NHS Updates
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Rise in number of unpaid carers and young carers
NHS updates
"Children are picking up the caring roles the state has abandoned," The Guardian says, while The Independent says that 180,000 children work as unpaid carers.
These new figures come from the Office for National Statistics, which has pulled together data on unpaid care in England and Wales from the 2011 census.
The census (which has been carried out every 10 years since the middle of the nineteenth century) reveals an increase in the proportion of the population who are providing unpaid care.
This has risen from 11.5% in 2001 to 11.9% in 2011 in women, and from 8.8% to 9% in men. There tend to be more female carers than male,...
Time-lapse technique may boost success rate of IVF
NHS updates
“IVF advance triples couples' chances of having a baby”, The Daily Telegraph reports.
The innovation in question is actually based on an old imaging technique called time-lapse photography, where a camera is set to record a series of images at regular intervals. This technology is now available for monitoring the development of IVF embryos before they are transferred into the womb.
The researchers in this study developed a way of using the information collected to identify which embryos had a low or high chance of having an abnormal number of chromosomes (called aneuploidy). Aneuploidy can reduce the chances...
Absent fathers linked to depression risk in girls
NHS updates
“Study shows girls with absent fathers more likely to develop depression," the Mail Online has revealed.
It reports on a large UK study that found that girls whose biological fathers were absent during the first five years of their childhood had an increased risk of symptoms of depression. No increase in risk was found for girls whose fathers were absent later in childhood, and no increase in risk was found for boys with absent fathers.
Researchers collected information regarding the physical absence of the biological father during childhood, as well as information on depression symptoms when the child was 14. They...
Human embryo stem cells cloning breakthrough
NHS updates
"Human embryonic stem cells created from adult tissue for first time," The Guardian reports, while the Daily Mail's front page leads with the somewhat fanciful warning that new research raises the "spectre of cloned babies".
These headlines are based on newly published research into the use of a technique known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) as part of embryonic stem cell research. It should be noted that no babies were born as a result of this research, and the researchers had no intention of producing a live cloned human being.
SCNT involves taking donated egg cells from women and removing their genetic material. These are then fuse...
Drug combination offers hope for osteoporosis
NHS updates
“Double drug hope for brittle bone sufferers”, reports the Daily Mail.
This headline follows a small but well-designed trial of treatments for postmenopausal osteoporosis. As women go through the menopause, levels of the hormone oestrogen begin to fall. This drop in oestrogen can lead to a thinning and weakening of the bones, increasing the risk of broken bones (fractures).
While current treatments can help prevent further weakening of the bones, they are not particularly effective at restoring bone strength – known as bone mineral density (BMD). In this study, researchers found that using a combination ...
'Broken' body clock may be linked to depression
NHS updates
"Depressed people are out of sync with the rest of the world because their body clocks are broken," reports the Mail Online website, while The Independent claims that depressed people live in a "different time zone".
The story comes from a study that looked at the activity of genes thought to be involved in regulating the body's internal clock – the innate sense that most people have of the changes over a 24-hour day to night cycle (circadian rhythms).
Researchers did a detailed study of gene expression, the effect that certain proteins contained inside individual genes have on genetic activities inside the body.
The study i...
Is the rise in neurological deaths due to modern life?
NHS updates
'Technology, food additives and air pollution are causing people to develop dementia earlier than ever,' reports the Mail Online website. But this is a claim with little to no evidence to support it.
The study the Mail reports on looked at death rates in 10 developed countries, including the UK and the US. The researchers specifically focused on what they termed "neurological deaths". These are deaths arising from conditions that affect the brain and nervous system, such as motor neurone disease and dementia.
This study found that the overall death rate has fallen over the past 30 years. Bu...
Angelina Jolie's surgery to 'reduce breast cancer risk'
NHS updates
Writing in the New York Times, actress Angelina Jolie has announced that she has recently undergone a double mastectomy (where both breasts are surgically removed) followed by breast reconstruction surgery.
She writes that this is because genetic testing revealed she had a 87% chance of developing breast cancer in later life, as well as a 50% risk of ovarian cancer. This means she took a decision to have ‘preventative surgery’.
Jolie explained: "I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventative double mastectomy.
"Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into peop...
Could a good mood make you eat more food?
NHS updates
‘Research has found emotional eaters tend to eat more when happy’, reports the Mail Online website.
The news is based on a small study looking at whether experimentally altering mood has an effect on the amount of calories a person eats.
The researchers examined the effects on what they describe as ‘emotional eaters’ – people who reported using food as a coping mechanism for emotions.
A group of 86 students, who said they were either emotional or non-emotional eaters, were shown TV and movie clips to evoke either a positive, negative or neutral mood. The researchers then assessed how much the students ate w...
Novel coronavirus 'limited' spread between people
NHS updates
"WHO warns that a deadly novel coronavirus could be passed from person to person," The Independent reports.
The news – featured in much of the media – is based on the latest ‘state of play’ advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the novel coronavirus (nCV). However, public health officials in the UK have stated that there is no evidence of 'sustained' transmission (ie. no-one who has been infected by another person, has gone one to infect more people).
nCV, which is genetically similar to the SARS virus, was ...
Guidance: Update on novel coronavirus infection
NHS updates
The Chief Medical Officer provides the latest information and guidance in light of the 2 clusters of severe human cases of the novel coronavirus infection, which were reported in May 2013.
Press release: Norman Lamb appoints new champion for adult social work
NHS updates
Adult social care users and practitioners will have a new champion following the appointment of Lyn Romeo as Chief Social Worker for Adults by Minister for Care and Support, Norman Lamb.
The new Chief Social Worker for Adults will help to improve the quality of care across adult services and act as a champion for those who receive services and the professionals who work in the sector.
The post will work closely with a Chief Social Worker for Children to be announced shortly.
Together they will lead social workers in protecting the safety and welfare of the most vulnerable in society and make sure the views of social workers are heard at t...
Guidance: Health Protection in Local Government
NHS updates
Updated: Replaced with an updated version of 'Health Protection in Local Government', which was provisional guidance under review in light of public health regulations made under the 2006 Act as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Updated detail section to reflect new document.
This document explains the new health protection duty of local authorities in line with the final 6C Regulations, which came into force on 1 April 2013.
Press release: £260 million invested in patient safety plans
NHS updates
Responding to the Francis report, which called on the NHS to make better use of technology to improve safe, effective care, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has today announced a new £260 million fund for hospitals.
Last year at least 11 people died in the NHS because they were given the wrong prescriptions. This fund will be used to increase the use of technology which will help stop drugs being prescribed incorrectly because patients’ notes have been lost.
Errors in prescriptions are present in as many as 8% of hospital prescriptions and studies have shown that the use of technology can cut these errors by half.
The fund will hel...
News story: Recent non-executive appointments to Department of Health public bodies and committees
NHS updates
Human Tissue Authority
Professor Susan Dilly, Suzanne McCarthy, Professor Gurch Randhawa and Rosie Glazebrook have been re-appointed as members for a second term of 15 months from 1 April 2013.
They will be remunerated at £7,883 for a time commitment of approximately 3 days per month.
None have declared any political activity.
Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
Professor Anthony Lynch has been re-appointed as a member for a third term of 3 years from 1 April 2013.
Members receive an attendance fee of £123 per meeting, plus a reading fee of £...
Press release: New Non Executive Directors of the NHS Trust Development Authority
NHS updates
Health Minister Lord Howe has confirmed the appointment of Crispin Simon and Caroline Thomson who will start their new roles immediately.
Crispin Simon is currently a director at UKTI, a UK government department which is administrated jointly by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Caroline Thomson is Chairwoman of Digitaluk, a not for profit organisation formed by broadcasters to assist consumers in the conversion to digital TV. Ms Thomson is also a Trustee/Deputy Chairman at the National Gallery.
Lord Howe said:
I am delighted to announce the appointment of ...
Guidance: The Adult Social Care: Choice Framework
NHS updates
This Framework clearly sets out the different choices people are able to make in relation to their care and support, including:
the right for people, including carers, to control the services they use, the right to choose residential care accommodation that suits them the right to access and receive information to inform choice.The framework also sets out where people can access further information, and how to complain if they are not offered choice.
This Social Care Choice Framework sets out the choices currently available as of April 2013. The Department is proposing to alter the way that care and suppor...
Transparency data: DH Workforce Information: March 2013
NHS updates
Information about the number of people employed by DH and its agencies during March 2013 including:
staff headcount by grade the number of agency workers the number of specialist contractors and consultants payroll staff costsPolicy paper: National child measurement programme: operational guidance for the 2012 to 2013 school year
NHS updates
Updated: "Why your child's weight matters" leaflet added.
National child measurement programme: operational guidance for the 2012 to 2013 school year, as part of the Government’s commitment to tackling the public health challenge of excess weight.
Independent report: Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum: Recommendations to improve children and young people’s health results
NHS updates
Updated: Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum: Public Health Group Factsheet added.
The Children and Young People’s Health Forum was asked by the Secretary of State to help develop a new strategy for improving care for children and young people.
Its reports cover several themes that it says are vital to making the improvements needed:
putting children, young people and their families at the heart of what happens acting early and intervening at the right time integration and partnership