Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
'Dignity' inspections in hundreds of care homes within weeks
The care regulator the Care Quality Commission, said inspectors would begin carrying out unannounced spot checks on residential homes across England from next month checking whether basic standards are being maintained. It comes as the Government threw its weight behind a new code of conduct for care workers and nurses which demands that elderly patients are treated with dignity and respect and not simply treated as ?objects?.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/e...s-in-hundreds-of-care-homes-within-weeks.html
Abortion investigation: MP Nadine Dorries calls for better regulation of clinics
The Tory MP said she had called police after the Telegraph secretly filmed doctors agreeing to carry out abortions because foetuses were either male or female. The disclosures added to concerns about the regulation of abortion clinics, with Conservative MP Nadine Dorries calling on the Care Quality Commission, the NHS watchdog, to take action.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...s-calls-for-better-regulation-of-clinics.html
NHS watchdog chief Cynthia Bower resigns
The head of England's NHS regulator, Cynthia Bower, has resigned after growing criticism that the watchdog was not fit for purpose. Bower, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), announced that she is quitting her ?195,000-a-year post after four increasingly difficult and controversial years at the helm. Concern over the watchdog grew in the Department of Health last year after organisations including care home operators and the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, voiced their fears that their establishments were not being policed properly by the CQC.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/23/nhs-watchdog-cynthia-bower-resigns?CMP=NECNETTXT8187
Health reforms highlight Lib Dems fall from grace across Northern England
Are we seeing a second electoral disaster on the scale of reaction to the broken promise on student tuition fees?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/feb/24/health-cuts-nhs-healthbill
NHS patients' food and hygiene needs must be higher priority, says Nice
NHS staff will have to give greater priority to patients' requests for food, drink, pain relief and the chance to have a wash under guidelines intended to improve hospital care. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) drew up its quality standard and guidance after care, especially over elderly patients' nutritional needs and privacy, was criticised in reports by the NHS ombudsman, Care Quality Commission, Age UK and Patients Association.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/24/nhs-patients-food-drink-nice
Lib Dem peers table package of amendments to health bill
The Liberal Democrat health front bench in the Lords has tabled a series of amendments to the health bill, designed to constrain competition and maintain regulation over foundation trusts. They are likely to be critical in deciding whether the Lib Dem leadership can fend off a party rebellion that could lead to the bill's collapse and a rupture in the coalition. The amendments would place a new duty on foundation trusts and care trusts to co-operate rather than compete. The trusts would also be under a duty to achieve greater equality of outcomes for patients. Monitor, the NHS trusts regulator charged with improving efficiency, would also retain oversight of free-standing foundation trusts beyond 2014.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/feb/23/lib-dem-peers-amendments-health-bill-lords
Bird flu 'more widespread than thought but less deadly'
Bird flu may be far more widespread than thought - but not as dangerous. There have only been 600 cases of bird flu, according to the World Health Organisation - but more than half have been fatal. But a new analysis of the blood samples of 12,500 people has found that up to 2% of them may have been infected with bird flu at some time in their lives. That would mean millions infected worldwide. Researchers believe the WHO statistics only take account of hospital admissions - so they only see the most serious cases many of which end in death.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/bird-flu-more-widespread-than-thought-741592
Risk of dying doubles from dementia drug
Dementia patients are twice as likely to die after being given a ?chemical cosh? drug than with other medications, experts warned yesterday. The antipsychotic drug, called haloperidol and also known as seren- ace, is designed to treat hallucina- tions in patients with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses. But mental health campaigners say in thousands of cases the tranquiliser is given to sedate elderly dementia patients to stop them wandering off or becoming confused and anxious.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/304025/Risk-of-dying-doubles-from-dementia-drug
Charges for prescriptions rise for the English
A rise in the cost of prescriptions in England was slammed as unfair yesterday.
A single item will rise to ?7.65 from ?7.40 from April 1 while basic NHS dental treatment is set to increase by 50p to ?17.50. But patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will still pay nothing.
The charges, outlined by Health Minister Simon Burns, came as a blow to critics who say England should follow their example and scrap them. The British Medical Association branded the move ?unfair? and described the system as ?a mess? needing reform.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/304044/So-unfair-Charges-for-prescriptions-rise-for-the-English
Care quango chief is forced to quit over a catalogue of failures (but she walks away with a ?1.35m pension pot)
The head of the care quango accused of failing to protect vulnerable patients has resigned with a taxpayer-funded pension pot of ?1.35million. Cynthia Bower yesterday agreed to leave the Care Quality Commission after a damning official inquiry concluded it was not doing enough to inspect hospitals, care homes and GP practices properly.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ngo-chief-forced-quit-catalogue-failures.html
Heart patients told 'drugs most effective if you take them before you get out of bed'
Doctors have always known that heart attacks are more common in the morning, but have never understood why. Now a team from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found the first molecular proof that the heart has an internal 'biological clock', which increases the risk of a type of fatal heart attack in the morning. Ventricular arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, occurs most often after sunrise and causes a high number of deaths.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2105318/Heart-patients-told-drugs-bedtime-effective.html
How eating oranges and grapefruit can cut the risk of a stroke by their anti-inflammatory properties
Eating oranges and grapefruit could cut your risk of stroke, claim researchers. Both the whole fruit and breakfast juices appear to protect against having a ?brain attack?, probably due to their high content of a certain type of antioxidant. A new study looked at citrus fruit for the first time, rather than a range of fruit and vegetables which have been linked to stroke protection.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...risk-stroke-anti-inflammatory-properties.html
Ambulances for obese patients cost ?400,000
An ambulance service has spent ?400,000 on three vehicles designed to transport obese patients weighing up to 50 stones. The bariatric ambulances and specialist equipment, which will be based at Worthing Ambulance Station in West Sussex, and Paddock Wood in Chertsey, Surrey, will come into service at the end of next month, a spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) said. Figures released by the NHS Information Centre today show a dramatic rise in the number of hospital admissions for obesity over the past decade.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...s-for-obese-patients-cost-400000-7404484.html
NHS prescription costs to increase in England
The cost of NHS prescriptions in England will rise 25p to ?7.65 from 1 April, the government has announced. Charges for basic dental treatment will rise 50p to ?17.50, with rises of up to ?5 for more complex work. The changes in charges were outlined by Health Minister Simon Burns and will be put before Parliament soon.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17139908
Longer cancer referral times for young, women and ethnic minorities
Cancer patients who are young, female or from an ethnic minority face a longer wait to be diagnosed and referred to a cancer specialist, researchers say. Overall, 77% of people were referred after one or two visits to their GP, according to data from 41,299 cancer patients in England. Researchers said some groups faced more visits before referral.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17138692
The care regulator the Care Quality Commission, said inspectors would begin carrying out unannounced spot checks on residential homes across England from next month checking whether basic standards are being maintained. It comes as the Government threw its weight behind a new code of conduct for care workers and nurses which demands that elderly patients are treated with dignity and respect and not simply treated as ?objects?.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/e...s-in-hundreds-of-care-homes-within-weeks.html
Abortion investigation: MP Nadine Dorries calls for better regulation of clinics
The Tory MP said she had called police after the Telegraph secretly filmed doctors agreeing to carry out abortions because foetuses were either male or female. The disclosures added to concerns about the regulation of abortion clinics, with Conservative MP Nadine Dorries calling on the Care Quality Commission, the NHS watchdog, to take action.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...s-calls-for-better-regulation-of-clinics.html
NHS watchdog chief Cynthia Bower resigns
The head of England's NHS regulator, Cynthia Bower, has resigned after growing criticism that the watchdog was not fit for purpose. Bower, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), announced that she is quitting her ?195,000-a-year post after four increasingly difficult and controversial years at the helm. Concern over the watchdog grew in the Department of Health last year after organisations including care home operators and the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, voiced their fears that their establishments were not being policed properly by the CQC.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/23/nhs-watchdog-cynthia-bower-resigns?CMP=NECNETTXT8187
Health reforms highlight Lib Dems fall from grace across Northern England
Are we seeing a second electoral disaster on the scale of reaction to the broken promise on student tuition fees?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/feb/24/health-cuts-nhs-healthbill
NHS patients' food and hygiene needs must be higher priority, says Nice
NHS staff will have to give greater priority to patients' requests for food, drink, pain relief and the chance to have a wash under guidelines intended to improve hospital care. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) drew up its quality standard and guidance after care, especially over elderly patients' nutritional needs and privacy, was criticised in reports by the NHS ombudsman, Care Quality Commission, Age UK and Patients Association.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/24/nhs-patients-food-drink-nice
Lib Dem peers table package of amendments to health bill
The Liberal Democrat health front bench in the Lords has tabled a series of amendments to the health bill, designed to constrain competition and maintain regulation over foundation trusts. They are likely to be critical in deciding whether the Lib Dem leadership can fend off a party rebellion that could lead to the bill's collapse and a rupture in the coalition. The amendments would place a new duty on foundation trusts and care trusts to co-operate rather than compete. The trusts would also be under a duty to achieve greater equality of outcomes for patients. Monitor, the NHS trusts regulator charged with improving efficiency, would also retain oversight of free-standing foundation trusts beyond 2014.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/feb/23/lib-dem-peers-amendments-health-bill-lords
Bird flu 'more widespread than thought but less deadly'
Bird flu may be far more widespread than thought - but not as dangerous. There have only been 600 cases of bird flu, according to the World Health Organisation - but more than half have been fatal. But a new analysis of the blood samples of 12,500 people has found that up to 2% of them may have been infected with bird flu at some time in their lives. That would mean millions infected worldwide. Researchers believe the WHO statistics only take account of hospital admissions - so they only see the most serious cases many of which end in death.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/bird-flu-more-widespread-than-thought-741592
Risk of dying doubles from dementia drug
Dementia patients are twice as likely to die after being given a ?chemical cosh? drug than with other medications, experts warned yesterday. The antipsychotic drug, called haloperidol and also known as seren- ace, is designed to treat hallucina- tions in patients with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses. But mental health campaigners say in thousands of cases the tranquiliser is given to sedate elderly dementia patients to stop them wandering off or becoming confused and anxious.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/304025/Risk-of-dying-doubles-from-dementia-drug
Charges for prescriptions rise for the English
A rise in the cost of prescriptions in England was slammed as unfair yesterday.
A single item will rise to ?7.65 from ?7.40 from April 1 while basic NHS dental treatment is set to increase by 50p to ?17.50. But patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will still pay nothing.
The charges, outlined by Health Minister Simon Burns, came as a blow to critics who say England should follow their example and scrap them. The British Medical Association branded the move ?unfair? and described the system as ?a mess? needing reform.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/304044/So-unfair-Charges-for-prescriptions-rise-for-the-English
Care quango chief is forced to quit over a catalogue of failures (but she walks away with a ?1.35m pension pot)
The head of the care quango accused of failing to protect vulnerable patients has resigned with a taxpayer-funded pension pot of ?1.35million. Cynthia Bower yesterday agreed to leave the Care Quality Commission after a damning official inquiry concluded it was not doing enough to inspect hospitals, care homes and GP practices properly.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ngo-chief-forced-quit-catalogue-failures.html
Heart patients told 'drugs most effective if you take them before you get out of bed'
Doctors have always known that heart attacks are more common in the morning, but have never understood why. Now a team from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found the first molecular proof that the heart has an internal 'biological clock', which increases the risk of a type of fatal heart attack in the morning. Ventricular arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, occurs most often after sunrise and causes a high number of deaths.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2105318/Heart-patients-told-drugs-bedtime-effective.html
How eating oranges and grapefruit can cut the risk of a stroke by their anti-inflammatory properties
Eating oranges and grapefruit could cut your risk of stroke, claim researchers. Both the whole fruit and breakfast juices appear to protect against having a ?brain attack?, probably due to their high content of a certain type of antioxidant. A new study looked at citrus fruit for the first time, rather than a range of fruit and vegetables which have been linked to stroke protection.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...risk-stroke-anti-inflammatory-properties.html
Ambulances for obese patients cost ?400,000
An ambulance service has spent ?400,000 on three vehicles designed to transport obese patients weighing up to 50 stones. The bariatric ambulances and specialist equipment, which will be based at Worthing Ambulance Station in West Sussex, and Paddock Wood in Chertsey, Surrey, will come into service at the end of next month, a spokesman for the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) said. Figures released by the NHS Information Centre today show a dramatic rise in the number of hospital admissions for obesity over the past decade.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...s-for-obese-patients-cost-400000-7404484.html
NHS prescription costs to increase in England
The cost of NHS prescriptions in England will rise 25p to ?7.65 from 1 April, the government has announced. Charges for basic dental treatment will rise 50p to ?17.50, with rises of up to ?5 for more complex work. The changes in charges were outlined by Health Minister Simon Burns and will be put before Parliament soon.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17139908
Longer cancer referral times for young, women and ethnic minorities
Cancer patients who are young, female or from an ethnic minority face a longer wait to be diagnosed and referred to a cancer specialist, researchers say. Overall, 77% of people were referred after one or two visits to their GP, according to data from 41,299 cancer patients in England. Researchers said some groups faced more visits before referral.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17138692