Demand for hospital services outstripping NHS funding

Demand for hospital services outstripping NHS funding The number of admissions to hospital are rising steeply and are outstripping increases in the NHS budget, according to new analysis published today by The King’s Fund.

The analysis finds that admissions to hospital have increased by 3.6 per cent a year since 2003/4. In contrast, real terms increases in NHS funding have shrunk to an average of just 1.2 per cent a year since 2010/11, compared to average increases of 4.8 per cent a year between 2003/4 and 2010/11. The King's Fund

See also:

• NHS buckling under mismatch of demand and funding, says report The Guardian

Prostate cancer laser treatment 'truly transformative'

Prostate cancer laser treatment 'truly transformative' Surgeons have described a new treatment for early stage prostate cancer as "truly transformative".

The approach, tested across Europe, uses lasers and a drug made from deep sea bacteria to eliminate tumours, but without causing severe side effects.

Trials on 413 men - published in The Lancet Oncology - showed nearly half of them had no remaining trace of cancer.

Lifelong impotence and incontinence are often the price of treating prostate cancer with surgery or radiotherapy. BBC News

Send heavy drinkers for liver scan, GPs told

Send heavy drinkers for liver scan, GPs told Women who drink more than three-and-a-half bottles of wine a week should get their livers checked, say guidelines. BBC News

Brexit could make NHS shortage of nurses worse, says report

Brexit could make NHS shortage of nurses worse, says report Institute for Employment Studies says however UK leaves, uncertainty around status of workers could deter hospital staff

Brexit is set to cause a severe shortage of nurses in the NHS, which is already facing a chronic lack of them in many hospitals, research suggests.


Britain’s decision to leave the EU could deprive the health service of nurses from countries such as Spain, Portugal and Ireland, from which it has recruited heavily in recent years, analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies found. Continue reading... The Guardian

See also:

• Brexit and population growth to leave the NHS short of nurses Institute for Employment Studies
• Beyond Brexit: Assessing key risks to the nursing workforce in England Institute for Employment Studies
• Could Brexit prove terminal for the NHS? The Guardian
• NHS nurses are being cast into a perfect Brexit storm | Polly Toynbee The Guardian

Distressed patients left on doorsteps in the early hours to free-up hospital beds

Distressed patients left on doorsteps in the early hours to free-up hospital beds Ambulances are increasingly being used at the dead of night to decant sick and distressed people, not into the care of doctors and nurses but out of hospital and back to their homes. The Daily Mail

NHS left with unpaid bill of £30m from overseas patients in just one year, figures reveal

NHS left with unpaid bill of £30m from overseas patients in just one year, figures reveal Overseas patients have left the NHS with unpaid bill of almost £30 million in just one year, an investigation has found.

Patients who were not entitled to free treatment on the health service owed £29,530,378 in 2015/16, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

More than 120 NHS trusts were asked to provide details on overseas patients who were billed for NHS care and who were exempt from reciprocal arrangements with the UK. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Overseas patients are continuing to rack up debts for the NHS The Daily Mail
• Overseas patients leave NHS bill of almost £30 million in one year The Independent

Three quarters to survive cancer within 20 years - Cancer Research UK

Three quarters to survive cancer within 20 years - Cancer Research UK Within 20 years three quarters of people will survive a diagnosis of cancer if clinical improvements continue at their current rate, Cancer Research UK has said.

The next two decades will see a 15% drop in the overall death rate from the disease, equating to 400,000 fewer deaths, the charity predicts.

For every 100,000 people in the UK, 331 died from cancer in 2014. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• UK cancer death rates to fall by 15% by 2035 due to advances in research The Guardian