Tuesday 29 April 2014

Policy paper: Helping people live well for longer

Policy paper: Helping people live well for longer This document will help people understand how the national system as a whole is supporting local action to help people live well for longer. It includes actions already taken in prevention, early diagnosis and treatment.

It focuses on the 5 big killers:
  • cancer
  • stroke
  • heart disease
  • lung disease
  • liver diseases
It includes examples of good practice and help for local commissioning and service delivery. Department of Health

Half with cancer 'live a decade'

Half with cancer 'live a decade' Half of people in England and Wales now being diagnosed with cancer will survive for at least a decade - double the number from the early 1970s, figures show. BBC News

See also:

'Experience dementia via Facebook'

'Experience dementia via Facebook' Facebook users are being invited to experience what it is like to live with dementia in a bid to raise greater awareness about the disease. BBC News

Trust fined £200K for patient death

Trust fined £200K for patient death The health trust which ran Stafford Hospital is fined £200,000 for failing a diabetic patient who died in its care. BBC News

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Non-smokers shunning e-cigarettes

Non-smokers shunning e-cigarettes “E-cigarette users have tripled to 2 million since 2012,” The Guardian reports. This is just one of the findings from a survey by anti-tobacco public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). It also showed there is little evidence that non-smokers are using e-cigarettes, although this could change in the future.

These headlines are triggered by a new factsheet on the usage of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) published by ASH.

The research has found that non-smokers are not taking up the e-cig habit, although it is too early to be complacent. The data only spans the 2010 to 2014 period, meaning that longer-term smoking trends are unknown. As e-cigarettes are a relatively modern phenomenon, it is impossible to predict with any certainty what long-term effects they may have on smoking habits.

Who are ASH?

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) was established in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians. It is a campaigning public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco.

ASH produces a variety of published material for companies and governments, as well as bulletins and newsletters.

Today’s publication on e-cigarettes coincides with the day the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) consultation on the advertising of electronic cigarettes closes.
The consultation concerned proposals to introduce new rules for the advertising of e-cigarettes, including measures to protect young people, address concerns over the indirect promotion of tobacco products via e-cigarettes and prohibiting health or medical claims.


Links To The Headlines

E-cigarette users have tripled to 2 million since 2012, study finds. The Guardian, April 28 2014

Two million now puff on e-cigarettes: Number using devices trebles in two years. Daily Mail, April 28 2014

E-cigarette users in UK have 'tripled' since 2010. BBC News, April 28 2014

E-cigs ‘cleared of being route into smoking’. Metro, April 27 2014

E-cigarette use 'has tripled in two years'. ITV News, April 28 2014

Outcomes assessment for people with long-term neurological conditions

Outcomes assessment for people with long-term neurological conditions This researched aimed to identify factors that affect integration between health and social care; outcomes important to people with long-term neurological conditions who are clients of an ‘integrated’ service; develop these outcomes into a checklist and understand how different models of integration affect outcomes. National Institute for Health Research

Flu immunisation plan published for 2014/15

Flu immunisation plan published for 2014/15 Public health experts warn against ‘complacency’. OnMedica

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Lethal camel-borne MERS virus death toll reaches 102 in Saudi Arabia

Lethal camel-borne MERS virus death toll reaches 102 in Saudi Arabia

A spike in the number of infections from a deadly virus, which has now killed more than one hundred people in Saudi Arabia, is “concerning” but the risk to the UK remains low, health officials have said. The Indepedent

Superbug NDM could 'change face of healthcare' experts warn

Superbug NDM could 'change face of healthcare' experts warn Cases of a superbug that can break down antibiotics and could 'change the face of healthcare as we know it' have risen exponentially in the last five years, Government experts warn. The Daily Telegraph

Fears over plans to cut emergency admissions

Fears over plans to cut emergency admissions Patients' groups have raised fears that hospitals will be forced to cut services before it is safe to do so. The Daily Telegraph