NAPC News 7 September 2010

Jobs Rise Inside Ringfenced NHS

Office for National Statistics figures have revealed that health service staff numbe3rs swelled to a record high before the General Election, as Labour went on an end-of-term spending spree. Staffing levels jumped by 66,00o in just 12 months to 1,626 million, confirming the NHS as one of the biggest employers in the world.

Doctors' Leaders Back Calls To Relax EU rules

The heads of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Physicians have said that the European Union Working Time Directive is undermining the safe and effective working of the NHS. They said that the rigid limits on doctors' hours were eroding the quality of care received by people in hospital and leaving junior doctors under-trained and disillusioned.

Benefit Health Tests Unjust, Say Charities

A number of charities have banded together to oppose a new health test being pushed by ministers to decide who would get long-term sickness benefits, claiming that there was mounting evidence that people with serious illnesses were being judged fit for work when they were not. More than 30 organisations, including the Papworth Trust, Mind and the MS Society have written to the head of the government review of the test saying that they were being overwhelmed by evidence showing that the assessments were inaccurate and unjust.

Diabetic Patient Died After Nurses Failed To Give Insulin

An inquest has heard how a diabetic patient at a failing hospital died from a lack of insulin after nurses failed to read her notes.

Gillian Astbury, 66, was admitted to Stafford Hospital in April 2007 to receive treatment for a minor fall, but her blood-sugar levels were not properly monitored and insulin was not administered by hospital staff, despite being prescribed by doctors.

Why Young Doctors Are Leaving The NHS

Figures show that up to a quarter of junior doctors are dropping out of medical school just two years into their training. Many are becoming disillusioned with new rules that have forced them to work more and more night shifts without senior supervision. The exodus means that almost 1,400 junior doctors leave the NHS after foundation training rather than go on to the next stage of more specialised learning. Gordon Fletcher, of the British Medical Association, said that there had been problems around the country with shift patterns brought in by the EU Working Time Directive, which has led to junior doctors working more night shifts.

WHO Says Swine Flu Vaccine Limited Casualties

The vaccine used to contain the recent swine flu pandemic was effective, but health authorities will need to ramp up the speed and volume of production during the next outbreak, a WHO official said.

The widespread use of vaccines was critical in limiting the number of casualties, with studies showing they offered protection I up to 95 per cent of cases, according to WHO official, David Wood.

Blood Test Spells End Of Man Flu

Scientists have come up with a test that can detect whether someone is really suffering from flu or just a cold.

Dr Aimee Zaas of Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, said it could help cut down on the overuse of antibiotics. Researchers looked at the blood of individuals, who had been exposed to respiratory infections, including rhinovirus, the cause of the common cold and influenza. Dr Zaas explained that her test analysed the individual's immune response to infection, rather than the microorganism responsible. ‘We effectively look at the imprint in the blood that the virus makes, which is as individual as a signature,' she said. ‘Not only is this much more accurate than traditional testing, it also works much faster as it can be done through a simple blood test.'

Heart Death Risk For Men Aged 40-59 Working Long Hours

A study conducted at the National Research Centre for Denmark's Working Environment has concluded that unfit middle-aged men, who work more than 45 hours a week are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease as those who devote less time to their jobs.
Heart health campaigners said that the study underlined the need for middle-aged men to maintain a good level of fitness by taking part in regular physical exercise, despite the pressure on their time.

Fathers Suffer Postnatal Depression

A study funded by the Medical Research Council has concluded that 21% of fathers have had at least one episode of depression by the time their first child reaches the age of 12. Some 3% of fathers had depression in the first year of their child's life, rising to 10% by the time their offspring was four, 16% by the age of eight and 21% by 12.

Rob Williams, of the Fatherhood Institute, said: ‘For too long there's been the assumption that it's depression and other mental health problems in mothers that has an impact on children. But in reality, the impact of a father's poor mental health on his children is also powerful.'

Regulator Urges Glaxo Drug Ban

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) called for the withdrawal across Europe of GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug, Avandia, dealing a Blow to the pharmaceutical group in its home market. The MHRA said that the risks associated with Avandia, known generically as rosiglitazone, outweigh the benefits.

The statement sent GSK's shares down 19.5p to 1249p. making it the biggest fall on the Footsie. Sales of Avandia have dwindled from £1.2bn in 2007, the year it was first linked to heart problems, to £771m in 2009.

Young Gay Men Ignoring Safe Sex

Research conducted at Ghent University has concluded that public campaigns about the dangers of unsafe sex do not appear to be getting through to gay men. The study found two main types of HIV, but their analysis found that those infected with two sub-types were ‘significantly different populations'. The vast majority of cases of infection within Belgium were sub-type B cases, and those infected were most often men, who had sex with men. The non-B cases were more likely to be in heterosexuals and to have been acquired abroad.

Obesity Warning For Children

A good night's sleep in the early years of life could be crucial in preventing a child becoming obese, according to scientists.

Babies, toddlers and preschool children who sleep for less than ten hours a night are more likely to be overweight when they are older, research has found. Experts believe a lack of sleep causes an imbalance in the hormones that control appetite, meaning that those who do not get enough sleep are more likely to feel hungry and crave calorie rich snacks during the day.

Sun Causes Wrinkles Even Through Glass

A study has suggested that the damage caused by sun coming through glass can be so dramatic that, over time, the side of the face exposed to the rays can look up to seven years older than the other.

A team at University College Hospital, Besancon, in France, conducted the first study on how sections of the face age at different rates related to sun exposure. They demonstrated that a woman office worker or regular driver would age more quickly on the side where the skin faces the sun and heat, even through glass.

Professor John Hawk, an Emeritus Professor of dermatological photobiology and UVA expert, said that it was thought that up to 90 per cent of the visible signs of ageing were duet to sun's ultraviolet radiation and more than 95 per cent of those were known to be UVA rays.

Rural Residents Less Likely To Suffer Mental Health Problems

City residents are more likely to develop mental illnesses such as schizophrenia than those who live in rural areas, a study by Cardiff University has found. The study examined the lifestyles of more than 200,000 people in Sweden and found that those who lived in urban areas were more at risk from psychosis than people who lived in villages.

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, men who live in the country were more likely to live between 78 and 79years, while those in town could expect to survive to an age of 76.