NAPC News 12 July 2012

Lansley Excluded From Reform Meetings

Andrew Lansley was excluded from key meetings at which the government’s plans to reform the NHS were first drawn up, according to a new book.

Neither the Health Secretary, nor the Liberal Democrat Health Minister, nor key Department of Health officials were involved in writing the Coalition’s first proposals to reshape the NHS.  Instead, the key decisions were taken by Oliver Letwin and Danny Alexander, neither of whom had a background in health policy.

Why A Stroke At The Weekend Is More Likely To Kill You

A study by Imperial College, London and the National Audit Office has indicated that thousands of stroke victims die each year unnecessarily or become disabled because of a dip in the quality of hospital care at weekends.

Patients sent to hospitals at weekends for emergency treatment are less likely to be given brain scans or be seen by neurologists than those who fall ill during the week, according to a study of nearly 100,000 patients.

Imperial Innovations

Imperial Innovations, the AIM-listed technology company, has led a £22 million fundraising initiative for PsiOxus Therapuetics, an Oxfordshire based biotech company developing colorectal cancer treatments.

Want To Live Longer

Research published by the British Medical Journal Open suggests that spending less time sitting down and watching television could add an extra 1.4 years to people’s lives.

Researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisana used data collected for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a regular survey which looks at health and way of life.  Using data from 2005/6 and 2009/10, they calculated the time US adults spent watching TV and sitting down.  They also used existing studies involving 167,000 adults.  Reducing sitting time to under three hours would add two years, while restricting watching TV to under two hours daily would extend life expectancy by 1.38 years.

Arthritis Cured By Stem Cell Injection

A breakthrough in research for arthritis treatment using body fat could see the end of years of pain for millions of sufferers.

Stem cells harvested from patients’ stomachs help the body regrow tissue and cartilage, damaged by the incurable condition.  Benefit can be felt within two weeks and, if used early enough, could avoid the need for joint replacement operations, researchers behind the new technique claim.

Although the treatment is still in its infancy, early results show it may help cartilage regeneration, delaying the need for joint replacement by 10 or 20 years.

Pets Boost Infant Immunity

Having a pet dog helps keep babies under the age of one year old free from breathing problmes and infections, studies suggest.

Researchers found babies, who lived with a dog in the household, spent fewer weeks with ear infections, coughs and runny noses.  Researchers from Kuopio Hospital in Finland found that babies were also less likely to need antibiotics.  Living with cats and also be good for babies’ health but to a lesser extent than with dogs.

First Post-Reform ICO Planned For London

Two councils and a community trust in London are considering plans to integrate the provision of their health and social care service.

The move, should it take place, would create the first integrated care organisation since the introduction of the coalition’s reforms of the NHS.

Hounslow Council, Richmond Council and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust are expected to rubber stamp a feasibility study into the idea this month.  The work would take place over the next six months, with a report expected in December.

Hounslow Council Chief Executive, Mary Harpley, said the three organisations would then decide early in the new year whether the integrated care organisation was a ‘go, or no go’.  The earliest it could take place would be September 2013.

If introduced, the plans would initially see the ICO providing community health and social care services for older people and adults with physical disabilities.  The councils and two local commissioning groups would separately commission services from the new providers.

There are currently 12 care trusts, jointly providing health and social care services.  The newest, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Partnership Trust, was created in April and is the biggest joint provider of health and social care in England.

The health select committee warned in a report in February that the progress made by care trusts on integration was at risk from the government’s reform programme.

Bed Blockers Put NHS In Danger Of Collapse

Health managers responding to a poll have warned that the NHS is at risk of collapse, as cuts to social care budgets cause a rise in bed blocking and emergency hospital admissions.

Mike Farrar, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents the majority of health service organisations, called for urgent action, saying: ‘Without reform, our health and social care systems are heading for collapse.’

NHS Trust Contemptible In Whistleblower Sacking

An employment tribunal has ruled that Dr Narinder Kapur, the leading neuropsychologist, who was sacked shortly after blowing the whistle on health service cuts, was unfairly dismissed.

Dr Kapur was sacked even though he was a former president of the British Neuropsychological Society, and had won awards for clinical excellence.

Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has ordered that hospital managers should support whistleblowing staff.

Animals Used In Experiments At Record High

Animal welfare charities have reacted angrily to news that the number of animal experiments rose to a record high in Britain last year. The number of procedures spiked by 2 per cent to £3.7 million, 40 per cent higher than a decade ago, according to Home Office figures.

A head of a government funded body set up to develop alternatives said that only more investment would lead to a ‘major shift’ in levels of animal testing.  Dr Mark Prescott, head of research management at NC3Rs, which has an annual budget of £5.5m, said demand for animals was outstripping the pace of progress.

Stephen Whitehead, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, urged the public to understand the importance of scientific work involving animals.  ‘Where medical research is concerned, we have a straightforward option: continue with medical research, and continue to save and improve lives; or stop medical research and stop our quest to cure Alzheimer’s disease, HIV, cancer and every single disease that is currently untreatable’, he said.

Bladder Cancer Drug Shortage

Doctors have warned that a shortage of anti-cancer drugs could lead to hundreds of patients having their bladders removed. 

The shortage has been caused by a flooding at a Sanofi Pasteur plant in Canada.  Sanofi Pasteur, which makes Immunocyt, does not expect production to restart before late 2013, according to a letter to doctors from Professor Sir Mike Richards, the NHS cancer tsar. He warned that is was almost inevitable that patients would miss out on treatment.

Adrian Joyce, the president of the British Association of Urological Surgeons, said many patients would need a radical cystectomy to prevent cancer spreading.  ‘We are talking about an additional 100 to 200 of these operations a year’, he said.

Britain To Ban Sale Of Painkiller For Use In American Executions

Vince Cable is to ban the export of a widely used anaesthetic to US prisons, amid fears that is its use in preparing lethal injections will make Britain ‘complicit’ in executions.

The Business Secretary will introduce strict controls over the sale of Propofol, a drug implicated in the death of Michael Jackson.

Alcohol May Help Prevent Arthritis

Women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol are less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis than those who do not drink, according to research.

Drinking more than three glasses a week for at least 10 years halves the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, a study of more than 34,000 Swedish women found.  The risk among those who drank was 52 per cent lower than those who never drank.

The authors of the research, published at bmj.com, concluded that alcohol may be a ‘protective factor’ for rheumatoid arthritis.

Swine Flu Vaccination Fears

A study conducted by researchers in Canada has indicated that swine flu vaccine used during the pandemic may increase the risk of Gullain-Barre syndorm, a temporary paralysis-causing nervous disorder.

Researchers found that for every million doses of the H1N1 pandemic vaccination administered in 2009/10, there were two extra cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome.