One in 10 hospital appointments in England were missed by patients last year, the Department of Health says.
The department said although the number of no-shows was down 250,000 on the previous year, it cost millions and delayed treatment for other patients. Health Minister Simon Burns said it was important for people to realise the knock-on effects of missing visits. The government is encouraging hospitals to use more innovative ways to tackle the number of missed appointments. For example, Newham UniversityHospital has started seeing diabetes patients who do not need a physical examination via Skype. Several hospitals such as King's College, London, and Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust send patient reminders regarding appointments by text message.
It is important that people realise that not turning up for their agreed appointments means other patients' care might be delayed and doctors' and nurses' time could be wasted, costing taxpayers money. "Today we are highlighting the number of missed appointments so people can see the impact this is having on their NHS. "Patients often have genuine reasons to miss an appointment, but it can have a big impact on the care we can offer to other patients. It is important that the public understand we have responsibilities too, like not wasting precious NHS resources. "I'm glad to see that the NHS is increasingly using simple ideas such as texting their patients before an appointment or seeing them via Skype. These could have a dramatic impact and I
want to see more hospitals making use of them."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19390657
The government is considering adopting a system where pay of people like teachers and nurses is linked to the cost of living, and private sector pay, in the area where they live. But there are already signs that putting such an idea into practice will not be easy. A separate plan by a consortium of NHS Foundation Trusts to consider regional pay and conditions has already run into fierce opposition from the unions.
A group of 20 hospitals are considering new ways to cut budgets and avoid losing about 6,000 jobs in south west England. Nigel Edwards of the King's Fund told the Today programme's Nicola Stanbridge that he believed the consortium run the risk of "opening pay inequalities within their organisation". http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9747000/9747186.stm
Putting genetic testing at the heart of the NHS could herald a "revolution" in diagnosing, treating and preventing disease, according to the government's genetics adviser. Prof Sir John Bell has been presenting a report on how the NHS should prepare for advances in the field. He said missing out would come at a high cost to patients.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced plans to speed up the introduction of genetic cancer tests. One of the problems with modern medicine is that some of the definitions of disease are too broad. Prof Bell told the BBC: "Breast cancer has always been defined because it is a tumour in the breast. "But if you look at the molecular detail of those cancers, some are much more similar to ovarian cancers than they are to other breast cancers, in molecular terms and in terms of their response to therapy." Cancer drugs are generally effective in fewer than one in three patients who take them, the report says. Innovation in any setting has to deliver a much better product or lower cost, or both, and I think genetics may be one of the things that does both” The theory is that by looking at which genes are active inside a tumour, it will be possible to pick the correct treatment.
This is already happening in some cases. Bowel cancer patients with the defective gene K-RAS do not respond to some drugs, while the breast cancer drug herceptin works only if patients have a specific mutation, HER2. One of the driving forces behind genetics in medicine is the plummeting cost of working out a patient's genetic code. To sequence one patient's genome once cost millions of pounds but it now costs thousands, and Prof Bell argues that in the future, the "cost could be essentially nothing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16725032
Edinburgh genetics institute in £60m funding boost
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-19384631 Lansley hails 'fantastic'improvement in cancer care
Treatment for cancer sufferers has undergone a "fantastic" improvement with patients being seen more quickly and given wider treatment options, the Health Secretary has said. Announcing the results of the national cancer patient experience survey, Andrew Lansley said 88 per cent of patients rated their care as very good or excellent. The research also found that 98 of 158 English NHS trusts scored higher than they did last year.
Ninety-four per cent of patients said they were treated with dignity in 2011, a rise from 93 per cent in 2010. And 83 per cent said they were seen by a hospital doctor quickly compared with 81 per cent in the previous year.Of the 70,000 patients surveyed, 84 per cent said they were given a choice of treatments. More than nine in 10 said they were given clear answers by healthcare specialists and 83 per cent said they were treated with respect. Juliet Bouverie, director of services for Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "It is fantastic news that so many trusts have improved in the experience they provide cancer patients.However, it is essential that this is the case for all cancer types. People with rarer cancers should not be treated any worse than those with a common type.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/andrew-lansley-hails-fantastic-improvement-in-cancer-care-8054071.html
Despite what the research published this week says, many people who have lived with depression feel the benefits of a trip to the gym, or even a spot of gardening.
The problem with arguing with science is that it is often an uneven contest, a bit like hitting a steamroller with a stick of rhubarb. You have emotion, anecdotal evidence, a sixth sense; they have hard facts. And the facts here are seemingly indisputable: a new study, conducted by proper university academics, sufficiently large-scale, randomized and controlled, has confounded the experience of countless depression sufferers. The conclusion: all that exercise, the running, cycling, swimming, walking that you did to help you through the dark days of an illness that no one really understands was basically of no benefit to your state of mind. In short, exercise doesn't help.
The outcome was surprising. Exeter University professor John Campbell put it succinctly: "This carefully designed research study has shown that exercise does not appear to be effective in treating depression."
As for the scientists, one thing about their methodology strikes me as slightly awry, and that is the notion of "facilitated physical activity intervention". Being told to exercise might have a very different psychological effect to doing it autonomously. One depression sufferer, John Lake, told me recently that he had done the Londonmarathon and triathlon. He felt so great, he came off his antidepressants. "That's why I found the running was great. It was taking back control from the medicine." There's something in that notion of empowerment that can be very nourishing to someone who has spent months, years even, hopelessly reliant on others.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2012/jun/06/exercise-beat-depression-research
The stark social class divide in health is widening as better-off people increasingly shun damaging habits such as smoking and eating badly but poorer people do not, authoritative new research reveals. But it is middle-class people who are driving the trend, while the most disadvantaged remain stuck in a cycle of risky behaviour which increases their chances of developing a range of serious illnesses and will put "unavoidable pressure" on an already hard-pressed NHS, it says. The researchers found that people with no educational qualifications were more than five times as likely as those with degrees to engage in four key damaging behaviours in 2008, compared with three times as likely in 2003. The findings have cast doubt on the prospect of the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, fulfilling his pledge to "improve the health of the poorest fastest" in order to reduce glaring health inequalities. England's richest citizens live seven years longer on average than their poorer neighbours. The report also reopens the debate over how to encourage poorer people to adopt healthier habits.
Smoking, excess alcohol use, poor diet and sedentary lifestyles. Between them, these four habits are estimated to account for almost half the burden of ill-health in developed countries. But when they looked at what types of people were quitting smoking or drinking less, for example, they found that "these reductions have been seen mainly among those in higher socioeconomic and educational groups".
"The health of the overall population will improve as a result of the decline in these behaviours, but the poorest and those with least education will benefit least, leading to widening health inequalities and unavoidable pressure on the NHS," the study says.
Those from poorer backgrounds or with less education are more likely than others to develop long-term conditions such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease earlier and to experience them more severely, Buck said. "As well as this being a public health problem, this does also store up problems for the NHS in future, as people with these conditions will be a drain on the NHS at a time when its resources are going to be very constrained," he explained. "The [widening] inequality gap is due to the improvement in those at the top, and, to a lesser degree, those in the middle, not because those at the bottom have got worse per se. They're stuck in a rut," Buck said. The study warns that there is no room for complacency because about 70% and more among poorer people– still engage in two of the four habits.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/23/class-divide-health-widens-thinktankBrush' offers clues to fighting lung disease
Scientists say the discovery of an internal "brush" that helps clear lungs of unwanted matter could help them understand more about lung diseases. A team from the University of North Carolina found that the brush-like layer pushes out sticky mucus and the foreign bodies it contains. Writing in Science, it says that could help identify what goes wrong in cystic fibrosis, asthma and similar diseases. UK lung experts said the work aided understanding of how lungs function. The mucus, which helps collect inhaled pollutants, emerges as a runny nose and a wet cough. Until now, most experts believed a watery substance acted as a lubricant and helped separate mucus from the cells lining airways. But this did not tally with the fact that mucus remained in its own distinct layer. The researchers used imaging techniques to examine what was happening within the lungs. They were able to see a dense meshwork of human bronchial epithelial cell cultures. The brush-like layer consists of protective molecules that keep sticky mucus from reaching the cilia and epithelial cells, thus ensuring the normal flow of mucus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19357090
CHEMISTS across Scotland are raking in tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to dish out the heroin substitute to addicts. The shocking scale of Scotland’s multi-million pound methadone industry can be revealed today. Hundreds of chemists, from high street giants Boots to small independent pharmacies, are being paid tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash to dish out the heroin substitute. Details of the main players in the £36 million-a-year business have been kept secret by the NHS until now. The data was released only after using freedom of information laws. Methadone was linked to a record 275 of 584 drug deaths in Scotland last year. Heroin, by comparison, played a part in 206 deaths. There are 22,000 people on the methadone programme. The Scottish Government couldn't tell us how many addicts were drug-free as a result of the programme. But they continue to dish out cash on the treatment – and pharmacists continue to rake it in.
Boots were handed £3,828,607 last year for methadone services. They claimed £20,815,537 over six years through their 267 Scots branches.Lloyds Pharmacy claimed£3,727,390 last year and £18, 708564 over six years through their 188 branches. Our investigation also uncovered one pharmacist – methadone millionaire Denis Houlihan – who has claimed more than £850,000 through just one chemist shop over six years. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/chemists-raking-it-in-thanks-to-methadone-industry-1269946
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health/methadone-users-risk-brain-damage-1278295 Cancer drug Avastin does not offer value for money, says Nice A drug will not be made routinely available on the NHS for women with breast cancer from today after a watchdog ruled that it does not help improve patients' quality of life or provide value for money. New guidance for doctors issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) does not recommend Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat women with the disease, it said. The drug works by starving cancerous tumours of blood and was being looked at as a treatment in combination with capecitabine, a type of chemotherapy, for breast cancer that had metastasised to other parts of the body.
The advisory body said that making Avastin available on the NHS was not a good use of resources because of its high cost, and the lack of evidence to show patients would have a better quality of life than if they were treated with chemotherapy alone. Sir Andrew Dillon, Nice's chief executive, said: "We can't recommend a drug that has not been shown to work as well as, or better than, current treatments and costs much more.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/cancer-drug-avastin-does-not-offer-value-for-money-says-nice-8072530.html
One in 10 of us now regularly take a drug to help us sleep. But is it time we stopped popping zopiclone, temazepam and other tablets? And what are the alternatives? A sharp rise in the use of sleeping pills led to NHS spending on the drugs reaching nearly £50m last year, figures reveal. Some 15.3m prescriptions were handed out in 2010/11, compared with 14.5m in 2007/08, according to NHS figures obtained by the Co-operative Pharmacy. A freedom of information request revealed health trusts spent £49.2m on the drugs in 2010/11, up from £42m three years previously – an increase of more than 17%.
The highest number of prescriptions for sleeping pills were dispensed in the north-west, which spent more than £8.5m on almost 2.5m sleeping medication items. Zoplicone was given to more than 5.2m patients nationally, making it the most popular sleeping tablet. Around a third of people in the UK are thought to have bouts of insomnia, which can become a debilitating problem for some.
Health chiefs have voiced concerns that frequent use of sleeping pills can lead to "psychological dependency". "While usage has risen steadily, the costs to the NHS have risen disproportionately, with costs going up at a greater rate.” However, some sleeping drugs are only recommended for short-term use because they can lead to psychological dependency and lose their effectiveness over time. "We would urge people who are suffering with insomnia or their use of sleeping pills to discuss their concerns with a pharmacist or their doctor." Research published in February found sleeping pills commonly prescribed in the UK may increase the risk of death more than fourfold. They included drugs used in the UK, such as temazepam and zolpidem.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/may/11/nhs-spending-sleeping-pills-50m The myth of the eight-hour sleep
We often worry about lying awake in the middle of the night - but it could be good for you. A growing body of evidence from both science and history suggests that the eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783
Thousands of cancer patients whose disease has spread to the bone are to benefit from a new drug which is to be made available on the NHS. Denosumab (Xgeva) helps prevent bone complications in people whose cancer has spread from its original site. These complications include bone fractures, spinal compression - when the spinal cord is compressed by the bone - and bone complications requiring radiotherapy or surgery. Symptoms include pain as well as weakening and eventual destruction of the bone. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has published its final draft guidance which recommends the drug for certain groups of cancer patients whose disease has spread, most commonly to the spine, pelvis, hip, upper leg bones and skull. The conditions include bone tumours from breast cancer and other solid tumours not relating to the breast or prostate, such as lung or kidney cancer.
Professor Carole Longson, director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at Nice, said: "Bone metastasis can severely affect a person's quality of life, stopping them from doing things so many of us take for granted.”We are therefore pleased that our draft guidance recommends denosumab for those patients who are most likely to benefit from the treatment." Tara Beaumont, clinical nurse specialist for secondary breast cancer patients at Breast Cancer Care, said: "The Nice approval of denosumab marks a positive milestone for secondary breast cancer patient choice and quality of life, which we warmly welcome. "People whose breast cancer has spread to their bones can experience a reduction in quality of life, and currently have limited treatment options, so making denosumab available through the NHS means that there is another option for people for whom bisphosphonates are not appropriate. "As denosumab can be given as an injection under the skin rather than intravenously (into the vein), it also offers patients a different route of administration, which may be more convenient. "We hope that this announcement paves the way for similar positive developments in secondary breast cancer treatment and raises awareness of the importance of quality of life and symptom management for those living with incurable cancer."
If no appeals are lodged against the guidance, it will be published later this year and patients will be able to get the treatment on the NHS.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-to-make-new-drug-denosumab-available-to-bone-cancer-patients-8056442.html
A drug will not be made routinely available on the NHS for women with breast cancer from today after a watchdog ruled that it does not help improve patients' quality of life or provide value for money. New guidance for doctors issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) does not recommend Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat women with the disease, it said. The drug works by starving cancerous tumours of blood and was being looked at as a treatment in combination with capecitabine, a type of chemotherapy, for breast cancer that had metastasised to other parts of the body.
The advisory body said that making Avastin available on the NHS was not a good use of resources because of its high cost, and the lack of evidence to show patients would have a better quality of life than if they were treated with chemotherapy alone. Sir Andrew Dillon, Nice's chief executive, said: "We can't recommend a drug that has not been shown to work as well as, or better than, current treatments and costs much more.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/cancer-drug-avastin-does-not-offer-value-for-money-says-nice-8072530.html New Telephone Support Group for Spouse/Partner Caregivers
http://www.lunglovelink.org/profiles/blogs/announcing-a-new-telephone-support-group-for-spouse-partner-careg?xg_source=activity
Researchers have long chronicled what goes wrong in the brains of older people with dementia. But North western Medicine researcher Emily Rogalski wondered what goes right in the brains of the elderly who still have terrific memories. And, do those people -- call them cognitive Super Agers -- even exist?
Researchers have long chronicled what goes wrong in the brains of older people with dementia. But North western Medicine researcher Emily Rogalski wondered what goes right in the brains of the elderly who still have terrific memories. And, do those people-- call them cognitive Super Agers -- even exist? Rogalski's new study has for the first time identified an elite group of elderly people age 80 and older whose memories are as sharp as people 20 to 30 years younger than them. And on 3-D MRI scans, the SuperAger participants' brains appear as young -- and one brain region was even bigger -- than the brains of the middle-aged participants. She was astounded by the vitality of the Super Agers' cortex --the outer layer of the brain important for memory, attention and other thinking abilities. Theirs was much thicker than the cortex of the normal group of elderly 80 and older (whose showed significant thinning) and closely resembled the cortex size of participants ages 50 to 65, considered the middle-aged group of the study.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120816201620.htm DEMENTIA
You cannot alter your age or the genes you are born with, but there are lifestyle changes you can adopt which may reduce your chance of developing dementia by as much as 20%.
The BBC convened a panel of independent experts, chaired by the Alzheimer's Society, which evaluated more than 70 research papers and articles to come up with a series of tips for reducing your risk. It may sound young, but the age of 35, they suggest, is high time to start thinking about these recommendations. If more of us acted on these, thousands of cases of dementia could be prevented in the future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8484868.stm
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