hysterectomy, where the entire cervix has been removed, meaning there was no need for cervical screening. But some were recorded as having had this procedure where there was only a sub-total or partial hysterectomy, meaning cervical screening was still needed. An urgent audit followed and all affected women were invited for follow-up examination. Now, a wider audit of 150,000 women who have had subtotal hysterectomies has been launched. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 April 2023
  11. News Article
    Giving women a third scan at the end of their pregnancy could dramatically reduce the number of unexpected breech births and the risk of babies being born with severe health problems, research suggests. Pregnant women in the UK have routine scans at 12 and 20 weeks only, with no further scan offered in the third trimester unless they are considered at risk of a complicated pregnancy. The researchers hope their findings could lead to a change in guidance for clinicians that will improve maternity care. Prof Asma Khalil, who led the study at St George’s, University of London, said: “For the first time we’ve shown that just one extra scan could save mothers-to-be from trauma, an emergency C-section, and their babies from having severe health complications which could otherwise have been prevented.” She said the two routine scans were “far too early” to establish how the baby would be positioned during labour. “That’s why a third scan at 36-37 weeks could be a gamechanger to pregnancy and birth care.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 April 2023
  12. News Article
    A new non-invasive diagnostic test for oral cancer test developed by researchers at the University of Surrey is said to be over 92% accurate at detecting oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and more than 80% accurate at identifying pre-cancerous oral epithelial dysplasia (OED), according to a proof-of-concept study. The news comes in the wake of a recent report showing that cases of oral cancer in the UK increased by 34% over the last decade and have more than doubled compared with 20 years ago. The State of mouth cancer UK report 2022, released last November by the Oral Health Foundation, showed that there were 8846 new cases of mouth cancer diagnosed in the UK over the previous year, with 3034 deaths from the disease. The test could pave the way for better oral cancer detection, the researchers said. The samples were collected in dental surgeries and mailed to their laboratory for analysis, which demonstrated that the test could be "used in primary care to identify patients in need of specialist care". Study co-author Dr Fatima Labeed, senior lecturer in human biology from the University of Surrey, said: "Over 300,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer worldwide–a disease with an alarming mortality rate of around 50%. This suggests that the scientific community doesn't have the tools available to identify oral cancer early enough, and we hope that PANDORA paves the way for more effective clinical diagnostic tools for this terrible disease." Read full story Source: Medscape, 5 April 2023
  13. News Article
    A woman was denied the chance to have children with her husband after a contraceptive coil was accidentally left in place for 29 years. Jayne Huddleston, from Crewe, had eight rounds of fertility treatment she did not need because the correct checks were not carried out by her doctor. She said the mistake happened in 1990. "The GP said it couldn't be seen, so I was sent for a scan and the scan didn't pick anything up, the GP recommended another coil was fitted," she told the BBC. She was told the coil she had fitted around a year earlier had probably fallen out. When she and her husband, David, then decided they wanted to have a child, the second coil was removed, but the first coil, which had gone undetected, remained inside her. They tried for years to have a baby, with no success, including IVF treatment which cost them thousands of pounds. The mistake was only discovered when she went for an X-ray in 2019 after complaining of back pain and the original coil was revealed. Mr and Mrs Huddleston were awarded a six-figure out of court settlement after taking their case to Irwin Mitchell solicitors. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 March 2023
  14. Content Article
    Ahead 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.
  15. Content Article
    This investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) explored the detection and diagnosis of jaundice in newborn babies, in particular babies born prematurely (before 37 weeks of pregnancy). Specifically, it explored delayed diagnosis due to there being no obvious visual signs of jaundice apparent to clinical staff. Jaundice is a condition caused by too much bilirubin in a person’s blood. Bilirubin is a yellow substance produced when red blood cells are broken down. If left undiagnosed and untreated, high bilirubin levels in newborn babies can lead to significant harm. Newborn babies have a higher number of red blood cells in their blood which increases their risk of jaundice. Jaundice can cause yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes; however, sometimes the visual signs of jaundice are not obvious, particularly for premature or newborn babies with brown or black skin. The reference event for this investigation was the case of baby Elliana, who was born at 32 weeks and 1 day via a forceps delivery and then transferred to the Trust’s special care baby unit (SCBU). Elliana was assessed on admission to the SCBU by staff as a clinically stable premature baby and a routine blood sample was taken from around two hours after her birth to establish a baseline. Analysis of the blood sample indicated bilirubin was present and so the level was measured. This result was uploaded onto the Trust’s computer system alongside the results of the blood tests that had been requested by the clinical team. The bilirubin result was seen by a SCBU member of staff who recognised that the level was high, indicating the possible need for treatment. However, this member of staff was then required to attend an emergency and the bilirubin result was not acted upon. Another blood sample was taken when Elliana was two days old and was uploaded to the Trust’s computer system. It is unclear if this bilirubin result was seen by staff; it was not documented in clinical records and was not acted upon. Over the next two days, Elliana continued to show no visible signs of jaundice that were detected by staff and she was documented to be developing well. When Elliana was five days old, a change in her skin colour was observed and visible signs of jaundice were detected. A further blood sample was taken which showed she had a high level of bilirubin in her blood and treatment was started accordingly. Elliana’s bilirubin levels returned to within acceptable levels over the next three days and she was subsequently discharged home.
  16. Content Article
    This download A4 Easy Read booklet from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust uses simple language and pictures to talk about smear tests. It explains what a smear test is and has tips to make it better for you. It also has a list of words you might hear. Please note this edition of the Easy Read booklet has not been updated with HPV primary screening, but the information and tips about cervical screening are correct. 
  17. Content Article
    This video published by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) tells the story of Pat, whose bowel cancer diagnosis was missed, resulting in his premature death. His daughter Patricia talks about the two investigations that took place into her father's death and how the hospital's internal investigation failed to acknowledge that a staff member had raised concerns about Pat's initial colonoscopy on five occasions, but this had not been followed up. She describes the impact of these events on her father and the rest of the family and calls on medical professionals to "trust us (families) more and fear solicitors less."
  18. Content Article
    In the UK, the focus of osteoporosis care in the NHS has been on people who have sustained a fragility fracture as a result of their underlying condition. Not much has been done to try and prevent the first fracture by promoting good bone health and proactively identifying people at higher risk. This report by the APPG on Osteoporosis and Bone Health presents the results of its inquiry into primary care provision for people with osteoporosis and those at high risk of fracture, launched in March 2022. The inquiry aimed to establish the current quality of care being offered to patients.
  19. Content Article
    Gomes et al. report the utilisation and impact of a novel triage-based electronic screening tool (eST) combined with clinical assessment to recognise sepsis in paediatric emergency department. An electronic sepsis screening tool was implemented in the paediatric emergency departments of two large UK secondary care hospitals between June 2018 and January 2019. Patients eligible for screening were children < 16 years of ages excluding those with minor injuries or who were brought directly to resuscitation.  Utilisation of a novel triage-based eST allowed sepsis screening in over 99% of eligible patients. The screening tool showed good accuracy to recognise sepsis at triage in the ED, which was augmented further by combining it with clinician assessment. The screening tool requires further refinement through multicentre evaluation to avoid missing sepsis cases.
  20. Content Article
    This cross-sectional study in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine aimed to understand the relationship between financial conflicts of interest and recommendations for atrial fibrillation (AF) screening in the UK. The authors looked at whether the UK media recommend for or against screening for AF and the financial conflicts of interests of AF screening commentators. The authors found that the vast majority of UK media promotes screening for AF, in contrast to the position of the independent UK National Screening Committee, which recommends against screening. Most commentators, internal NHS organisations and UK charities promoting screening had a direct or indirect financial conflict of interest. Independent information was rare and the reasons for this are unknown. They recommend readers consider the potential impact of financial conflicts on recommendations to screen.
  21. News Article
    Hundreds of patients with metallic implants narrowly avoided death or serious injury after being wrongly referred for MRI scans, an investigation revealed yesterday. The powerful magnets used in the machines can displace and damage metallic items such as pacemakers, ear implants and aneurysm clips. Doctors should question patients and check medical records before requesting a scan because of the risk of injury. But hospitals in England recorded 315 near-misses from April 2020 to March 2022 involving patients sent for an MRI. An MRI scan at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust was ditched after staff confirmed the skin over the patient’s pacemaker had begun heating up. Another patient – at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Trust – told staff about a metal plug implanted in their nose only after the scan had begun. Many of the incidents involved forms being filled out incorrectly on behalf of elderly and disoriented patients. At East Kent Hospitals University Trust, a patient described as ‘not compos mentis’ was given the all-clear by a care home nurse and again by a clinician for MRI – only for staff to realise at the last moment that metal clips were implanted in their chest. Information about the incidents was obtained using freedom of information requests. Helen Hughes of Patient Safety Learning, said: "It is vital that near-misses are regularly reported, their causes understood, and that this learning is acted on to prevent future avoidable harm." Read full story Source: MailOnline, 15 October 2022
  22. News Article
    Scientists have discovered that it may be possible to spot signs of dementia as early as nine years before patients receive an official diagnosis. The findings raise the possibility that, in the future, at-risk people could be screened to help select those who could benefit from interventions, or help identify patients suitable for clinical trials for new treatments. Researchers at Cambridge University published the study – funded by the Medical Research Council with support from the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre – in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said the “important” findings suggested that “for some people who go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, memory and thinking problems can begin up to nine years before they receive a diagnosis”. He added: “This opens up the possibility of screening programmes in the future to help identify people at risk and who may benefit from interventions, and identify more people suitable for clinical trials for new dementia treatments, which are both so desperately needed.” The study’s first author, Nol Swaddiwudhipong, said: “This is a step towards us being able to screen people who are at greatest risk – for example, people over 50 or those who have high blood pressure or do not do enough exercise – and intervene at an earlier stage to help them reduce their risk.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 October 2022
  23. News Article
    Lung cancer screening should be offered to over-55s who have smoked, government advisers have said. New guidance from the UK National Screening Committee has called for a mass introduction of checks for all present and former smokers between the ages of 55 and 74. While the NHS offers routine screening for other types of cancer, including breast, bowel and cervical, there is no lung cancer screening programme. Lung cancer is the UK’s deadliest form and every year 48,000 people are diagnosed, with 35,000 deaths. The death rate is so high because it is often spotted when symptoms develop and it is too late for treatment. Only 5% of those diagnosed with lung cancer at the latest stage survive for five years, but when picked up early more than half survive. Officials have recommended targeted screening to cut death rates. It involves a CT scan which takes a detailed picture of the lungs to look for abnormalities. The National Screening Committee said that targeting all of those who have smoked would reduce deaths because 70% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 30 September 2022
  24. News Article
    For the first time, a US government-backed expert panel has recommended that adults under 65 should be screened for anxiety disorders. The influential US Preventive Services Task force also said that all adults should be checked for depression, consistent with past guidance. The change follows widespread warnings from experts on the mental health toll of the Covid-19 pandemic. The task force stopped short of a screening recommendation for suicide. The panel acknowledged that suicide is a leading cause of death among American adults but said there was "not enough evidence on whether screening people without signs or symptoms will ultimately help prevent suicide". The draft guidance is aimed at young and middle-aged adults, including those who are pregnant and post-partum. It envisions the mental health screening as part of routine visits with primary care physicians, said Dr Lori Pbert, a task-force member and professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School. "When you go to your primary care provider, you get screened for many, many preventive conditions - blood pressure, heart rate, all kinds of things," she said. "Mental health conditions are just important as other physical conditions, and we really need to be treating mental health conditions with the same urgency that we do other conditions." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 September 2022
  25. News Article
    Some women in Northern Ireland are waiting more than three times longer than they should for smear test results. BBC News NI's Evening Extra programme learned that all health trusts were breaching the target of 80% of samples being reported within four weeks. The Department of Health (DoH) and Public Health Agency (PHA) said it was due to pressures on pathology services. This included a shortage of available trained staff across the UK to carry out the screening, they said. Unlike the rest of the UK, each sample in Northern Ireland has to be individually examined by a scientist. In Great Britain, HPV primary screening is used. This tests the sample of cells taken at the appointment for a virus that can cause cervical cell changes to develop into cancer. The DoH said it intended to implement this in Northern Ireland and the project involved significant work to reconfigure services. Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 September 2022
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