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Found 456 results
  1. News Article
    A new treatment could help people to stop taking addictive opioid painkillers for chronic pain, research suggests. Data suggests there are one million people at risk from longer-term continuous opioid prescriptions, and more than 50,000 have been taking these for six months or more. While recent NHS initiatives have managed to reduce opioid prescribing by 8%, saving an estimated 350 lives, the new research has found evidence that could help many more people stop their opioid painkiller use. A team of researchers and doctors has developed and successfully trialled a programme designed to guide people in coming off prescription painkillers, tapering their opioid intake and learning how to manage their pain using alternative techniques with a course which combines one-to-one and group support. According to the findings, after one year, one in five people were able to stop taking opioids without their pain increasing. The scientists suggest the new treatment is an alternative to opioid use and has potential to give patients a better quality of life. Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 May 2023
  2. News Article
    The government in England should increase its use of the private sector to tackle the NHS backlog, Labour says. It said as many as 300,000 patients have missed out on treatment since it called for greater use of private clinics in January 2022. And the party said it was unjust that the lack of action meant only those who could afford to pay for treatment themselves were being seen on time. The government said it was delivering by cutting long waits. However, data published by NHS England last week showed key targets to tackle the backlogs in cancer care and routine treatment had been missed. Overall, there are now a record 7.3 million people on a hospital waiting list, which is nearly three million higher than it was before the pandemic started. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 May 2023
  3. News Article
    A therapy using magnets to treat severe depression is available on the NHS in the West for the first time. Wellsprings clinic in Taunton can now deliver the repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation treatment (rTMS) to NHS patients through a referral. During a session, a strong magnetic field is used to stimulate or inhibit different parts of the brain. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said it had "no major safety concerns" for the therapy. Mark Rickman, 60, from Dartmoor deals with bipolar and depression and said rTMS has had a positive impact on him. Mr Rickman previously tried Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), where electric shocks cause a brief surge of electrical activity in the brain, but said it was "debilitating" compared to rTMS. NICE cleared rTMS for use in 2015, for people who had not responded well to antidepressants, and had "no major concerns" about the therapy. The main side effects were said to be headaches, and patients at risk of seizures are screened. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 May 2023
  4. News Article
    Nine online talking-therapy treatments for anxiety or depression have been given the green light to be used by the NHS in England. They offer faster access to help but less time with a therapist, which may not suit everyone, the health body recommending them said. There is huge demand for face-to-face services, with people waiting several weeks to see a therapist. The new digital therapies, delivered via a website or an app using cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), provide an alternative way of accessing support, which may be more convenient for some, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says. They could also free up resources and help reduce the wait for care. However, psychiatrists said digital therapies were not a long-term solution. Mental-health charity Sane said they were no substitute for a one-to-one relationship and could leave people feeling even more isolated than before. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 May 2023
  5. News Article
    Patients are being offered powerful drugs and told they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after unreliable online assessments, a BBC investigation has discovered. Three private clinics diagnosed an undercover reporter via video calls. But a more detailed, in-person NHS assessment showed he didn't have the condition. Panorama spoke to dozens of patients and whistleblowers after receiving tip-offs about rushed and poor-quality assessments at some private clinics, including Harley Psychiatrists, ADHD Direct and ADHD 360. The investigation found that: Clinics carried out only limited mental health assessments of patients. Powerful drugs were prescribed for long-term use, without advice on possible serious side effects or proper consideration of patients' medical history. Patients posting negative reviews were threatened with legal action. The NHS is paying for thousands of patients to go to private clinics for assessments. Commenting on Panorama's findings, Dr Mike Smith - an NHS consultant psychiatrist - said he was seriously concerned about the number of people who might "potentially have received an incorrect diagnosis and been started on medications inappropriately". "The scale is massive." Read full story Source: BBC News,
  6. News Article
    The boss of a private healthcare company exposed by the Guardian for putting seriously ill children and adults at risk was warned it was failing patients three years ago. Darryn Gibson, the chief executive of Sciensus, Britain’s biggest medicines courier, was told in November 2020 that patients with bleeding disorders were being left dangerously exposed to internal bleeding with little or no treatment at home as a result of botched, delayed or missed deliveries. Gibson received the written warning from Kate Burt, the chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, a leading health charity, after she had become outraged at how vulnerable patients were being let down. Sciensus blamed IT issues and promised action. However, three years later, patients remain at “very serious” risk of harm because of “recurring” problems with the company, Burt said. “We continue to receive complaints about missing, incomplete or inaccurate deliveries and are very concerned to see the same issues recurring, indicating that far more needs to be done to improve Sciensus’s ordering and delivery systems,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2023
  7. News Article
    AI could harm the health of millions and pose an existential threat to humanity, doctors and public health experts have said as they called for a halt to the development of artificial general intelligence until it is regulated. Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionise healthcare by improving diagnosis of diseases, finding better ways to treat patients and extending care to more people. But the development of artificial intelligence also has the potential to produce negative health impacts, according to health professionals from the UK, US, Australia, Costa Rica and Malaysia writing in the journal BMJ Global Health. The risks associated with medicine and healthcare “include the potential for AI errors to cause patient harm, issues with data privacy and security and the use of AI in ways that will worsen social and health inequalities”, they said. One example of harm, they said, was the use of an AI-driven pulse oximeter that overestimated blood oxygen levels in patients with darker skin, resulting in the undertreatment of their hypoxia. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 May 2023
  8. News Article
    A host of algorithms used by medics to assess disease risk and help make decisions on treatment are failing to take transgender patients into account, doctors have said. Many metrics and thresholds in medicine, including ideal body weight, alcohol clearance rates, kidney function and risk of cardiovascular disease vary by gender. A team of UK doctors and medical students have issued a warning over a lack of evidence as to whether trans patients should be considered for these gender-based scores according to their gender assigned at birth or the gender they have transitioned to – or whether alternative scores are required. In an effort to tackle the issue, the team have launched a research initiative called Trans Gap Project. Dr Michael Niman, a junior NHS doctor and chair of the project, said: “Currently, daily medical decisions involving gender-based scores have limited to no research for the trans community. This means that trans patients are often forgotten about or not considered in the medical world, leading to a significant gap in their access to appropriate medical care.” “When scores that haven’t considered trans people are used, patient autonomy is impaired for trans and gender-diverse patients, as they can’t make true informed decisions on their care – which is one of the bioethic pillars,” Niman said. In some cases, there could be safety concerns. “Clinicians are currently faced with uncertainty regarding the best clinical practice to address these scenarios, owing to a lack of evidence-based guidance,” Niman said. “It is vital clinicians take a vested interest in the research of gender-based scores for the trans community due to the importance of safe practice considerations within the NHS.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 May 2023
  9. News Article
    The world is “on the cusp of a first generation of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease”, experts have said, as a new drug was found to slow cognitive and functional decline. The drug donanemab, made by Eli Lilly and Company, slowed decline by 35% to 36% in a late-stage phase 3 clinical trial, the company said. Donanemab appeared to slow the decline associated with Alzheimer’s compared to placebo in 1,182 people with early-stage disease based on those with intermediate levels of a protein known as tau. The drug also resulted in 40% less decline in the ability to perform activities of daily living, according to the firm. Dr Susan Kolhaas, executive director of research and partnerships at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This is incredibly encouraging, and another hugely significant moment for dementia research". “The treatment effect is modest, as is the case for many first-generation drugs, and there are risks of serious side effects that need to be fully scrutinised before donanemab can be marketed and used. “However, this news underlines the urgency of preparing the NHS to make these treatments available should regulators deem them safe and effective". Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 May 2023
  10. News Article
    Thousands of NHS-funded talking therapy sessions are still being carried out by unaccredited practitioners every month, despite NHS England trying to stop the practice for at least five years. NHS Digital data for January this year showed 44,170 sessions involved practitioners who were neither in training nor had done an accredited course. The actual figure could be higher as, of the 517,027 sessions in total carried out, data about who was involved was missing for more than half (328,433). Since last June, practitioners delivering NHS-funded “low intensity” talking therapies – previously known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies – are required to be part of either the British Psychological Society or the British Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapies’ registers. The registers, which were set up in 2021, confirm practitioners have completed an accredited course, ensure continuous professional development and provide a framework for striking off. Meanwhile, NHSE’s IAPT manual – first published in 2018 – states all clinicians should have completed an accredited training programme and a “robust and urgent” plan should be in place to train those who have not, including the possibility of those without accreditation being prevented from working alone. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 May 2023
  11. News Article
    Today’s generation of elderly people could be the last to face the spectre of untreatable Alzheimer’s disease, according to the co-chair of the government’s new dementia mission. Hilary Evans, the chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, appointed by ministers last month, said the world was “on the cusp of a new dawn” for dementia treatments that meant devastating neurodegenerative illness would no longer be regarded as an inevitable part of old age. However, she warned that an overhaul of NHS dementia care was required to ensure that patients could access the first effective Alzheimer’s drugs, which could be approved in the UK as soon as next year. Evans was appointed last month to co-chair the UK government’s national dementia initiative, which aims to draw lessons from the Covid vaccine taskforce to accelerate dementia research and comes with a commitment to double funding for dementia research to £160m a year by 2024–2025. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 April 2023
  12. News Article
    A senior GP has been struck off the UK medical register for an “utterly deplorable” litany of treatment failures and for “reprehensible” professional conduct that included leaving patients in the care of unprepared trainee doctors and operating without adequate professional insurance. At least two patients suffered “grave consequences” from inaction on the part of Surraiya Zia, including a man whose deteriorating condition was effectively ignored for six months, despite the fact that he “presented to Dr Zia frequently, sometimes up to three times within a week, with red flag symptoms,” said Samantha Gray, chairing the medical practitioners tribunal. The patient was eventually persuaded to seek private magnetic resonance imaging by his family. This showed widespread stage IV lung cancer that took his life within weeks. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 21 April 2023
  13. News Article
    In an enormous leap forward in the understanding of Parkinson’s disease (PD), researchers have discovered a new tool that can reveal a key pathology of the disease: abnormal alpha-synuclein — known as the “Parkinson’s protein” — in brain and body cells. The breakthrough published in the scientific journal The Lancet Neurology, opens a new chapter for research, with the promise of a future where every person living with Parkinson’s can expect improved care and treatments — and newly diagnosed individuals may never advance to full-blown symptoms. The tool, called the α-synuclein seeding amplification assay (αSyn-SAA), can detect pathology in spinal fluid not only of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but also in individuals who have not yet been diagnosed or shown clinical symptoms of the disease, but are at a high risk of developing it. By helping to identify people at the earliest stages of PD, “We could then study what happens at different biological stages of the disease,” says Dr. Sherer. Says Ken Marek, MD, PPMI principal investigator, “αSyn-SAA enables us to move to another level in effecting new strategies for prevention of disease.” Read full story Source: The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson' research, 13 April 2023
  14. News Article
    Eighteen months after April Adcox learned she had skin cancer, she finally returned to Charleston's Medical University of South Carolina last May to seek treatment. Adcox had first met with physicians at the academic medical center in late 2020, after a biopsy diagnosed basal cell carcinoma. The operation to remove the cancer would require several physicians, she was told, including a neurosurgeon, because of how close it was to her brain. But Adcox was uninsured. She had lost her automotive plant job in the early days of the pandemic, and at the time of her diagnosis was equally panicked about the complex surgery and the prospect of a hefty bill. Instead of proceeding with treatment, she attempted to camouflage the expanding cancerous area for more than a year with hats and long bangs. If Adcox had developed breast or cervical cancer, she likely would have qualified for insurance coverage under a federal law that extends Medicaid eligibility to lower-income patients diagnosed with those two malignancies. For female patients with other types of cancer, as well as pretty much all male patients, the options are scant, especially in South Carolina and the 11 other states that haven't yet implemented Medicaid expansion, according to cancer physicians and health policy experts who study access to care. In the face of potentially daunting bills, uninsured adults sometimes delay care, which can result in worse survival outcomes, research shows. The odds of patients getting insurance to help cover the cost of treatment play out a bit like a game of roulette, depending upon where they live and what type of cancer they have. "It is very random — that's, I think, the heartbreaking part about it," said Dr. Evan Graboyes, a head and neck surgeon and one of Adcox's physicians. "Whether you live or die from cancer shouldn't really be related to what state you live in." Read full story Source: CBS News, 7 April 2023
  15. News Article
    Some of the most vulnerable patients could risk missing out on covid treatment because new rules will place the onus on them to access antiviral medication themselves instead of the NHS contacting them directly, senior figures have warned. The warnings follow NHS England’s national medical director Sir Stephen Powis writing to local leaders last week advising them the national commissioner will no longer identify patients who are eligible for covid treatment. This means eligible patients will need to contact local services themselves, rather than being approached proactively by a covid medicines delivery unit. Patients Association chief executive Rachel Power said: “Expecting patients ill with covid to know they’re eligible for these treatments and ask for them is unreasonable. How will they know they’re eligible or who to contact?” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 April 2023
  16. News Article
    Cancer drug information leaflets for patients in Europe frequently omit important facts, while some are “potentially misleading” when it comes to treatment benefits and related uncertainties, researchers have found. Cancer is the biggest killer in Europe after heart conditions, with more than 3.7m new cases and 1.9m deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. Medicines are a vital weapon against the disease. But critical facts about them are often missing from official sources of information provided to patients, clinicians and the public, according to a study led by researchers from King’s College London, Harvard Medical School and the University of Sydney, among others. “Regulated information sources for anticancer drugs in Europe fail to address the information needs of patients,” the study’s authors wrote in The BMJ journal. “If patients lack access to such information, clinical decisions may not align with their preferences and needs.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2023
  17. News Article
    A rise in the use of slimming jabs could lead to an increase in unsafe treatment for tummy tucks and surgery to remove excess skin, UK surgeons have warned. Drugs such as semaglutide and liraglutide are approved for use on the NHS for certain groups of people with obesity, and could help people reduce their weight by more than 10%. Surgeons have warned that people using the jabs may not realise they could be left with excess skin. “Whilst the newly introduced weight-loss drugs are not likely to produce comparable weight loss to bariatric surgery there is always the possibility that accompanying weight loss, a patient might be left with a degree of deflation and redundant skin,” said Marc Pacifico, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. However, access to surgery on the NHS to remove excess skin is limited because the NHS do not fund post-weight loss plastic surgery any more, so it has to be undertaken in the private sector. That costs about £4,500 to £6,000 in the UK, so Mr Pacifico warned patients might seek cheaper procedures abroad.. “I would strongly warn against this as there might not be the safeguards and assurances that the drugs being used are of the same quality and provenance as those being prescribed in the UK,” he said. He also warned that there are risks associated with having weight-loss plastic surgery abroad, such as the inability to undertake proper research on a surgeon, as well as the risks associated with flying straight after significant surgery – such as blood clots, as well as a lack of accessible follow-up with the surgeon and clinic to treat post-operative wound infections. Read full story Source: The Independent, 29 March 2023
  18. News Article
    Gonorrhoea cases in England have resurged since the easing of Covid restrictions, health officials are warning people who are sexually active. The disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The infection is spread by unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex. Symptoms can include a thick green or yellow discharge from sexual organs, pain when urinating and bleeding between periods, but some people will have no symptoms. Condoms can stop the spread of this and other sexually transmitted infections. Experts say people should practise safe sex and get tested regularly if they are having sex with new or casual partners. Testing is simple, free and discreet, they advise. Provisional data shows diagnoses in the first half of 2022 hit 56,327 - 21% higher than for the same period in 2019. An untreated infection can lead to infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and can be passed on to a child during pregnancy. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 March 2023
  19. Content Article
    Urinary tract infections (UTIs) exert a significant health and economic cost globally. Approximately one in four people with a previous history of UTI continue to develop recurrent or chronic infections. This review aims to present a novel perspective on chronic UTI by linking microbiology with immunology, which are commonly divergent in this field of research. It also describes the challenges in understanding chronic UTI pathogenesis and the human bladder immune response, largely conjectured from murine studies. Lastly, it outlines the shortcomings of current diagnostic methods in identifying individuals with chronic UTI and consequently treating them, potentially aggravating their disease due to mismanagement of prior episodes. This discourse highlights the need to consider these knowledge gaps and encourages more relevant studies of UTI in humans.
  20. 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.
  21. Content Article
    Chronic pain is common and debilitating, affecting about one in five people globally. However, chronic pain can be difficult to treat, and management is often suboptimal. The 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline for chronic primary pain explicitly recommends against the use of pain medicines, with the exception of antidepressants. To provide patients and clinicians with an updated and comprehensive resource on the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of antidepressants to treat pain, Ferreira et al. conducted an overview of relevant systematic reviews.  The study found no review could provide high certainty evidence on the effectiveness of antidepressants for pain for any condition. Nine reviews did provide evidence that some antidepressants were effective, such as moderate evidence suggesting serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), such as duloxetine, were effective for back pain, post-operative pain, fibromyalgia and nerve pain. However, the study only found low certainty evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were effective for people with depression and pain related to other conditions, and that tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were effective for irritable bowel syndrome, nerve pain and chronic tension-type headaches. The findings suggest that a more nuanced approach is needed when prescribing antidepressants for pain conditions.
  22. Content Article
    Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a technique that has been used since 1938 to treat several psychiatric disorders as a replacement for chemically induced seizures. Despite its history of stigma, controversy and low accessibility, ECT is found to be beneficial and efficient in severe cases of depression where medication fails to bring results. This article in Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine aimed to summarise the research conducted on the efficacy of ECT on major depressive disorder and variables studied such as technique, comorbidities and medication as well as the effects and outcomes of this procedure.
  23. Content Article
    This episode discusses the role NICE plays in patient safety. The guests are: Professor Kevin Harris, senior responsible office for patient safety at NICE, and clinical advisor to the Interventional Procedures Programme and Professor Jane Blazeby, Professor of Surgery at University of Bristol.
  24. Content Article
    The health service needs to develop innovative ways of treating an increasingly elderly and frail population, while harnessing new technology to help mitigate the staffing crisis. As part of the Times Health Commission, this article outlines some potential solutions — encompassing new ways of working and regulation to promote healthier lifestyles — to some aspects of the health and social care crisis in the UK.
  25. Content Article
    This report from the National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme (NACAP) offers a view of the care of people with asthma and COPD in England and Wales, and is informed by 103,194 case records submitted to the audit programme. It is the first report to combine data on asthma, COPD and pulmonary rehabilitation across primary and secondary care services to underpin key messages, optimising respiratory care across the pathway.
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