National award for Northamptonshire health initiative to save money and waste with prescription drugs

National award for Northamptonshire health initiative to save money and waste with prescription drugs An innovative pilot training initiative which has helped patients in Northamptonshire to make the most of their medicines has picked up a national award. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Where cancer patients live could influence late diagnosis

Where cancer patients live could influence late diagnosis If all the regions of England were as good as the South West at diagnosing cancer early nearly 20,000 more patients over two years could be diagnosed at stage 1 or 2, giving them a better chance of survival. Cancer Research UK

See also:

• RCGP response to CRUK figures on regional variation in cancer diagnosis Royal College of General Practitioners
• Cancer variation 'unacceptable' BBC News
• VIDEO: Thousands of cancer cases 'missed' BBC News
• 10,000 cancer cases are spotted late every year because of postcode lottery The Daily Mail
• Postcode lottery in cancer diagnosis is costing up to 10,000 lives a year The Daily Telegraph
• The worst places in England to have cancer The Independent

Midwifery faces ‘time bomb’, says report

Midwifery faces ‘time bomb’, says report Record numbers of births to older mothers are putting maternity units under intense pressure, says a new Royal College of Midwifery report.

See also:

• State of Maternity Services Report 2015 Royal College of Midwifery
• Britain's older midwives are a ticking timebomb that needs diffusing - fast The Daily Telegraph
• 'Time bomb' as new mothers get older and midwives approach retirement The Guardian

NHS Homeopathy Spending

NHS Homeopathy Spending In their campaigning against the funding of homeopathy on the NHS, Good Thinking have highlighted that the total annual spend is ‘between £3m and £5m per year’. By way of summary:

• In the 2013/14 fiscal year, 14 NHS England CCGs reported that they fund homeopathy, spending around £300,000 in total
• A further 17 CCGs commission via the RLHIM in London, and are unsure as to the level of their funding
• Homeopathic hospitals in Bristol and Glasgow received around £1.6m-£2m in total.

See also:

• The maps that show where the NHS is spending millions on homeopathy The Independent

New nursing framework supports delivery of care closer to home

New nursing framework supports delivery of care closer to home A new education and career framework launched by Health Education England sets out for the first time the specialist knowledge and skills needed to deliver and advance in district nursing and general practice nursing.

Latest analysis shows current picture of diseases which were widespread in the Victorian era

Latest analysis shows current picture of diseases which were widespread in the Victorian era Latest analysis of hospital admissions for a number of diseases that were widespread during the 19th and early 20th centuries is released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre

See also:

• Malnutrition and other Victorian diseases soaring in Englanddue to food poverty and cuts The Independent

Cheap Alzheimer's drug 'may help keep people out of care homes'

Cheap Alzheimer's drug 'may help keep people out of care homes' Donepezil is usually withdrawn as a treatment for people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease as it had been thought to provide little benefit.

In this study, researchers wanted to see if this was a hasty decision and people should actually continue to take the drug – they carried out a randomised controlled study to look at the issue.

People with moderate to severe Alzheimer's, who were living in the community, were randomly allocated to discontinue or continue taking donepezil, either alone or in combination with another Alzheimer's drug called memantine, or switching to memantine alone.

The main outcome the researchers looked at was whether these people ended up being placed in a nursing home. The results showed discontinuing donepezil roughly doubled the chance of nursing home placements during the first year. There was no significant difference between these groups in the following three years. NHS Choices

Flawed GP data extraction system 'misspent public money'

Flawed GP data extraction system 'misspent public money' A government IT system that collects data from GP practices across England was signed off despite being demonstrably flawed from day one and 'not fit for purpose', MPs heard on Monday. GP Online

New NHS screening for Down's expected soon

New NHS screening for Down's expected soon DNA test will improve performance in screening and reduce miscarriages. OnMedica

Anthrax: First case of disease since 2006 found in Wiltshire cow

Anthrax: First case of disease since 2006 found in Wiltshire cow Public Health England said it is the first case of the deadly disease to have been found in an animal since 2006. The Independent