NAPC Bulletin 29 May 2012

News From NAPC

In the last week, Dr Charles Alessi, Chairman of NAPC, has attended a meeting of the Future Forum, chaired by Professor Steve Field, as well as a meeting of the Department of Health’s GP Strategy Group in Leeds.

Charles also played a significant role in a DH event organised with NAPC on Any Qualified Provider, as well as a King’s Fund leadership summit.

Dr Alessi also spoke at a meeting on Veterans’ Health yesterday in Weston super Mare.

Accountable Officer Resource Support

NAPC has a valuable new learning resource to support CCGs in the identification and recruitment of Accountable Officers and help for prospective candidates to prepare themselves for their interviews for key roles.

The Toolkit, which has been developed in partnership with Janssen, includes an Accountable Officer CCG Competency Profile, which describes the desired competency definitions and behaviours, as well as a Role Profile to help organisations and individuals understand what is likely to be expected, and an example of a Role Specification and a Materials Guide.

For further information, please call Ronan Collins, Janssen UK or Katherine O’Doherty on 020 7636 7228.

10,000 Deprived Of Cancer Treatment

A leaked government study has revealed that a third of UL cancer patients are not being offered the latest treatment, which can destroy tumours and dramatically reduce devastating side-effects.

Top cancer specialists and MP have called for unused cash from the government’s flagship Cancer Drugs Fund to be released to plug gaps in the system.

Drive To Replace NHS Direct Under Fire As Operators Boycott Bid Process

An ambitious multimillion pound programme to replace NHS Direct with a new 24 hour helpline has come under fire after the British Medical Association voted against the scheme.

Consultants To Supervise New Doctors To Reduce Deaths

The Independent contains a feature on Black Wednesday, the start of a very difficult period in the NHS, when a fresh crop of medical graduates starts on hospital wards.

Now the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, representing the twenty medical institutions responsible for maintaining standards in the NHS, has said enough is enough.  It has called for more consultants to be on duty and a reduction in routine surgery to allow senior doctors to supervise trainees more closely during the influx.

£1.2bn Wasted On Medical Procurement

Over the next four years, ministers hope to save taxpayers £1.2billion by getting NHS managers to become better at buying millions of medical items, from surgical gloves to MRI scanners.

They admit that the current system is extremely wasteful and that more must be done to make ‘every penny count’. 

A year ago, the Commons’ public accounts committee criticised the ‘fragmented system of procurement’,  saying it had produced ‘a great deal of waste’.

Drink That Could Ease IBS Misery For Millions

British doctors are claiming a major breakthrough in treating irritable bowel syndrome.  They proved that a drink containing ‘friendly’ bugs, bloating and stomach pain for long-term sufferers of the stomach condition.

The study, run to the same standard as a drugs trial and sponsored by King’s College Hospital, London, found that a probiotic drink, called Symprove, was effective in reducing the severity of a range of symptoms with patients feeling less pain and discomfort at the end of the trial and four weeks later.

Symprove is already available online and ins some Tesco store.  A daily dose costs around £2.

It Could Happen Again

In the late 1950s and early 1960s up and down Britain, mothers who had taken thalidomide, a drug to prevent morning sickness, gave birth to babies with shocking deformities.

The most common was ‘flipper’ limbs in which the hand emerged direct from the shoulder and foot direct from the hip.  Babies also had internal injuries that required repeated operations to correct. No one knows for certain if a similar disaster could not be repeated.  Indeed, it could be happening somewhere right now, despite lessons learned from thalidomide.

One of America’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Merck, issued a sudden recall of Vioxx, its anti-pain medication widely used to treat arthritis-related ailments.  It indicated that Vioxx greatly increased the risk of fatal heart attacks and strokes.

The study suggested the drug had been responsible for at least 55,000 American deaths during the five years it had been on the market.

£1.10 Daily Pills Can Cut Risk Your Of Heart Disease In Half

Research at Linkoping University in Sweden found that a combination of selenium yeast and vitamin-like compound co-enzyme, Q10, significantly reduced cardiovascular deaths in the elderly.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, called for the results to be confirmed in larger studies before any recommendations to patients.

Chairman With No Time To Stand And Stare

Leif Johansson, a no-nonsense Swede, with a background in lorry manufacturing, will become Chairman of AstraZeneca this week, facing a struggle to turn around the company.

NHS To Save £1bn By Bulk Buying

The NHS announced a major shake-up of procurement yesterday, which is intended to save £1.2 billion over four years.

10,000 Deprived Of CancerTreatment

A leaked government study has revealed that a third of UK cancer patients are not being offered the latest treatmen, which can destroy tumours and dramatically reduce devastating side-effects.

Top cancer specialists and MPs have called for unused cash from the government’s flagship Cancer Drugs Fund to be released to plug gaps in the system.

Illegal Kidney Trade Booms As New Organ Sold Every Hour

World Health Organisation estimates 10,000 organs are now traded each year. 

The illegal trade in kidneys has risen to such a level that an estimated 10,000 black market operations involving purchased human organs now take place annually, or more than one an hour, the World Health Organisation has revealed.

Experts said a rise in diabetes and other diseases had increased demand for organs, leading to a lucrative industry of trafficking.

Visits To Dentists Reduced As Belts Are Tightened

According to research, people are jeopardising their health by cutting back on dental and eye tests to save money, as the nation struggles with its finances.

A study of more than 1,000 people found that 19 per cent were going to the dentists less often and 17 per cent were cutting back on eyesight checks. 

Other tactics to save money, included 67 per cent giving things up and making sacrifices, 49 per cent haggling more for the things they wanted, 34 per cent delaying buying things they would previously have bough when they wanted them, and 27 per cent eating less healthily than before the slow down.

HRT Shows Why Health Scares Can’t Be Trusted

Since the 1940s, women of a certain age have had the option of taking hormone replacement therapy to manage the symptoms of the menopause.

When it was first introduced, it was heralded as the elixir of youth; a tablet that promised to keep women younger in appearance and attitude for the rest of their lives.

But for much of the past 60 years, it has been dogged by controversy, with mixed messages from the medical community as to its benefits and risks.   However, in July 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative report into the effects of HRT was published and turned all this on its head.  The study found a statistically significant increase in rates of breast cancer and strokes.  It also showed an increased risk of heart attacks, contradicting previous research.

Abortion Clinic Protests Raise Fears Over Doctors’ Safety

Doctors who help women end unwanted pregnancies are growing concerned for their own safety as anti-abortion groups step up protests outside clinics, a specialist in women’s health has warned.

Tony Falconer, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, described the American style protests outside abortion clinics as distressing and humiliating for those preparing to have a termination.