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Found 451 results
  1. News Article
    MPs from across the political spectrum have called for a ban on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as a treatment for mental illness in England, and want the practice to be subject to an urgent inquiry. MPs told The Independent they have serious concerns that women are disproportionally given electroconvulsive therapy, and argued that patients are not properly notified of the treatment’s potential side effects. Some patients have also reported that they weren’t asked to provide consent before it was administered. Dr Pallavi Devulapalli, a GP, called for the government to undertake an “urgent and comprehensive review” of the treatment as she warned that patients’ wellbeing was “at stake”. The calls come after The Independent previously reported that thousands of women were being given ECT despite concerns that it can cause irreversible brain damage. It comes after Dr Sue Cunliffe, who began receiving ECT in 2004, previously told The Independent that the treatment had “completely destroyed” her life despite a psychiatrist having told her there would be no long-term side effects. Dr Cunliffe, a former children’s doctor, said: “By the end of it, I couldn’t recognise relatives or friends. I couldn’t count money out. I couldn’t do my two times table. I couldn’t navigate anywhere. I couldn’t remember what I’d done from one minute to another.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 March 2023
  2. News Article
    Lisa Hague, 38, was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 17 after being in such severe pain that she resorted to taking a powerful painkiller, dihydrocodeine, that had been prescribed to her partner for a sports injury. She had an allergic reaction to the codeine and was taken to hospital. After speaking to a doctor about why she had taken such a risk, she was referred for a laparoscopy and diagnosed. “I’d never heard of endometriosis before and didn’t know anyone that had it,” she says. The diagnosis was a relief, but there were few treatment options available and she has had to manage intense pain and very heavy bleeding for a few days each month. At times, she has resorted to sitting against hot radiators or taking scalding baths to “as a distraction from the internal pain”. “It is very dismissed still at the doctors,” she says. Hague says there is a “desperate need” for better treatments so that her teenage daughter’s generation do not face the same struggle. “Things have got to have changed since I was 17,” she says. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2023
  3. News Article
    Patients are being warned of a “shocking gap in cancer care” as new figures reveal that fewer than 3% of England’s NHS trusts met a key waiting-times target last year for cancer patients to be treated within two months of an urgent GP referral. Of 125 hospital trusts in England analysed, only three (2.4%) hit the standard of treating 85% of patients within 62 days after an urgent referral in 2022. Some trusts have not hit the standard for at least eight years. More than 66,000 patients were forced to wait more than two months for their first treatment last year after a referral, the figures reveal. One leading cancer charity said this weekend the cancer care system was not fit for purpose, with “lives left hanging in the balance”. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dems health spokesperson, said the figures showed that even before the pandemic struck, the number of hospital trusts meeting targets was falling rapidly. “Now the situation is so bad that barely any hospitals are able to provide patients with the treatment they need on time. Ministers have consistently failed to plan ahead or provide adequate funding, while taking patients and NHS staff for granted. There is a shocking gap in cancer care from one area to another,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 March 2023
  4. News Article
    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended eight online therapies for anxiety and depression. NICE says the therapies have the potential to help more than 40,000 people in the UK. Each therapy must come with a formal assessment from an NHS therapist in order for it to be recommended. According to NHS Digital, there is a six-week waiting list for patients who need mental health support in England. There are hopes that introducing online digital therapies could ease pressure on the NHS. The treatments can help those with depression, anxiety, PTSD and body dysmorphia and are centred on the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - a talking therapy which can help a patient manage their problems by suggesting alterations to their thought process and behaviour. The therapies have been conditionally recommended by NICE - meaning early assessments have taken place to identify promising medical technology but more evidence needs to be gathered. However, Professor Dame Til Wykes, of the School of Mental Health and Psychological Sciences at London's King's College, cautioned "we don't know enough" about the effectiveness of online therapies and whether the therapies will offer sufficient support for mental health patients. Her view was echoed by mental health charity Mind, with content manager Jessica D'Cruz asserting "the majority" of people needing support "will struggle to benefit from this". Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 March 2023
  5. News Article
    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has decided not to recommend Evusheld for adults who are unlikely to have an adequate immune response or cannot have the vaccine against Covid-19, citing a lack of evidence that it is effective against circulating variants. However, it is still reviewing whether the antibody drug could be used to prevent covid-19 infection in adults at the highest risk of severe illness, including people with immunodeficiency, people who have had a solid organ transplant, and people with cancer. NICE’s director of medicines evaluation, Helen Knight, acknowledged that the decision would be “disappointing for the many thousands” of vulnerable people who “continue to significantly modify their behaviour to avoid infection. Commenting on NICE’s decision, Lennard Lee, senior clinical research fellow at the University of Birmingham, said, “While it’s right for NICE to ensure that treatment options are based on the best possible evidence for their safety, efficacy, and cost effectiveness, it must be recognised that those who remain extremely vulnerable to covid need to be prioritised in trials akin to those early days of the pandemic to find treatments fit for them. “Otherwise, we run the risk of consigning half a million people to continue to live in 2020, stuck in their homes, not able to see their families and friends for fear of infection with no protection.” Read full story Source: The BMJ, 16 February 2023
  6. News Article
    Some ambulance trusts are not sending paramedics to up to around a quarter of their most serious calls, according to figures obtained by HSJ. HSJ submitted data requests to all 10 English ambulance trusts after the Care Quality Commission raised concerns about the proportion of category one calls not being attended by a paramedic at South Central Ambulance Service Foundation Trust. The regulator said in a report published in August last year that between November 2021 and April 2022 around 9% of the trust’s category one calls were not attended by a paramedic. Inspectors said this meant some patients “did not receive care or treatment that met their needs because there were not appropriately qualified staff making the decisions and providing treatment.” But data obtained via freedom of information requests reveals other ambulance trusts had far lower proportions of category one calls attended by paramedics than the South Central service last year. Read full story Source: HSJ, 2 February 2023
  7. News Article
    “I was worried it would grow and spread,” Charlotte Park, a breast cancer patient tells The Independent. “What happens if I hadn’t been that really pushy person? Sometimes I still go into a dark place and I think: I am so lucky to be here.” The 50-year-old, from Richmond in Yorkshire, found a lump in her breast in June 2020 and went straight to see her GP who informed her she would have to wait two weeks to see a specialist. After a fortnight of waiting, she started to panic and rang the clinic who said they were still working through referrals from four to six weeks prior to her referral. “I was getting frustrated and impatient by this point,” Ms Park recalls. “There was no leeway and they didn’t see if they could squeeze me in. I just felt frustrated. There was nothing I could do. It was all out of my hands. I was feeling teary.” Ms Park is one of thousands of women with breast cancer in England facing delays of weeks or months to see a specialist or receive treatment. Data, shared exclusively with The Independent, shows delays were substantially worse for those with breast cancer than other forms of cancer. In the end, Ms Park was forced to wait 25 days to see a specialist. The wait was “agony”, she said. It was difficult to definitively determine if the delays caused her cancer to grow, she noted. Her comments come in the context of thousands of women with breast cancer being forced to wait longer than the NHS-recommended time of two months to get treatment, in a situation branded “perilous” by healthcare professionals. Exclusive data shows only seven in ten women in England received treatment for breast cancer two months after getting an urgent doctor’s referral between January and November 2022. This amounts to just more than 16,500 women and is way below the NHS target for 85% of breast cancer patients diagnosed via an urgent GP referral to start their cancer treatment within two months of their GP visit. Read full story Source: The Independent. 31 January 2023
  8. News Article
    Being placed on immunotherapy to treat Stage 4 cancer was a life-saver for Imogen Llewellyn. Three years on, the 34-year-old is currently cancer-free, but said if it was not for specialist doctors, the side effects could have killed her. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) claims Wales needs more oncology experts in A&E to recognise and treat emergencies. The Welsh government said all acute hospitals were expected to have an acute oncology service. The RCP report wants investment in emergency cancer care because of the sheer volume of patients who need urgent care during their treatment. With about a fifth of acute hospital beds occupied by people who have a cancer-related problems, they add that about a third of admissions could be avoided if same-day care were more widely available in Wales - which in turn would relieve pressure on hospitals. Dr Hilary Williams, consultant oncologist and Wales Cancer Network lead for acute oncology, said: "Wherever a patient lives in Wales, they should be able to access excellent acute oncology services. "When people think about cancer treatment, they might think about undergoing surgery or receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy in an organised way, perhaps during weekday hours in a specialist centre. But what happens when an emergency arises?" Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 January 2023
  9. News Article
    Thousands of NHS operations and appointments have had to be cancelled because of the nurses' strikes in England this week. Over the two days, NHS England said 27,800 bookings had to be rescheduled, including 5,000 operations and treatments. There were more than 30 hospital trusts affected with some saying between 10% to 20% of normal activity was lost. They warned the dispute was hampering progress in reducing the backlog. Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, said the strike days caused "significant disruption" and were "some of the hardest" hospitals have had to cope with this winter. She said it would have a "big knock-on effect on efforts to tackle the backlog". "The ramifications go well beyond the day itself. We are deeply concerned by this pile-up of demand, which will only continue with more strikes on the horizon." Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 January 2023
  10. News Article
    Dentists have told the BBC that demand for Instagram smiles has left people with damage from wearing clear braces or "aligners" ordered online. One man said aligners weakened his front teeth, leaving him unable to bite into an apple. Smile Direct Club, the largest company selling clear aligners remotely, says they straighten teeth faster and cheaper than traditional braces. Its aligners have been successful for the majority of users, it says. But some dentists and orthodontists believe customers of so-called remote dentistry are unaware of harm that can be caused by aligners if not fitted by a dentist in person. The General Dental Council (GDC), responsible for regulating UK dentists, says for some cases remote dentistry can be "provided safely". It urges consumers to consult its guidelines. However, Dr Crouch of the BDA believes such guidelines are insufficient compared with "rules and regulation to protect patients". Otherwise, dentists will be left picking up the pieces when "patients have undergone wholly inappropriate treatment". The UK's health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced last summer any company providing remote orthodontic services will have to register with it. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 January 2023
  11. News Article
    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for the Alzheimer’s disease drug lecanemab, one of the first experimental dementia drugs to appear to slow the progression of cognitive decline. Lecanemab will be marketed as Leqembi, the FDA statement said. It has shown “potential” as an Alzheimer’s disease treatment by appearing to slow progression, according to Phase 3 trial results, but it has raised safety concerns due to its association with certain serious adverse events, including brain swelling and bleeding. In July, the FDA accepted Eisai’s Biologics License Application for lecanemab under the accelerated approval pathway and granted the drug priority review, according to the company. The accelerated approval programme allows for earlier approval of medications that treat serious conditions and “fill an unmet medical need” while the drugs continue to be studied in larger and longer trials. If those trials confirm that the drug provides a clinical benefit, the FDA could grant traditional approval. But if the confirmatory trial does not show benefit, the FDA has the regulatory procedures that could lead to taking the drug off the market. Read full story Source: CNN Health, 7 January 2023
  12. News Article
    The number of children in England needing treatment for serious mental health problems has risen by 39% in a year, official data shows. Experts say the pandemic, social inequality, austerity and online harm are all fuelling a crisis in which NHS mental health treatment referrals for under-18s have increased to more than 1.1m in 2021-22. In 2020-21 – the first year of the pandemic – the figure was 839,570, while in 2019-20 there were 850,741 referrals, according to analysis of official figures by the PA Media. The figures include children who are suicidal, self-harming, suffering serious depression or anxiety, and those with eating disorders. Dr Elaine Lockhart, chair of the child and adolescent psychiatry faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the rise in referrals reflected a “whole range” of illnesses. She said “specialist services are needing to respond to the most urgent and the most unwell”, including young people suffering from psychosis, suicidal thoughts and severe anxiety disorder. Lockhart said targets for seeing children urgently with eating disorders were sliding “completely” and that more staff were needed. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 January 2023
  13. News Article
    The antiviral, molnupiravir, does not reduce coronavirus hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated people at high risk, new research suggests. But the treatment was associated with a shorter recovery time, by four days, and reduced viral load. People who received molnupiravir reported feeling better compared to those who received usual care, the study found. Researchers suggest that while the drug could have some benefits in terms of symptom reduction, the cost of the drug may mean it is not the best choice for the general population, given the study findings. But it may be useful in reducing the pressure on UK health systems, they added. Chris Butler, professor of primary care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and co-chief investigator of Panoramic, said: “Finding effective, safe and scalable early treatments for Covid-19 in the community is the next major frontier in our research response to the ongoing worldwide pandemic. “It is in the community where treatments could have a massive reach and impact. “But decisions about who to treat should always be based on evidence from rigorous clinical trials that involve people who would most likely be prescribed the drugs.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 December 2022
  14. News Article
    Rare genetic disorders will be diagnosed and treated in babies thanks to a project to sequence the complete DNA of 100,000 newborns. It should spare hundreds of families in England months, or years, of anguish waiting to find out why their children are ill. The project is the first time that whole genome sequencing (WGS) has been offered to healthy babies in the NHS. It will screen for around 200 disorders, all of them treatable. The Newborn Genomes Programme, to begin next year, is thought to be the biggest study of its kind in the world. If successful, it could be rolled out across the country. Owen, 9, has an extremely rare genetic condition which affects his growth and development. Called THRA-related congenital hypothyroidism, it is one of the disorders which will be included in the new genetic test. Father, Rob Everitt, told the BBC: "I think of all the hours we spent in hospital waiting rooms, getting referred around different departments, all the tests - some of which were quite invasive - that drew a blank every time. I lost count of how many doctors and consultants we went to see and how many tests they did on him." Mother, Sarah Everitt, says getting the diagnosis was life-changing: "It was like winning the lottery….because we knew there was a treatment pathway; we knew we could get him support and he could attend a mainstream school." Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 December 2022
  15. News Article
    At least 100,000 people across the UK have had their lives put at risk over the last decade because of delays to them getting tested or treated for cancer, a new report claims. In some cases, patients’ treatment options narrowed or their cancer spread or became incurable as a direct result of their long waits for NHS care, according to Macmillan Cancer Support. The “inhumane” impact of delays on patients is “shameful”, it said, blaming ministers across the four home nations for underfunding and not tackling staff shortages in cancer services. “I’ve had patients arrive for their radical chemotherapy appointment, who wait three hours only to be told that because of staff shortages we can’t deliver their treatment today. It’s inhumane”, said Naman Julka-Anderson, an advanced practice therapeutic radiographer who is also an allied health professional clinical adviser for Macmillan. Many waited longer than 62 days to start treatment – surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy – after a GP referred them as an urgent case, the charity’s analysis of official NHS data found. At least 100,000 of those 180,000 people have seen their symptoms worsen, or their cancer progress or their chances reduce of successfully being treated because they have had to wait. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 June 2023
  16. News Article
    A reduction in the number of GP referrals to hospitals could be creating a "hidden backlog" of patients needing help, according to a new report. The study by the Institute for Government (IFG) and Public First says that not enough data is published about the "advice and guidance" referral system. Family doctors have been told to reduce the number of people they refer for hospital care by using the 'advice and guidance' route – whereby a GP will call or email a hospital doctor to ask for advice on whether or not a referral is required. The method has been used since 2015 but NHS England introduced a target for GPs to have 12 "advice and guidance" patients for every 100 outpatient appointments in October 2021 in an attempt to reduce the backlog of hospital care. This has now increased to 16 but it has been reported that as many as 22 out of 100 potential hospital appointments are being handled this way. The IFG and Public First report states: "There is a risk that GPs making fewer referrals – in part to address hospital capacity concerns – is creating a 'hidden backlog' by allowing treatable conditions to deteriorate and possibly leading to more unplanned admissions." Read full story Source: Medscape, 14 June 2023
  17. News Article
    The Royal College of Radiologists is warning that all four UK nations are facing "chronic staff shortages", with cancer patients waiting too long for vital tests and treatments. Half of all cancer units are now reporting frequent delays for both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Ministers say a workforce strategy for the NHS in England is due shortly. The plan, which is meant to spell out how the government will plug staffing gaps over the next 15 years, has been repeatedly delayed, to the frustration of some in the health service. In June 2022, Carol Fletcher, from South Wales, finally had her routine screening appointment for breast cancer, which was itself overdue. "It took another eight weeks after my mammogram before I was told there might be something wrong," she said. Since her cancer diagnosis, there have been more waits - for scans, tests, surgery and then chemo. "I was told that I might not get results back [quickly] after my mastectomy because they haven't got enough pathologists, so there was another eight-week delay for chemotherapy," she said. "I can't plan for the future and it's had a huge impact on my family." Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 June 2023
  18. News Article
    The NHS in England is "failing women", the government's women's health ambassador has said. Prof Dame Lesley Regan, appointed to support the Women's Health Strategy implementation, was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Naga Munchetty. Last month, Munchetty, 48, revealed she had been diagnosed with the womb condition adenomyosis, after waiting years in severe pain. Dame Lesley said she wanted women to be able to self-refer to specialists. Women and girls should not have to seek "permission [to] go and have your crippling menstrual pain sorted out", she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 June 2023
  19. News Article
    A trust is carrying out a review after hundreds of patients were wrongly removed from the waiting list and potentially missed out on treatment. York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust told HSJ that roughly 800 patients of its referral to treatment waiting list, were affected. A serious incident was declared after it emerged some patients “had their referral to treat clocks stopped erroneously, resulting in patients not receiving treatment”, according to a report to the trust board. The trust said reviews were under way but had not yet identified any cases of “moderate or significant clinical harm”, although it admitted some patients had been significantly delayed. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 2 June 2023
  20. News Article
    Thousands of people in England who get migraines could benefit from a drug that has been approved on the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the drugs regulator, said it was recommending rimegepant for preventing migraines in the approximately 145,000 adults where at least three previous preventive treatments had failed. The drug, also called Vydura and made by Pfizer, is taken as a wafer which dissolves under the tongue. It is the first time Nice has recommended an oral treatment for preventing migraines. “Each year the lives of millions of people in England are blighted by migraine attacks,” said Helen Knight, the director of medicines evaluation at Nice. “They can be extremely debilitating and can significantly affect a person’s quality of life. “Rimegepant is the first oral treatment for migraine to be recommended by Nice and for many thousands of people it is likely to be a welcome and more convenient addition to existing options for a condition that is often overlooked and undertreated.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 31 March 2023
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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,
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