NAPC News 14 August 2012

Private Clinic Accused Over Patients’ Sight Loss

GPs have been advised to consider alternative clinics for their patients because of worrying concerns about people suffering irreversible sight loss because of the failings of a privately run clinic at an NHS hospital in Hertfordshire.

Dr Peter Graves, chief executive of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire local medical committee, told the press  that optometrists ‘believe some patients, who should have had follow up consultations since the change of service to the Clinicenta service, but have failed to get this, may have irreversible sight-loss, which should have been prevented.’

Delays Deny Thousands The Chance To See Again

Many patients struggling to read or drive are being denied sight-saving surgery because of NHS cut backs, according to eye health professionsal.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and other health bodies say it is alarming that more than half of NHS trusts are denying patients cataract operations unless they fail stringent eye tests.  They say the threshold means that many people whose quality of life is damaged severely by the condition are still not eligible for the operation because of budget constraints.

Chief Surgeon Backs Axing Of A&E Wards

Professor Norman Williams, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, is backing a drive to close accident and emergency units, claiming the unpopular move will save lives.  He said creating ‘centres of excellence’ would force patients to travel further but would improve levels of care.

Professor Williams’ comments come despite enormous public opposition to the changes and concerns that patients treated in urgent care centres, the replacements for local emergency wards, could be misdiagnosed.  He said: ‘It will be something that patients will struggle to understand, but the reality is that reconfiguration will actually improve the quality of care and result in fewer complications, following treatment.

Romney’s New Number 2 Savages NHS

Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate in his campaign to become the next US President, has been sharply critical of the NHS, claiming that free healthcare distorts the democratic process because it makes patients dependent on government help.

Mixed Ward Shame

Women having gynaecological treatment will stay on the same ward as men, in some NHS hospitals, despite some managers insisting that care is being taken to ensure women are kept together in separate areas and looked after by female nurses.  They say the plan is part of a nationwide review into NHS services.

The move is being organised by managers at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.  South London Healthcare Trust, which runs the hospital, became the first trust to be placed in administration by the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, after running up debts of more than £150 million.

Depression Can Shrink The Brains Of Sufferers

Severe depression can shrink the brain by blocking the formation of new nerve connections, a study published in the journal, Nature Medicine, has shown. 

The effect disrupts circuits associated with mental functioning and emotion, which may explain why people with major depressive disorder suffer from loss of concentration and memory, as well as blunted emotional responses.

Genes involved in building synapses, the connection points between brain cells, were suppressed in those with major depressive disorder, scientists found, contributing to the shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex.

Safety Alert Over Response To Children’s Food Allergies

Minimum safety standards should be brought in to Britain’s schools to cope with the rising number of children with food allergies, doctors have warned.

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has launched a Food Allergies campaign to raise awareness of the threat posed by anaphylaxis in children and ensure schools are ready to deal with life threatening events.

About 50,000 people in England suffer an anaphylactic shock in their lifetime and a third of those in children occur for the first time at school, but teachers are unprepared, they say. 

Hope Of Beating Diabetes After Gene Link Found

Researchers from Oxford University, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, as well as Michigan University, have discovered genes that increase the risk of developing diabetes.

The 10 latest genes discovered take the total linked to the condition to more than 60 and provide a fuller picture of the biological processes underlying Type 2 diabetes.

Cystic Fibrosis Breakthrough Drug

A breakthrough drug is offering new hope to sufferers of the lung disease, cystic fibrosis.

Kalydeco works by unlocking a faulty protein responsible for thick mucus that damages lungs.  However, the drug is very expensive and works only for patients with a specific gene mutation.

California based company, Vertex, is working on other new drugs for other types of the disease.

Mammogram Screening Does Not Work

Mammogram screening has little or no impact on breast cancer deaths, according to a new study from the International Prevention Research Institute in France.

Researchers analysed breast cancers death rates among women aged 40 to 69 between 1972 and 2009, finding the decline in deaths did not correlate to the introduction of screening in the late eighties and concluded that better treatments were responsible for increased survival.

Sickly Cost Of Health Insurance

BUPA said the rising cost of private medical treatment was behind the healthcare provider losing five per cent of its customers over the last year.

In April, the Office of Fair Trading referred the private healthcare industry to the Competition Commission, saying there were ‘features of the market’ that prevented competition.

The Everyday Chemical That Carries A Risk

Researchers have found that triclosan, a chemical compound that features in soap, toothpaste and toys, may cause muscle problems and should be used with caution.

After testing the substance on mice and fish, they found that muscle strength was reduced, including heart function, and fish were unable to swim as well.

The findings were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

Prostate Hopes

Celastrol, a drug derived from a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, may help combat prostate cancer, research suggests.

The anti-inflammatory agent has been seen to suppress a protein known as p23, a protein which plays a key role in the way prostate tumours are fuelled by the male hormone, testosterone.

Women Seek Abortions On Financial Grounds

Growing numbers of women are asking for abortions because of financial concerns, a survey of GPs has found.

A fifth of GPs said they had seen a rise in the number of women requesting terminations due to financial concerns.  A third said women had been putting off starting a family until their situation improved. 

More than three quarters of the 300 GPs surveyed thought that there had been an increase in cases of mental health disorders linked to the stresses of the economic climate.

Strict Snack Laws In US Linked To Less Weight Gain In Children

Adolescents in the United States in those states with strict laws regulating the sale of snacks and sugary drinks in public schools gained less weight over a three year period than those living in states with no such laws, a new study has found.