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Showing results for tags 'Screening'.
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News Article
High Street pharmacists to make cancer referrals
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People with a worrying cough, problems swallowing or blood in their urine will soon be able to be referred for scans and checks by a pharmacist, rather than having to wait to see their GP. The new pilot scheme, in England, aims to diagnose more cancers early, when there is a better chance of a cure. High Street pharmacies will be funded to refer customers for the checks. The NHS will also send out more "roaming trucks" to perform on-the-spot scans in the community. Lung-scanner vans driven to locations, including supermarket car parks and football stadiums, have already res -
News ArticleWhen Jenny* had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she believed the major surgery to remove her breast, although traumatic, had saved her life. She described feeling “rage” when at a follow-up appointment three years later, she said to her surgeon, “I would probably be dead by now” if she had not received the surgery, to which he replied: “Probably not.” It was only then, after she had already undergone invasive and life-changing treatment, that Jenny learned about “overdiagnosis”. While breast cancer screening programs are essential and save lives, sometimes
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Content ArticleTwelve women were interviewed from the UK (6), USA (4), Canada (1) and Australia (1) who had breast cancer, diagnosed between 2004 and 2019, and who were aware of the possibility of overdiagnosis. Participants were recruited via online blogs and professional clinical networks. The study found that most women (10/12) became aware of overdiagnosis after their own diagnosis. All were concerned about the possibility of overdiagnosis or overtreatment or both. Finding out about overdiagnosis/overtreatment had negative psychosocial impacts on women’s sense of self, quality of interactions with m
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News ArticleOne million checks for cancer, heart and lung disease have been carried out at new diagnostic clinics in football stadiums and shopping centres, the NHS has reported. In the past year, 92 “one-stop shop” centres offering scans, x-rays and blood tests have been opened in an effort to tackle the Covid care backlog after NHS waiting lists in England soared to a record 6.4 million patients. The NHS said it will open a further 70 centres, which will operate seven days a week and allow patients to get symptoms checked “on their doorstep” following GP referrals. The centres are staffed
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News Article
Racial disparity in cancer diagnoses via screening in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Black people are more than a third less likely than white people to be diagnosed with cancer via screening in England, according to the first study of its kind, prompting calls for targeted efforts to improve their levels of uptake. Screening programmes save lives by preventing cancer from occurring or spotting it earlier, when treatment is more likely to be effective. In England, screening for cervical cancer is offered to women aged 25 to 64, breast cancer screening is offered to women aged 50 to 70, and everyone aged 60 to 74 is offered a bowel cancer screening home test kit every -
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Cervical screening every five years ‘prevents as many cancers as every three’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women could be screened for cervical cancer every five years instead of every three and as many cancers could still be prevented, a new study suggests. Researchers at King’s College London said that screening women aged 24 to 49 who test negative for human papillomavirus (HPV) at five-year intervals prevented as many cancers as screening every three years. The study of 1.3 million women in England, published in the BMJ, found that women in this age group were less likely to develop clinically relevant cervical lesions, abnormal changes of the cells that line the cervix known as CIN3+ -
News Article
Breast cancer screening process in Scotland to change after recent errors
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS Scotland is to change the way women are called to breast cancer detection appointments after major recent errors in the screening programme. Some eligible for screening were not invited because they had moved between GP practices or were aged over 71 by the time their practice was called. Women aged 50 to 70 are invited for appointments once every three years, based on their GP practice. It emerged hundreds of women in NHS Lothian may have missed screenings. The health board said in January that 369 women considered to have a higher risk of developing the disease may no -
News Article
Cancer checks: Record number of patients referred in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A record 2.7 million people were referred for cancer checks in the last year, NHS England has said. It comes after figures suggested the Covid pandemic saw numbers dramatically decline in 2020. But at least 30,000 people are still waiting to start treatment. Charities have welcomed the increase in referrals but warned of the "devastating" impact the pandemic has had on cancer care. Referrals for suspected cancer remain at about 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels and rose overall from 2.4 million to 2,65m in the past 12 months. Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director fo -
Content Article
Blog - Food allergies: Unproven diagnostic tests
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Allergies
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News Article
NHS urges people to attend vital lung cancer check-ups in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS leaders are urging people to attend vital lung cancer check-ups as figures reveal almost two-thirds of those invited are not coming forward. The NHS targeted lung health check service offered in some parts of England aims to help diagnose cancer at an earlier stage when treatment may be more successful. Current and former smokers aged between 55 and 74 are invited to speak to a healthcare professional and, if they have a higher chance of developing lung cancer, are offered a scan of their lungs. Doctors are keen to reach those who may not have sought help for symptoms during the -
Content ArticleKey recommendations The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England should: develop specific plan to address gaps in diagnostic workforce, short-term and long-term shortages in key professions and level of investment required to deliver sustainable long-term increases. publish a detailed analysis of the extent of the cancer backlog to support the delivery of the elective care recovery plan. set out an estimate of what level of additional capacity in NHS cancer services will be needed to address the backlog in cancer services and treatment by March 2023. s
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News ArticleMore than 200 women were affected by failures in Ireland’s CervicalCheck screening system. It emerged in 2018 that 221 women and families were not told about misreported smear tests. The Minister for Health said that non-disclosure issues which arose in the cervical check screening controversy will be legislated for to prevent it from happening again. Stephen Donnelly said new legislation will address the negligence issues and ensure that the failure to inform the women of the clinical audit of their screening will “never happen again”. Mr Donnelly was discussing a number of ame
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News ArticleLess than half of women are being seen following an urgent breast cancer referral, as NHS performance drops to a new low. ‘Alarming’ new NHS figures have shown just 47% of women in England referred “urgently” for breast cancer symptoms were seen by a specialist within two weeks. For women without symptoms but referred urgently to see a specialist, just 49% were seen within two weeks. In both cases this is the first time since records began that less than 50% cent of women were seen. Within some trusts less than 10% of women referred with symptoms were seen within two weeks, with
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News ArticleA Scottish hospital has become the first in the UK and one of the first in the world to pilot using artificial intelligence (AI) in its cervical cancer screening programme. University Hospital Monklands has increased capacity by around 25% and improved analysis turn-around times with the measure, which experts said could “revolutionise” the screening process. The system, from medical technology company Hologic, creates digital images of cervical smear slides from samples that have tested positive for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). These are then reviewed using an advanced algorith
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News Article
Vaccines could mean only one smear test a lifetime
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women who have the HPV vaccine may need only one smear test to prevent cervical cancer in their lifetime, according to a leading scientist. Women are currently invited for screening every three to five years in the UK. But Prof Peter Sasieni said the vaccine was leading to such dramatic reductions in cancer that the screening programme would need to change soon. The NHS invites women, and people with a cervix, for regular screening. Swabs of the cervix are used to check for signs of abnormalities using a microscope (the traditional smear test) or more recently to test for the virus i -
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Content ArticleThere are more than 7,000 rare diseases, affecting an estimated 3.5 million people in the UK. Their complex nature means it is difficult for healthcare professionals to receive training on every condition or for patients to access the relevant specialist. People living with rare diseases, such as muscular dystrophies or Huntington’s disease, can go through multiple appointments and referrals before a diagnosis is made due to the complexity of conditions, making it difficult for individuals and their families to coordinate their care. The action plan, published today, includes 16 comm
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News Article
Pregnancy risk tool cuts baby loss in black and Asian women
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A new pregnancy screening tool cuts the risk of baby loss among women from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds to the same level as white women, research suggests. The app calculates a woman's individual risk of pregnancy problems. In a study of 20,000 pregnant women, baby death rates in ethnic groups were three times lower than normal when the tool was used. Experts say the new approach can help reduce health inequalities. The screening tool is already in use at St George's Hospital in London and is being tried out at three other maternity units in England, with h -
Content ArticleAll women who underwent first trimester pre-eclampsia risk assessment using either the NICE screening checklist or the FMF multimodal approach. Women considered at high-risk in the FMF cohort were offered 150 mg aspirin before 16 weeks' gestation, serial growth scans and elective birth at 40 weeks. The study found that in the NICE cohort, the perinatal death rate was significantly higher in non-white than white women (7.95 versus 2.63/1000 births). Following the introduction of FMF screening, the perinatal death rate in non-white women fell from 7.95 to 3.22/1000 births, such that it was
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News Article
Breast cancer screening uptake at its lowest point in history
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Breast cancer screening uptake fell to its lowest point ever during the pandemic, as the numbers of women seen dropped by more than one third. Just 1.19 million women aged 45 and over were screened for breast cancer in 2020-21, while the numbers of women who actually took up their invitation for screening dropped to 61%. Analysis by Breast Cancer Now, of the new NHS figures published on Thursday, found that uptake during the first year of the pandemic was the lowest it had been since records began. The number of women who had cancer detected through screening decreased by almost -
News ArticleHundreds of people identified as contacts following a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in a Carmarthenshire village are yet to attend a screening, health officials have said. Public Health Wales (PHW) said 31 cases of active TB had been identified since the 2010 outbreak in Llwynhendy. PHW urged the 485 people who have been identified as contacts, but not attended a screening, to act. More than 2,600 people have attended screenings since June 2019. TB is a bacterial infection, spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It is a serious
